_The_ SECRET WITNESS

 BY GEORGE GIBBS

 AUTHOR OF "PARADISE GARDEN, " "THE YELLOW DOVE, " ETC. 

 ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE BREHM

D. APPLETON AND COMPANYNEW YORK LONDON1917

Copyright, 1917, by the Curtis Publishing CompanyPublished in the United States of America

TO MY FRIENDMAJOR R. TAIT McKENZIE, R. A. M. C. 

[Illustration: "Your veil--quick, " he stammered breathlessly. ]

CONTENTS

I. JUNE 12, 1914

II. COURT SECRETS

III. THE HABSBURG HAVEN

IV. SECRET INFORMATION

V. TWO INTRUDERS

VI. HERR WINDT

VII. THE GREEN LIMOUSINE

VIII. AN ESCAPE AND A CAPTURE

IX. CAPTAIN GORITZ

X. DIAMOND CUTS DIAMOND

XI. THE MAN IN BLACK

XII. FLIGHT

XIII. TRAGEDY

XIV. THE HARIM

XV. THE LIGHTED WINDOWS

XVI. THE BEG OF RATAJ

XVII. THE MAN IN ARMOR

XVIII. NUMBER 28

XIX. DISGUISE

XX. RENWICK QUESTIONS

XXI. AN IMPERSONATION

XXII. THE NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK

XXIII. SCHLOSS SZOLNOK

XXIV. PRISONER AND CAPTIVE

XXV. THE RIFT IN THE ROCK

XXVI. THE DEATH GRIP

XXVII. BESIEGED

IN REGARD TO THE EVIDENCE IN THE CASE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"Your veil--quick, " he stammered breathlessly. 

"It is too late, " she murmured. "They would see us. "

"Who are you?" she asked. 

His Excellency rose and bowed over her hand--

"Be quiet. People are watching you, " said Goritz sternly. 

"Thank you, " she said simply. "I believe you. "

THE SECRET WITNESS

CHAPTER I

JUNE 12, 1914

The Countess Marishka was fleet of foot. She was straight and slenderand she set a pace for Renwick along the tortuous paths in the rosegardens of the Archduke which soon had her pursuer gasping. She ran likea boy, her dark hair falling about her ears, her draperies like Nike'sin the wind, her cheeks and eyes glowing, a pretty quarry indeed andwell worthy of so arduous a pursuit. For Renwick was not to be deniedand as the girl turned into the path which led to the thatched arbor, hesaw that she was breathing hard and the half-timorous laugh she threwover her shoulder at him only spurred him on to new endeavor. He reachedthe hedge as she disappeared, but his instinct was unerring and heleaped through the swaying branches just in time to see the hem of herskirt in the foliage on the other side and plunging through caught herin his arms just as she sank, laughing breathlessly, to the spangledshadows of the turf beyond. 

"Marishka, " he cried joyously, "did you mean it?"

But she wouldn't reply. 

"You said that if I caught you----"

"The race--isn't always--to the swift--" she protested falteringly inher pretty broken English. 

"Your promise----"

"I made no promise. "

"You'll make it now, the one I've waited for--for weeks--Marishka. Liftup your head. "

"No, no, " she stammered. 

"Then I----"

Renwick caught her in his arms again and turned her chin upward. Hereyes were closed, but as their lips met her figure relaxed in his armsand her head sank upon his shoulder. 

"You run very fast, Herr Renwick, " she whispered. 

"You'll marry me, Marishka?"

"Who shall say?" she evaded. 

"Your own lips. You've given them to me----"

"No, no. You have taken them----"

"It is all the same. They are mine. " And Renwick took them again. 

"Oh, " she gasped, "you are so persistent--you English. You always wishto have your own way. "

He laughed happily. 

"Would you have me otherwise? My way and your way, Marishka, they gotogether. You wish it so, do you not?"

She was silent a while, the wild spirit in her slowly submissive, and atlast a smile moved her lips, her dark eyes were upturned to his and shemurmured a little proudly:

"It is a saying among the women of the House of Strahni that where thelips are given the heart must follow. "

"Your heart, Marishka! Mine, for many weeks. I know it. It is the lipswhich have followed. "

"What matters it now, belovèd, " she sighed, "since you have them both?"

Renwick smiled. 

"Nothing. I only wondered why you've kept me dangling so long. "

She was silent a moment. 

"I--I have been afraid. "

"Of what?"

"I do not know. It is the Tzigane in my blood which reads into thefuture----"

She paused and he laughed gayly. 

"Because I am a foreigner----"

"I have not always loved the English. I have thought them cold, different from my people. "

He kissed her again. 

"And I could let you believe me that!"

She laughed. "Oh, no. .. . But you have shown me enough. " And, pushing himgently away, "I am convinced, _mon ami_. .. . "

"As if you couldn't have read it in my eyes----"

"Alas! One reads--and one runs----"

"You couldn't escape me. It was written. "

"Yes, " she said dreamily, "I believe that now. " And then, "But ifanything should come between us----"

"What, Marishka?" he smiled. 

"I don't know. I have always thought that love would not come to mewithout bitterness. "

"What bitterness, _liebchen_?"

She settled softly closer to him and shrugged lightly. "How should Iknow?"

He smiled at her proudly and caught her brown hand to his lips. 

"You are dyed in the illusions of your race, --mystery--fatalism. Theybecome you well. But here among the roses of Konopisht there is no roomin my heart or yours for anything but happiness. See how they nod toeach other in the sunlight, Marishka. Like us, they love and are loved. June comes to Bohemia but once a year--or to us. Let us bloom in thesunlight like them--happy--happy----"

"Blood red, the roses, " she said pensively. "The white ones please mebetter. But they are so few. The Archduke likes the red ones best. Whatis the verse?

 "I sometimes think that never blows so red The Rose as where some buried Cæsar bled. "

"What matter Cæsar or Kaiser to us, Marishka? Our own kingdom----"

"Yes, yes, " she sighed. "And I am happy in it. You know it, _nichtwahr_?"

Silence, except for the drowsy hum of the bees and the songs of thebirds. No fatalism is long proof against the call of love and June. Marishka was content that her flight had ended in capture and satdreamily gazing at the white clouds floating overhead while she listenedto the voice at her ear, replying to it in monosyllables, the languageof acquiescence and content. The moments passed. Konopisht was no longera garden. Enchanted their bower and even the red roses forgotten. 

Suddenly the girl started upright to her knees, and peered wide-eyedthrough an opening in the foliage. 

"What is it, Marishka?"

She put a finger to her lips in token of silence, and Renwick followedher gaze down the graveled path which led toward the arbor. Asunder-secretary of the British Embassy in Vienna, he had been trained toguard his emotions against surprises, but the sight of the three figureswhich were approaching them down the path left him bereft for the momentof all initiative. In the center walked the Archduke, pullingdeliberately at his heavy dark mustaches while he listened to the figureupon his right, a man of medium stature, who wore a hunting suit and ajäger hat with a feather in it. He carried his left hand, concealing adefect of his arm, in the pocket of his shooting jacket, while with hisfree right hand he swung an ebony cane. His mustaches were turnedstraight upward from the corners of his mouth and the aggressive chinshot outward as he glanced right and left, talking meanwhile with hiscompanions. The third figure was very tall, topping even the Archduke, who was by no means small of stature, by at least six inches; his hair, or as much of it as could be seen beneath the soft hat, was gray, and along beard, almost white in the patches at either side of the chin, descended in two long points half of the way to his waist. 

Renwick recognized the visitors at once, and turned toward his startledcompanion, his own mind as to the propriety of his situation at oncemade up. 

"Marishka, " he whispered, "we must go. "

"It is too late, " she murmured. "They would see us. "

[Illustration: "It is too late, " she murmured. "They would see us. "]

"And what does that matter?"

"I forgot, " she breathed helplessly. "I was told I was not to come todayinto the rose garden. I wondered why. Sh----! Sit still. Crouch lower. Perhaps they will pass on and then----"

Renwick obeyed somewhat dubiously and sank, scarcely daring to breathe, beneath the thick foliage beside the arbor which concealed hiscompanion. She seized his hand and he felt her fingers trembling in hisown, but he pressed them gently--aware that the tremors of the girl'sfingers as the footsteps approached the arbor were being unpleasantlycommunicated to his own. The breach of hospitality to the household ofthe Archduke, upon whose land he was, was as nothing beside the breachof etiquette to the Empire by his Chief. Renwick's nerves were good buthe trembled with Marishka. The friendship of nations depended upon thesecurity of his concealment--more than that--and less than that--his ownfate and the girl's. And so Renwick crouched beside her and silentlyprayed in English, a language he thought more fitted to the desperatenature of his desires, that the three figures would pass on to anotherpart of the garden, that they, the luckless lovers, might flee to theabandoned tennis court in innocence and peace. 

But Renwick's prayers were not to be answered. Had he known at themoment how deeply the two of them were to be enmeshed in the skein ofEurope's destiny he would have risen and faced the anger of his host, or, risking detection, incontinently fled. But Marishka's hand claspedhis own, and lucklessly, he waited. 

The three men reached the gate of the arbor, the smaller one enteringfirst, the giant with the gray beard, at a gesture from their host, following, and they all sat in chairs around the small iron table. Renwick was paralyzed with fear and Marishka's chill fingers seemedfrozen to his. There had been rumors in the chancellories of Europe ofthis visit to Konopisht to see the most wonderful rose garden in Bohemiain mid-June, but Renwick knew, as did every other diplomat in Vienna, that the visit to the roses of Konopisht was a mere subterfuge. If therehad been any doubt in the Englishman's mind as to the real nature of thevisit, the grave expressions upon the faces of the men in the arborwould speedily have set him right. The Archduke opened a cigarette caseand offered it to his companions who helped themselves with somedeliberation. 

"A wonderful rose garden, truly, my friend, " said the man in the jägerhat with a smile which broke the grave lines of his face into pleasantwrinkles. "I will give your gardener twice what you offer him to come tome. "

The Archduke showed his white teeth in a smile. "_Majestät_ has but torequest----"

"A jest, my friend. It would be unmannerly. It is Her Highness that Iwould also rob, for roses, after all, are more a woman's pleasure than aman's. "

"The Duchess spends many hours here----"

"The _Arch_ Duchess, " corrected the other vehemently. 

The Archduke shrugged. "She will always hold that rank in my heart, " hesaid quietly. 

"And with me and my House, " said the other quickly. 

"It is a pity that my own family should not be of the same mind. "

"It matters nothing, " said the other. "Nothing. You shall see. "

The Archduke examined the ash of his cigarette, but said nothing. 

"You must realize, my great and good friend, " continued the man in thehunting suit, "that I did not come to Konopisht only to see your roses. "

The Archduke nodded attentively. 

"The fortunes of your family are linked to mine by ties deeper thanthose of blood, --a community of interest and of fortune which involvesthe welfare, happiness and progress of many millions of people. Thehistory of civilization in Europe has reached a new page, one which mustbe written by those who have in keeping the Divine destiny of theGermanic race. It is not a time to falter before the graveness of ourresponsibility and the magnitude of our undertakings. I spoke of thesethings at Eckartsau. I think you understand. "

The Archduke nodded gravely. 

"I will not shirk any responsibility. I hesitated once. That hour haspassed. Sophie--Maximilian--Ernest----"

"They must have their heritage. "

The man in the jäger hat got up and paced impatiently the length of thearbor, at one moment within three yards of the terrified lovers in thefoliage. 

"Are we alone, your Highness?" he asked of the Archduke. 

"I gave orders that no one should enter the rose garden at any time thisafternoon, " replied his host. 

"It is well. " He sent a quick glance toward the tall man who had risen. "You understand, Admiral, _nicht wahr_?"

A guttural sound came from the old man's throat. 

"The destinies of Europe, _meine Herren_, " he went on. 

"_Majestät_ may speak on, " said the Archduke coolly, "without fear ofeavesdroppers. "

Renwick, crouched beneath the foliage, was incapable of motion. All hiswill power was used in the effort to control his breathing, and reducehis body to absolute inertness. But as the moments passed, and the menin the arbor gave no sign of suspicion he gained confidence, all hisprofessional instincts aroused at the import of this secrecy and themagnificence of the impending revelations. He was England, waiting, alert, on guard, for the safety and peace of Europe. He did not dare tolook at Marishka, for fear of the slightest motion or sound which mightbetray them. Only their hands clasped, though by this time neither ofthem was conscious of the contact. 

"At Eckartsau, my brother, " went on the smaller man, "you and I came toan understanding. Maximilian and Ernest are growing toward manhood. Andwhat is that manhood to be? Habsburg blood flows in their veins as itflows in you, the Heir Presumptive, but the Family Law debars them. Noteven the Este estates can pass to your children. They will becomepensioners upon the bounty of those who hate their mother. "

"Impossible!" whispered the Archduke tensely. "It must not be. I willfind a way----"

"Listen, Franz, my brother. A magnificent horizon spreads before you. Look at it. Part of the Duchy of Posen, the ancient Kingdom of Polandwith Lithuania and the Ukraine, the Poland of the Jagellons, stretchingfrom the Baltic to the Black Sea. Yours. And after you, Maximilian's. For Ernest, Bohemia, Hungary, the Southern Slav lands of Austria, Serbia, the Slav coast of the Eastern Adriatic and Saloniki;--twoEmpires in one. And the states of those who have despised SophieChotek----" he paused expressively and snapped his jaws, "the AustrianErbländer will come into the Confederated German Empire. " He pausedagain and then went on more quietly, "Between us two a close andperpetual military and economic alliance, to be the arbiters of Europeunder the Divine will, dominating the West and commanding the road tothe East. " He paused and took a fresh cigarette from the box on thetable. 

"It is what I have dreamed, " murmured the deep voice of the Archduke. "And yet it is no dream, but reality. Fate plays into my hands. At notime have we been in a better position. "

It was the turn of the Archduke to walk the floor of the arbor with longstrides, his hands behind him, his gaze bent before him. 

"Yes, civilization, progress--all material things. But the Church--youforget, _Majestät_, that your people and mine are of different faiths. Some assurance I must have that there will be no question----"

"Willingly, " said the other, rising. "Do not my people serve God as theychoose? For you, if you like, the Holy Roman Empire reconstituted withyou as its titular head, the sovereignty of central Europe intact--allthe half formulated experiments of the West, at the point of the sword. This is your mission--and mine!"

The two men faced each other, eye to eye, but the smaller dominated. 

"A pact, my brother, " said the man in the hunting-suit, extending hishand. 

The Archduke hesitated but a moment longer, and then thrust forward. Thehands clasped, while beside the two, the tall man stood like a Viking, his great head bent forward, his forked beard wagging over the table. 

"A pact, " repeated the Archduke, "which only Death may disrupt. "

They stood thus in a long moment of tension. It was he they called_Majestät_ who first relaxed. 

"Death?" he smiled. "Who knows? God defends the Empire. It lives on inmy sons and yours. "

"Amen!" said the Archduke solemnly. 

"For the present, " continued the other quietly, "silence! I shall adviseyou. You can rely upon Von Hoetzendorf?"

"Utterly. In two weeks I shall attend the grand maneuvers at Savajevo. "

"Oh, yes, of course. You shall hear from me. " He took a few steps towardthe door of the arbor. "It does not do to stay here too long. We mustjoin the others. Berchtold, you said, is coming?"

The Archduke nodded with a frown, and followed with the Admiral into thegarden. The sun had declined and the warm glow of late afternoon fellupon the roses, dyeing them with a deeper red. But along the crimsonalleys the three men walked calmly, the smaller one still gesturing withhis ebony cane. Presently the sound of their footsteps upon the graveldiminished and in a moment they disappeared beyond the hedge by thegreenhouses. 

Renwick in his place of concealment trembled again. The reaction hadcome. He drew a long breath, moved his stiffened limbs and glanced athis companion. Her face was like wax, pale as death and as colorless. Her fingers in his were ice-cold. Her eyes, dark with bewilderment, sought his blankly like those of a somnambulist. Renwick rose stiffly tohis knees and peered through the bushes. 

"They have gone, " he muttered. 

"The Archduke!" she gasped. "You heard?"

He nodded. 

"Have we dreamed? I cannot believe----"

Renwick was thinking quickly. Marishka--their position--his duty--a wayof escape--one thought crowded another in his mind. He glanced aboutthrough the foliage behind them and then rose to his feet. 

"I must get back to Vienna, at once, " he said hoarsely. 

Marishka stood beside him, clinging to his arm. 

"And I--I know not what to do. I could not look Her Highness in theface. But I too must go to Vienna. I am not versed in politics, but thesecret that we share is terrible. It oppresses me. Austria--my country!"

She hid her face in her hands and stood silent a moment, in the throesof a struggle, still trembling violently. At the touch of Renwick'sfingers upon her arm, she straightened, lowered her hands, her face nowquite composed. 

"I too must leave here at once, " she said quietly. "I have an allegiancestronger than my duty to Sophie Chotek. I am going----"

"Where?" he asked. 

"To Schönbrunn. "

"But Marishka, have you thought----?"

"I pray that you will waste no words. As you love me, Hugh, you will dowhat I ask and be silent. "

"What can I do?"

"Go with me to Vienna tonight. "

"That would be most imprudent. Your reputation----"

"I care nothing. Will you accompany me?"

Renwick shrugged. "Of course. "

"Then do as I bid you. I will show you a way out to a small gate fromthe garden by which you can reach the public road. Go to your Inn. Makearrangements for an automobile. I will join you tonight. " She peered inall directions through the foliage and then led the way through thebushes in a direction opposite to that by which they had come. Renwickfollowed silently, his mind turbulent. What was his duty? And where didit conflict with Marishka's mad plan? What would his Ambassador havewished him to do? And in what could he serve England best? He must havetime to think. For the present at least Marishka should have her way. Indeed, had he wished, he saw no means of dissuading her. He would gowith her to Vienna, make a clean breast of things to his Chief, beforeMarishka could carry out her plan. After that the matter would be out ofhis hands. 

The girl descended some steps to a narrow gate in the hedge. HereRenwick paused a moment to clasp her in his arms. 

"Belovèd, " she whispered, "not now. Go. Follow the path to the wall. Youmust climb it. Let no one see you descend. Au revoir. God be with you. "

And she was gone. 

CHAPTER II

COURT SECRETS

Hugh Renwick lay flat upon the coping of the wall for a moment peeringup and down the road until sure at last that the way was clear, when helet himself down and walked rapidly in the direction of the village. Theevents of the last hour were of a nature to disturb the equanimity of anexistence less well ordered than his. The winning of the CountessMarishka, an achievement upon which he had set his whole soul for manyuncertain weeks in which hope and fear had fought a daily battle in hisheart--that in itself had been enough to convince him that the godslooked upon him with favor--but this other _coup de foudre_! Whateverthe means by which his information had been obtained, the merepossession of it and the revelation of it to his Ambassador was adiplomatic achievement of the highest importance. There had long beenrumors of an _entente_ between Archduke and Kaiser, but _this_! Herubbed his eyes to make sure that he was awake. 

Hugh Renwick was merely the average Englishman of good family andwealth, who because of his education in a German university had foundthe offer of the post of Vienna singularly attractive. He had filled hisposition with circumspection, if not with brilliancy, and had madehimself sufficiently popular in court circles to be sure that if not atriumphant success in the drudgery of the office, he was at least notaltogether a social failure. Good looking, wealthy, talented though hewas, it was something indeed to have won Marishka Strahni, who, apartfrom her high position in Vienna and the success of a season, was, as hewell knew, the finest girl in all Austria. Even yet he doubted his goodfortune. He had come to Konopisht, where the girl was visiting theDuchess of Hohenberg, who had been a childhood friend of her mother's. As everyone in Vienna knew, Sophie Chotek was ineligible for the highposition she occupied as consort of the Heir Presumptive. Though amember of an ancient Bohemian family, that of Chotek and Wognin, the lawof the Habsburg's that archdukes may marry only those of equal rank, forbade that the Duchess of Hohenberg and her children should share theposition of husband and father. She had been snubbed upon all theoccasions of her appearance at court functions, and had at last retiredto the Archduke's estates at Konopisht, where she led the secluded lifeof the _ebenburtige_, still chafing, rumor had it, and more than everjealous and ambitious for the future of the children. 

Upon the occasion of a previous visit of the Countess Marishka toKonopisht, Renwick had spent a week end at the castle, but he thankedhis stars that he was now stopping at the village inn. It would havebeen difficult to go through the formality of leave-taking with theshadow of this impending tragedy to Europe hanging over him. He pitiedMarishka from the bottom of his heart for he had seen the beginnings ofthe struggle between her devotion to the Duchess and her duty to hersovereign. But he knew enough of her quality to be sure that she wouldcarry out her plan at whatever the cost to her own feelings. 

As Renwick approached the gates which led into the Castle grounds, hehad an actual sense of the consequence of the Archduke's guests in theappearance of soldiery and police which were to be seen in everydirection, and while he waited in the village road two automobiles cameout of the gate and dashed past him in the direction of the railroadstation, in the foremost of which he recognized Archduke Franz and hisguests of the rose garden. 

"The roses of Konopisht, " he muttered, thinking of Marishka's fatalism. "Were they symbols, those innocent red blossoms?" And then with aninward smile, "Marishka! What bitterness could the roses of Konopishtbring between Marishka and him?"

A sense of the grave importance of his mission came over Renwick with arush. He looked at his watch. Six o'clock. It would have been hazardousto use the wire to reach the Embassy even had he possessed a code. Heknew enough of the activities of the Austrian secret service to be surethat in spite of his entrée at the Castle, his presence at Konopisht atthis time might be marked. He sauntered down the street with an air ofcomposure he was far from feeling. There was nothing for it but to obeyMarishka's injunctions and wait, upon his guard against surprises, butready to go to any extreme to reach Vienna and the Embassy with a soundskin. He found the owner of a motor car, and telling the man that he wastraveling by night, he paid its owner in advance and engaged it to be ata certain place by nightfall, promising a further payment if the matterwere kept secret. Then he went to the inn, took supper, and lighting hispipe, paced the cobbles and waited. 

As the summer dusk fell slowly upon the streets of the little village, Renwick found himself a prey to renewed apprehensions as to Marishka. Had her presence and his in the rose garden been discovered by one ofthe Archduke's retainers? And was she now a prisoner in the castle wherea few hours ago she had been so free a guest? She was clever, as heknew, but the burden of her secret had marked its shadows upon her face. What excuse would she offer the Duchess for her sudden departure? Thegirl was dear to him, dearer than anything in the world but England, andthe thought of making a choice between her safety and the performance ofhis duty was bitterly painful to him. Eight o'clock passed--nine. He hadgone inside the house again, for the actions of any stranger inKonopisht were sure to be conspicuous and he felt himself already anobject of notice. But at last unable to bear the suspense inactive, hewent out, crossed the road and stood, his teeth clenched upon hisextinguished pipe, his gaze upon the road which led to the gates of thePark. 

There she came to him, out of the darkness. At the touch of her fingershe started, for he had not been expecting her from this direction, butthe sound of her voice fell like the balm of her presence upon hisspirit. 

"Thank God, " he gasped. "Marishka, I was afraid----"

"I came as soon as I could, " she whispered rapidly in English. "It wasdifficult. I could make no excuses for leaving. I pleaded fatigue andwent to my room. And when the opportunity offered, stole out through thegarden. "

"And your absence will not be discovered----?"

"Not until tomorrow--when, please the Holy Virgin, I shall be atSchönbrunn. "

He took her in his arms and kissed her warmly, but he felt the restraintin her caress. 

"Hugh, belovèd, let us wait upon duty for our own happiness. I cannotrest until I have told our dreadful secret. You have a motor car?"

"Come, " he said. And taking her small valise with his own, he led theway to the spot where the machine was awaiting them. Marishka gavedirections and in a few moments they were off. The danger of detection, once beyond the village, was slight, and their purpose to reach therailroad at Budweis and take a late train to Vienna was not difficult ofaccomplishment. The machine was none too good, but the road for the mainpart was excellent. Renwick's arm was about the girl, and they satdiscussing their plans for the immediate future. 

"You have no fear for what you are about to do?" he asked. 

"What should I fear?" she said lightly. "I am only doing my duty. "

"There will be difficulties, will there not?"

"Perhaps. But I shall succeed. Prince Montenuovo, the High Chamberlainof the Court will listen to me. "

"But you will not tell him all. "

"Not unless it is necessary. You, Hugh, will take me to him. "

Renwick was silent for a moment. 

"Marishka, " he said at last, "we share a terrible duty, yours toAustria, and mine to England----"

"But mine--is it not the greater?" she pleaded. "You must not speak, Hugh, until I have given you permission. "

Renwick folded his arms and gazed stolidly into the darkness. 

"I must tell what I know to Sir Herbert, " he said firmly. "You must notask me to be silent. "

He noticed the change in her voice as she replied, "Is my happiness soslight a thing that you can refuse the first request I make of you?"

He caught her hand to his lips. 

"Marishka, you know----"

"My first request----"

"There is nothing in the world that I would not do for you. You wouldthink little of me if I did not do my duty. "

"And of your duty to me----? Is that nothing?"

Renwick smiled into the darkness. Had he been told six months ago thathe would be bandying the interests of England against the plans of apretty woman he would have laughed the idea to scorn. 

"What do you wish me to do, Marishka?" he asked gently. 

With a swift impulse, she threw her arms about his neck, whispering inhis ear. 

"O Hugh, I cannot bear that there should be a difference between us, today, the first of our _fiançailles_. It will perhaps make no greatdifference that you should tell what we have heard, for your country, thank the Holy Virgin, is at friendship with mine. If you would but waituntil I give you permission. "

"And if something happened to me in the meanwhile----?"

"Nothing can happen. No one at Konopisht can know. I am sure ofthat--sure. "

Perhaps the moment of danger that had threatened their happiness hadmade each more considerate, and the two great secrets that theypossessed, their own and the other more terrible one had strengthenedthe bond between them. 

"I will wait until you have been to Schönbrunn, " he decided. 

"Until I give you permission, " she insisted. 

He kissed her. She believed it to be a promise and the tight pressure ofher hand rewarded him. In that moment of _rapprochement_, the destiniesof nations seemed a matter of little moment to them. 

"You will marry me soon, Marishka?" he murmured. 

"Perhaps, " she whispered gently. 

Morning brought the pair in a _fiacre_ into the Schottenring, Marishkaweary but resolute, Renwick somewhat dubious as to their appearance atthis early hour alone in the streets of Vienna. But at his suggestionthat they drive first to the house of Marishka's aunt and guardian, Baroness Racowitz, where some excuse could be made for the girl'sunexpected visit, Marishka only shook her head and gave the town addressof Prince Montenuovo, who, as she knew, was still in residence, theEmperor not being expected at Ischl until the middle of July. Nor wouldshe permit Renwick to accompany her within the house, and so he satalone in the humble _fiacre_ for what seemed an interminable time, untila man in livery came down the steps and gave him a note in Marishka'shand. 

 "I have succeeded in getting an audience. Go to the Embassy and await word from me. Silence. "

And so at last he drove away to his hotel, sure at least that for thepresent he had done his duty to Marishka. But this was no boy-and-girlmatter. The lives of nations, perhaps, hung upon his decision. In a weakmoment he had promised Marishka an impossible thing. He did not knowwhat danger hung over him. If anything happened to him England mightnever know until it was too late. The vision of Marishka's pale facehaunted him, but he decided to take no further chances, and lockinghimself in his own rooms, he wrote a long statement, in which heaccurately recounted his experience in the garden the day before. Thisletter written, sealed, addressed, and given to a trusted servant to bedelivered into the hands of the Ambassador at a given time, Renwickbreathed a sigh of relief, then bathed, dressed, and waited. 

It was not until some days later that he heard in detail of Marishka'svisit to the Emperor. The High Chamberlain, aware of the visit of theCountess Strahni to Konopisht, and convinced of her earnestness andanxiety, had acted immediately. The Emperor fortunately was not ailingand the audience was obtained without difficulty. Franz Joseph ateighty-four, and burdened with more sorrows than those that fall to thelot of the average man, still found interest in the complaints andpetitions of his subjects and had audience on certain days atSchönbrunn. It was this intimate touch with his people, kept throughmany years, which endeared him to his subjects, and stories of hispaternal kindness were thus continually sent the length and breadth ofthe nation. 

Marishka was shown into an antechamber in the Emperor's private suitewhere for what seemed an interminable time she sat and waited. At lengthher sponsor appeared and conducted her along a short corridor pastseveral rooms to a white door which the Prince opened, and then stoodaside as Marishka entered. 

"The Countess Strahni, " he announced. 

Marishka, a little bewildered and frightened, advanced uncertainly, hereyes dazzled by the brilliant sunlight which streamed in at the south. As she hesitated, a voice near the furthest window spoke reassuringly. 

"Come in, child, " it said. "I am here. "

She advanced with trembling knees, aware of an old man in a militaryblouse sitting in a large chair beyond a desk. The infirmities of ageand suffering had bowed his shoulders and to Marishka the Emperor seemedsmaller than when she had seen him last, smaller and very much older. There was a stillness about his person, a quality of resignation andquiescence that was almost statuesque. But his whiskers and mustache, carefully groomed, were brushed upward and outward from the rather heavylip and chin, and had a military cut which comported well with thedignity of his appearance. His eyes, the right one much smaller than theleft, were light gray in color, and as her own gaze caught them, verygrave and kindly, like his voice, which as he spoke gave her everyencouragement to be at her ease. 

"You will pardon the infirmities of an old man and forgive me for notrising, " he said gently. "Will you be seated, here, before me, where Imay look at you?"

There was a pathetic touch of his old gallantry in the gesture whichaccompanied the words, and a bright flash of his eyes as Marishka cameforward into the light and stood before him. Even today the Emperor wasnot immune from the charms of feminine beauty. Marishka did as she wasbidden, sitting upon the edge of her chair before the old man, gazing athim again, without words to begin. 

"His Highness has told me that you have something of importance tocommunicate, " said the Emperor with a smile. "Your grandfather once didme a service. If there is anything that I may do----"

The quiet voice paused and she was conscious of the gaze of the grayeyes upon her in gentle inquiry. 

"It is nothing that I want, Sire, " she murmured haltingly. "It issomething of the utmost importance that has occurred--atKonopisht--which I thought it necessary that you should know--somethingof the gravest moment to the State--to Austria--and to--to YourMajesty. "

She paused breathless, finding speech difficult. 

She saw his eyebrows upraised slightly and then contracted, while hisgaze upon her grew concentrated. 

"You may speak freely, child. There is no one here who hasn't theinterests of my country at heart. "

Marishka glanced around swiftly, her pulses throbbing. Prince Montenuovostood beside the desk, immovable. 

"Your Majesty, " she almost whispered, "my information is of such acharacter----"

She paused again and felt the old man's gaze upon her in deeper interestand curiosity. There was a silence, but if he had had a momentary doubtof her, it was speedily dispelled, for his rather weary lips parted in asmile, as he turned to his Chamberlain. "If Your Highness will bepleased to await my call----"

Prince Montenuovo with a bow withdrew. 

"Now, child, " said the Emperor, bending slightly forward in his chair, "will you not tell me freely what has bothered you?"

"Your Majesty, " said Marishka, plunging breathlessly into her subject, "I was stopping at Konopisht at the castle of the Archduke Franz. TheDuchess of Hohenberg, formerly the Countess Chotek, was a friend of mymother's, and for many years our families have been intimate. "

She saw the slight contraction of the heavy brows at the mention ofSophie Chotek's name, but she went on rapidly:

"Sire, when you know how long our families have been friendly, how kindHer Highness has been to me since the death of my father and mother, youwill understand that what I am about to say--to reveal--is very painfulto me. I could not speak, Sire, even now, unless the welfare of Austriaand of Your Majesty were not more important to me than any personalconsiderations whatever. "

As she paused painfully again, he encouraged her with a smile. 

"Go on, child, " he said. 

"I was at the tennis court, playing with"--she paused and blushedprettily--"with a friend. The game finished, we--we went into the gardenand sat upon the lawn in the shade of some foliage where it was cool. Idid not know, Sire, nor did my companion, of the presence of royalty atKonopisht, and did not remember that I had been told not to go into therose garden until it was too late. "

"Too late?" he asked keenly. 

"We were interested, talking, and not until the sound of footsteps uponthe graveled walk near the arbor, did I realize how grave a violation ofthe hospitality of the Archduke had been committed. I should have fled, but, Sire, I could not. I was frightened. And so we stayed, hidden inthe foliage by the arbor. "

"So!" he broke in, his voice speaking the word with a rising inflectionof intense interest. "It is well that you have come. I, too, knowsomething of the visitors to the roses of Konopisht. The talk was notall of roses, _nicht wahr_?" he said quietly, with a little bitterness. 

"No, Sire. The talk was not all of roses, " said Marishka. 

"Go on, then, " he continued. "Spare me no word of what you heard or saw. Nothing. "

And Marishka, composing herself with an effort, obeyed the command. 

CHAPTER III

THE HABSBURG RAVEN

The Emperor heard her through until the end, with a word here, a suddenquestion there, the gravity of the girl's disclosures searing morepainfully the deeply bitten lines at eye and brow. But he did notflinch. It seemed that grief and pain had already done their worst tothat frail body. For whatever this Habsburg's failings, fear was not oneof them. There was resolution too in the clenching of the freckled fistupon the chair arm and in his footsteps as he started up from his chairand walked the length of the room. Bowed though his shoulders were withthe weight of his years, he was still a figure to respect--apersonality. Marishka watched furtively, waiting for him to speak againas he strode back and forth, but his brows were deeply tangled inthought and his shoulders were more bent than ever. It almost seemedthat he had forgotten her presence. 

But at last he turned toward where Marishka, who had risen and was stillstanding, was awaiting his pleasure. He came straight toward her andextended his fingers. She sank to her knees to kiss them, but he caughther by the hand and restrained her. 

"You have done well, Countess Strahni, " he said quietly. "The men ofyour House have always been brave soldiers and good citizens, the womencomely and loyal, and you, my child, have today done much to continuethe honorable traditions of your family. Austria is, for you, as she isfor us all, the Mother, whom God blesses in the loyalty of her children. As for those"--and his brows clouded--"who follow the devices of theirown hearts, those who consider neither the family law nor the humanlaw----" He paused, turned and sank into his chair, leaning forwardagain intently as the new thought struck him. "Who was your companion, Countess?"

Marishka flushed a little but said quietly, "A gentleman--an Englishman----"

"So!" again the rising inflection, followed this time by a slight frown. "An Englishman!"

"A friend of mine, Sire, " she went on with an access of dignity. "HerrRenwick, an attaché of the British Embassy----"

"Ah, I understand. He has told?"

"He has given me his promise to reveal nothing until I had been atSchönbrunn and then only with my permission. "

"I see, " said the Emperor with a frown. "He is discreet?"

"He has a reputation for discretion, Sire; I think he may be trusted. "

"So, " said the Emperor. "Where is he now?"

"I was to communicate with him later. "

"Giving him permission to speak?"

"Yes, Sire. "

"It is a pity, " he muttered, as though meditating aloud. "We have washedenough linen in public. And this----" He turned abruptly toward her. "You have influence with this Herr Renwick?" he asked keenly. 

Marishka was painfully embarrassed. 

"A little, Sire, I think. "

"You have served Austria well today, Countess Strahni. You can serve heragain if you can prevent this Herr Renwick from communicating with SirHerbert Southgate. .. . This is no concern of England's. "

"I will do what I can, Sire. But the matter, it seemed, was of graveimportance to Herr Renwick. He is an able diplomat and mostintelligent. "

The Emperor regarded her almost wistfully. 

"It would be a pity, " he said, "if Herr Renwick should be discredited atthe Austrian court----"

"It would ruin him, Sire, " said Marishka apprehensively; "if he tellswhat he knows, he would only be doing his duty. "

"He must not tell, child, " said the Emperor gravely. "This is Austria'ssecret and her sorrow. You realize that, do you not?"

Marishka bowed her head, painfully. 

"Yes, Sire. "

"You will promise me to do what you can?"

She looked into the face of this tired old man and a great pity for himswept over her. 

"I will, Sire. I will ask him not to tell--demand it of him even if----"

She paused and hid her face in her hands, unable to say more, trying tohide the true nature of the sacrifice he was asking of her. 

The Emperor understood and laid a kindly hand upon her shoulder. 

"I understand, my daughter. I pray that no bitterness may come betweenyou, on account of this. Responsibility comes to you early, and yet youcannot--must not shirk it. "

"And if he refuses----?" she pleaded. 

The wrinkled face broke into a smile, the gray eyes were bright inadmiration. 

"I am sure, " he said gallantly, "that Herr Renwick could refuse younothing. Were I younger----" He paused with a sigh and smiled again. "Iam not sure even now that I am not a trifle jealous of this discreetEnglishman of yours. " And, then, aware of her intense embarrassment, "But I am sure that you will succeed. "

"I shall try, Sire, " she murmured. 

And still he seemed loath to let her go, walking toward the window wherehe stood in the sunlight looking down upon the lovely gardens beneathhim. 

"Perhaps you did not know, Countess, that this visit to the roses ofKonopisht has caused us some concern here in Vienna. Berchtold, who wentyesterday to Konopisht, will, of course, discover nothing. The Duchessof Hohenberg is a very clever woman. You know her as a friend. If herloyalty to her friends is as sincere as her ambitions for her children, then you can surely have no cause for complaint. Friendship begetsfriendship, but those who love Austria may not serve other gods--orgoddesses. You have considered these things, and however difficult thetask--have chosen?"

"It has been bitter, Sire. I can never go back to Konopisht. "

"I am sorry. A terrible lesson awaits Sophie Chotek. I have been sorelytried. As for the Archduke Franz--a reckoning--a reckoning----"

She saw the old man pause and start a pace back from the window, towardwhich he stared, wide-eyed and immovable. There, upon the sill of thewindow, a black bird had suddenly appeared and hopped awkwardly to andfro. It seemed perfectly at home, and not in the least frightened, peering into the room with its head cocked upon one side, a balefulpurplish glitter in its eye. 

In a flash Marishka remembered the legend which connects everymisfortune of the House of Habsburg with the appearance of this bird ofill omen: the flight of ravens at Olmütz, the raven of the ill-fatedMaximilian at Miramar, the raven of the Archduchess Maria Christina onthe eve of her departure for her future kingdom of Spain, the ravenwhich came to the Empress Elizabeth on the afternoon before the day ofher assassination, --all these incidents so closely connected with theroyal figure before her, passed quickly across her mind as they musthave crossed that of the Emperor. He sank into his chair and shefollowed his gaze through the window again. The somber bird had gone. 

Marishka stood in silence, not daring to move, aware of the terribleundercurrent of thought which must be racking the mind of her sovereign, this man of sorrows, who stood upon the brink of the grave and peace, and yet who must still live and suffer until the curse of the CountessKarolyi should be utterly fulfilled. 

"Sire, " she muttered after a moment, "can I----"

He stirred, and raised a pallid face to hers. It was quite composed now, but marked with a sadness inexpressible. 

"You may leave me now, child. I am a little tired. If you will touch thebell upon the table----"

He paused as she did so, and a servant entered. 

"You will tell Prince Montenuovo that the audience is concluded, " hesaid. 

Marishka fell upon her knees before him, and touched his fingers to herlips. 

"May God bless Your Majesty, " she murmured half-hysterically, scarcelyknowing what she said, "and give you peace. "

She was aware of his smile as she arose. 

"Go, Countess, " he said, "you have done well. Keep this secret atwhatever the cost to yourself. Those who love Austria must now beprepared to suffer for her. My blessing, child. "

She obeyed the gesture of his hand and followed the High Chamberlaininto the outer corridor. 

 * * * * *

Marishka's first thought, upon emerging from the palace, was that shemust find Hugh Renwick at once. A new idea of her duty had been born inher. The importance of keeping this secret of theirs from England hadnot seemed as obvious before her visit to Schönbrunn. The thought of herlover's possible refusal of her request now seemed appalling. As sheremembered his sober face last night in the automobile, when this topichad caused her a moment of unhappiness, it seemed that his refusal toaccede to her request was more than possible. She had liked Hugh Renwickbecause he was strong, honest, reliable, serious, --qualities she had notfound abundant among the younger men of the ancient families of hercountry. She loved him now because, against many obstacles, he had atlast carried her heart by storm. But she realized that the veryqualities she had most admired in him were the very ones that would makeher present task most difficult. 

He had given his word not to reveal the secret to his Ambassador withouther permission. That was his promise, given, she knew, grudgingly, andonly because he felt for the moment that her duty took precedence overhis own. But was it, after all, merely a question of precedence? Andwould he, now that he had kept his promise so far, insist upon doing hismanifest duty to his own country? Fears assailed her that she might notbe able to prevail. His love for her was untried. How far might she relyupon it in this inevitable conflict between them? And if he refused her!

The motor car of the Prince carried her to the apartments of theBaroness Racowitz, where, after a rapidly thought-out explanation of hersudden visit which seemed satisfactory, she wrote a note to HughRenwick, asking him to come at once to her, addressing it to hisapartments in the Strohgasse and telling the servant if he was not athome to take it to the Embassy. This note dispatched, her mind somewhatmore at ease, she joined the Baroness at luncheon. 

Baroness Racowitz, her father's sister, was a woman of liberal views. Educated in England, she had absorbed some of the democratic spirit ofthe West, and so looked with favor upon the suit of the young Englishmanwho had won his way into Marishka's heart. Today, however, in spite ofthe confession which trembled upon her lips, Marishka remained silent. And the mere fact that she did not speak added conviction of the dangerwhich threatened her happiness and Hugh Renwick's. 

As the afternoon waned she grew apprehensive, and it was not untilevening that he came. His appearance did little to reassure her. 

"Your note did not reach me until a few moments ago, " he began soberly. "I went upon a mission to the ministry which has kept me all day. "

"I have been worried, " she began nervously. "I went to Schönbrunn thismorning----"

"I know it, " he broke in quickly. "Otway, of the Embassy, saw youleaving in the Prince's car. "

Something in his tone, in the avidity with which he had seized upon herphrase, warned her of the truth. 

"Oh, Hugh, " she cried, "you have already told!"

His voice sank a note lower, and its very earnestness seemed to make thebarrier between them the greater. "This morning when I left you, I wrotea complete statement of what happened at Konopisht, and gave it to aservant with instructions to deliver it at the Embassy at a certainhour. When I tell you that I was bidden to the Ministry this afternoon, closely questioned and detained in violation of all precedent, you willunderstand that from my own point of view, I acted wisely. "

"You mean----"

"I mean that larger forces than yours and mine have taken control of thesituation. "

"Then your message has been delivered?"

"Yes. "

"Oh, I cannot believe it of you----" she said, staring at him inanguish. 

He smiled gently. 

"I have only done my duty----"

"Your duty!" she said bitterly. "And what of your duty to me? Youpromised----"

"Merely, " he put in quickly, "that I would wait until you had been toSchönbrunn. "

"No, no, you promised, " she said, with rising anger. "It was mysecret--not yours. I have never given you permission to reveal it. "

"Nor having been to Schönbrunn would have given it now, Marishka, " hesaid firmly. 

"And knowing this, you use subterfuge, an unmanly recantation--breakyour promised word----"

"I have broken no promise, Marishka, listen----"

"Nothing that you can say----"

She rose, her face hidden in her hands. "Oh, you have done me adamage--irreparable! I too have promised----"

"The Emperor!"

"My sovereign--he asked this secrecy of me and you--the man I----"

"Marishka, I love you, " he pleaded, trying to take her hand. "Anythingbut this! Can't you understand? I would have betrayed my trust. Thesituation you placed me in was impossible. Great mischief is brewing inEurope. Could I sit idly by and let my country be in ignorance of it?God knows what is to happen, but whatever comes your country and minecan have no quarrel--any more than you and I can have. England isstrong. No nation in Europe can endure without her friendship. Can't yousee? I have done Austria no wrong--a service, rather, Marishka; andyou----"

"You can do me no further service, Herr Renwick, " she said coldly, rising. 

He was on his feet too, his face pale, regarding her steadily. 

"I cannot believe that you are willing to blame me for doing my duty. Love can only exist in an atmosphere of respect, Marishka. Could youhave cared for me if I had been willing to seek your favor at theexpense of my own honor? Could you? Think. "

"Those who can thrive politically upon the misfortunes of my country aremy country's enemies--and mine, " she said coldly. 

"I have done your country no harm--nor you. Listen, Marishka, " hepleaded tensely. "Look at me. I love you, dear, with all my heart andsoul, I love you. You cannot forget what happened to us yesterday. Iwill not give you up----"

"You must--I pray that you will leave me, Herr Renwick, " and she movedpast him toward a door. 

Renwick straightened. Whatever hopes he had had in his heart thatMarishka might forgive him for acting without her consent, her actionleft no doubt as to her present intentions. The bitterness the girl'sfatalism had predicted yesterday had fallen upon them quickly. But hewould not despair. As the girl was yet to learn, Renwick was not one whodespaired easily. But his years of service had given him discretion. 

"I cannot believe that you are quite in earnest, " he said quietly. "Iwill call upon you again when you have had time to weigh my actionimpartially----"

"I shall not be at home to you. "

"Nevertheless, " he said coolly, "I shall come. "

Her shoulders moved disdainfully. "It should be enough that I----"

"Marishka, " he broke in again and came toward her, "at least give me achance to speak to you again--tomorrow----"

The curtains beside her parted abruptly as she fled, leaving Renwickstaring helplessly at the embroidered hangings. 

He stood awkwardly for a moment, like a figure suddenly frozen, and thendropping his arms to his sides turned and sought his hat and stick. Forthe present at least there seemed nothing else to do. He descended thestairs, a deeply puzzled frown upon his brows, and went out into thedarkness of the street. 

Courts and camps, they say, are the best schools, and Renwick had notlived his thirty years in vain. He had known since last night what hemust do in England's service, and he had also known what havoc thatservice must work in Marishka's mind. He had foreseen the inquietude ofthe Austrian government at his possession of this state secret, and hadknown that his relations with Marishka must be put in jeopardy. He knewthat she must request his silence, that he must refuse her, and that nowoman's pride, put to the test, could brook such a refusal. LikeMarishka, he had had a brief hope that this love might survive theordeal put upon it, but he had not been long in discovering that theEmperor's request to Marishka had made his action seem unpardonable. Andyet he had known as he knew now, that no other course had been open tohim. Since Marishka's early visit to the Palace, an undercurrent ofevents had moved swiftly. The fact that he had received a note fromBaron Lichteveld asking him to call at the Ministry, the interviewbetween them full of allusions on the Baron's part which showed acomplete knowledge of the situation; a veiled request, a veiled threat, to both of which Renwick had appeared oblivious. These, and anuncomfortable sense that he was being detained, had at last made Renwickopen his lips. The information of which he was possessed, he had toldthe Baron, was in the hands of those who would at the proper time placeit before the British Ambassador. The firmness of his attitude hadbrought the interview, apparently pleasant and quite unofficial, to asudden ending, and Renwick had left the Ministry, aware that his ownofficial position in Vienna had suddenly become precarious. 

His statement was now at the Embassy, and its astounding contents hadbeen read by his Chief. He made his way thither, somewhat dubious as tothe thrill of his achievement, aware of a shadow about him, the ghost ofyesterday's joy, which made all success save the intimate personal onethat he most craved, flat, stale, and unprofitable. In the darkness ofthe street he was aware, too, that he was being observed and followed, but he went boldly toward his destination, sure that as a member of thestaff of the British Embassy, his person at least partook of theofficial immunity of his Chief. 

But there were other forces arrayed against him with which he had notreckoned. At a deserted and unlighted corner he found his progressblocked by two figures who attempted to engage him in a conversation. Now thoroughly awake to a personal danger which no official immunitycould minimize, he was at once upon his guard, moving quickly into themiddle of the street. The two men followed him, and another whom he hadnot seen came upon him from the rear. He dodged the blow of a stickwhich caught him a stinging blow upon the forearm, but he sprang aside, striking a furious blow full in the face of one of his antagonists andleaping out of harm's way as the third came on; and then, findingdiscretion the better part of valor, took to his heels, emerging intothe Ringstrasse some moments later, with no greater damage than abruised arm and the loss of his breath and hat. 

The Embassy in the Metternichgasse fortunately was not far away, and hereached the building without further mishap, now fully aware of thedesperateness of his enemies, whom he did not doubt were employed bythose whose interests in his secret were more important even than thoseof the Austrian government. Who? It was obvious. There were otheragencies at work, which drew their information from high sources withwhich they had little in common. A little bewildered by the rapid marchof events, but now certain of the web of intrigue and hostility of whichhe was the center, Renwick entered the office of the Embassy, breathinga sigh of relief that he was again for the present safe within itsfamiliar portals. 

The Ambassador was at his desk in his private office, and Renwick wentin to him immediately, the grave faces of his Chief and Captain Otway, the military attaché, assuring him that his information had already beenreceived and discussed. 

"Ah, Renwick, " said the Ambassador, rising, "glad you've come. We werebeginning to fear that something had happened to you. Why, what's thematter? You're as white as a sheet----"

"Am I, sir? Oh, it's nothing. You got my message?"

The ambassador nodded and then quickly, "Give him a drink, Otway. " Andthen as the other moved across the room to obey, "You were attacked--inthe street?"

Renwick laughed. "Oh, don't bother, please. I'm quite all right--just abit of a breather--that's all. You see--I ran for it. Safer, I thought. I could have done for the beggars, if I'd had a heavier stick, but Ididn't want to make a rumpus. You see, I did well in putting the thingon paper. "

"Are you hurt?"

"Merely a bruised arm. Little chap with a stick--behind me. "

"Most extraordinary! I can hardly believe that the government woulddare----"

"It isn't the government, sir, I'm afraid, " he said, with conviction, ashe took his whiskey and soda. "There are others who have more to losethan the Emperor's party by this revelation----"

"Yes, that may be so, " replied the Ambassador judicially, pacing thefloor. "Perhaps you're right, Renwick. But now that you're safe, weshould only concern ourselves with the greater issue. Tell me again inyour own words all that has happened since yesterday morning. "

Renwick obeyed, and it was far into the night before he finished, whilethe faces of his auditors grew grave again. The security of this wellordered office, with the familiar tokens of distant peaceful England allabout them, made a prosaic background for the visions which wereflashing through the minds of these three Englishmen. Even now, toRenwick, as he related his experience again, the whole thing seemedincredible, and the reiterated questions of his Chief, who was a prudentman, might have shaken a less convincing witness. But Renwick haddreamed no dream, and the returning ache in his arm left no room todoubt the actuality of his experience. 

"You have done England a service, Renwick, " said the Ambassador at last, magnanimously. "It isn't often that such crumbs of information areoffered us--in such a way. But we will take them--and digest themovernight. I want to sleep on this matter. And you--you will stay heretonight, Renwick. It will be safer. Until tomorrow, gentlemen----"

And so he dismissed them. 

CHAPTER IV

SECRET INFORMATION

An ambassador has been wittily described as an honest man sent to "lie"abroad for the commonwealth. He is supposed to be familiar with all thescandal and intrigue of the court to which he is accredited, to bepossessed of countless incriminating secrets, and to steer his way amidthe maze, disturbing no ghost or skeleton of family or government, preserving the while a calm punctilio and an exterior of fathomlesssimplicity. The ambassador of modern Europe is at once a Chesterfield, aMachiavelli, and a Vidocq. He must be a lamb, a lion, and a ferret. Hemust fly upon the wing of occasion, he must condescend to act asmessenger boy to his Prime Minister, he must conduct a business officeand a fashionable restaurant and successfully run a detective bureau. 

Something of the ambitions of Franz Ferdinand and his wife had beenknown to the Right Honorable Sir Herbert Southgate; the Archduke's visitwith his wife to the court of St. James was significant, and their stayat Potsdam dutifully recorded at Berlin, had shown something of thenature of the _rapprochement_ between Archduke and Kaiser. The visit ofthe Kaiser to the Archduke's hunting lodge at Eckartzau on the Danube, had set tongues wagging, and private information had served to warn SirHerbert that an understanding had been brought about. The visit to theroses of Konopisht had not deceived the Ambassador, for it was knownthat a pact of some sort had been made, but the revelations of Mr. Renwick had been of a nature to appall. 

A night of deliberation had done little to obliterate the Ambassador'sgrave fears for the future, and he communicated at once in code and infull with the Home Government. He lost little time upon the followingday in setting in motion all the devices he possessed for obtainingsecret information as to the effect of Countess Strahni's startlingdisclosures. 

For several months the surface of the diplomatic pool had been ominouslyplacid. Few ripples had disturbed its surface, save those occasionalones from the direction of unquiet Serbia. But the waters were seethingnow, stirred to their very lees by plot and counterplot. The advicesreceived by the Ambassador were alarming. Had the attack upon HughRenwick failed to advise him that the military party possessed fullknowledge of the Countess Strahni's disclosures, he should soon havediscovered it. There was an undercurrent of intrigue in various highoffices which advised him that communications of the greatest importancewere passing. His own interests, of course, were best served by astudied innocence and unconcern, and his public appearances, both socialand official, gave no sign of his intimate knowledge of approachingcalamity. 

The first surface indication of the turmoil was a polite note from theministry, stating that his second secretary, Hugh Renwick, was _personanon grata_ to the Austrian government, and requesting his recall. Thisindicated a definite purpose neither to ignore nor condone, and initself was a surprising admission of the facts. The Ambassador by noteexpressed his high opinion of the abilities of his secretary andrequested the Ministry's reasons for their decision. They merelyrepeated their former request without explanations. And so theAmbassador, with a smile, which had a world of meaning, offered Renwickhis passports. 

But Renwick had no desire or intention to leave Vienna. He merelyremoved his personal belongings to his apartment and stayed. That he hadventured into deep political currents he was now sure, for though hemoved with great care, he was aware of being followed and once he wasshot at in a quiet street in broad daylight. He made no complaint to theauthorities, but only moved with greater discretion, sure that theinterests that desired his elimination were not among the Austrians. From the point of view of the Austrian government he was merely adiscredited Englishman, and therefore a person of no importance. Thatthe Countess Marishka had apparently also reached the same conclusionwas evident, for though he called several times at the apartment of theBaroness Racowitz, he was not admitted. 

With theories of his own as to the probable effect of the CountessStrahni's bombshell, Renwick began some investigations which heconducted with great tact and secrecy. The forthcoming visit of theArchduke Franz to Sarajevo had assumed suddenly a vital importance. Onemorning after a night conference with Sir Herbert he took the train forBelgrade. When he returned a few days later he was again closeted withthe British Ambassador, and when night fell, he went direct to theapartment of the Baroness Racowitz, succeeding by a handsome bribe tothe servant at the door in sending a note to the Countess Marishka, which read as follows--

 COUNTESS MARISHKA STRAHNI, A friend of yours is in grave danger, chiefly through your agency. I pray that you will see me, if only for a moment. In doing so you will secure for yourself an opportunity of doing a service which you can never regret. 

 HUGH RENWICK. 

When the servant returned, some moments later, Renwick was shown intothe drawing room, with the word that the Countess Strahni would see him. She appeared almost immediately, her face a little pallid, her mannerrestrained, her accents frigidly polite. But the dark eyes wereluminous, the brows were drawn inward, and her voice trembled slightlyas she spoke his name. 

"Herr Renwick, I can hardly believe that you would impose so difficult asituation were it not that something of importance has occurred----"

"It has, Countess Strahni, " he said gravely, then paused. "I beg thatyou will believe me. "

She sank into a chair and motioned for him to be seated, but he remainedstanding, his eyes studying the fine line of her neck and shoulder asshe bent forward, her gaze upon the rug. There was something almostchildish in her imperiousness. He wanted to take her in his arms andhold her there as he would have done a spoiled child, and trust theissue to his strength and her weakness, but the quick tap of herslippered toe upon the carpet warned him that his mission was delicate. 

"Proceed, if you please, " she said after a moment. 

"You may not know, but a few days after my return from Konopisht, myconnection with the British Embassy ceased----"

"I have heard, " she broke in quickly, in a suppressed tone; "I amsorry. "

"But my interests in the political aspect of affairs were so great thatI could not leave Vienna. "

"At least I am not to blame for the actions of the ministry. "

"Naturally. I suppose I might attribute all my misfortunes to the rosesof Konopisht, " he said. 

She glanced up at him quickly and a little scornfully, but she swallowednervously and her toe accelerated its tapping upon the rug. 

"I beg that you will come to the point of your visit, " she said quickly. 

"I will, " he went on easily. "The possession of State secrets has givenme an interest in Austrian affairs which has created a pardonablecuriosity. Fortune has favored my investigations and I have learned muchhere in Vienna. I have learned more in Belgrade--and in Sarajevo. "

She glanced up quickly. 

"Sarajevo! Why?"

"You will remember that the Archduke spoke of going there to see themaneuvers of his troops on the twenty-eighth of this month. "

"Yes. " Her eyes stared at him widely now. "But what----?"

She paused uncertainly, expecting him to go on. Instead he waited amoment as though seeking his words carefully. 

"The Archduke plans to take the Duchess of Hohenberg to Sarajevo withhim. I came here to tell you that if she goes she will be in greatdanger----"

"Danger!"

"Yes. There is a plot against the life of the Archduke. I thought thatas a lifelong friend, you would like to know----"

"Assassination! Holy Virgin! Not that!"

She had started up from her chair and faced him, trembling violently. 

"I swear to you, " he said soberly, "that I have every reason forbelieving that in Sarajevo the lives of both will hang by a hair. "

"But who----?" she stammered, her eyes wide with consternation. 

She paused, the thoughts that had come first into her mind, stifled inhorror. 

"It is not necessary for me to say. I am merely giving my belief basedon the closest study of political conditions. "

A slight color had come into her cheeks. 

"I am sure that you must be unduly alarmed, " she said coolly. "TheArchduke will be in the midst of his friends--his whole army atmaneuvers!" Her lips found courage in a smile. "Why, the thing isimpossible!"

Renwick leaned against the mantel, his arms folded, and went onsteadily. 

"The thing is not impossible, Countess Strahni. The danger to FranzFerdinand is very real--a danger that no army of Austrian soldiers canminimize. He goes to a hostile neighborhood. He is not loved inSarajevo. Should not this be sufficient?"

"You trouble me, " she muttered, passing a hand before her eyes. "But Imust know more. An Archduke must have enemies----"

"But this Archduke! Can you conceive of no reason why Franz Ferdinandshould be in danger?" he asked meaningly. 

She searched his face quickly, in her eyes the truth dawning. 

"You mean----?"

He shrugged. 

"You should know what I mean. "

"I cannot believe----" she halted again. 

"Countess Strahni, " he went on quickly, "were I still a member of thestaff of the British Embassy, I should not speak. I do not even nowaccuse any group or political party of participation in this plot. TheEmperor at least is guiltless. Death has already done its worst to him. The matter is out of his hands. But I do know that such a plot exists. Franz Ferdinand will not return alive from Sarajevo and if the Duchessof Hohenberg accompanies him, she, too----"

"It is horrible--and I--I will have been the cause----"

She sank into her chair and buried her face in her hands. 

"Perhaps now you will understand my motive in coming to you, " he saidsoftly. "I have no desire but to serve you. England has no furtherconcern for Archduke Ferdinand. Forewarned is forearmed. His sting isalready drawn. But death, like this--sudden, violent, without achance--England has never looked with kindness upon the killing ofwomen, Countess Strahni. "

"It is horrible, " she whispered. "Horrible! I cannot believe----"

"Unfortunately I can give you none of the sources of my information. Butwhatever my sins in your eyes, at least you will admit that I am notgiven to exaggeration. You may still believe that I have taken a libertyin coming to you; but the situation admits of no delay. The telegraphlines are in the hands of the Archduke's enemies. The Archduke andDuchess leave Konopisht in the morning by special train, but there isstill time to reach them. "

Marishka had risen, and was now pacing the floor, her hands nervouslyclasped before her. 

"I see. I--I--understand. I--I should be grateful that you have told me. But it is all so sudden. So terrible!"

She paused before him. 

"I have betrayed her, " she stammered through pallid lips. 

"You could do nothing else. His fortunes are hers----"

"But not this----" she whispered. "It is too ghastly!"

There was a long pause, and then, "Will you make the effort?" he asked. 

"Yes. "

"You must leave in an hour. "

"But how----?"

She looked at Renwick and their glances met. 

"I will go with you, " he said coolly. 

His gaze was on the dial of his watch which he had taken from his pocketand was regarding judicially. His calmness, his impudence, enraged her. She had sworn, because of his falseness, that she would never see thisman again, and here he was calmly proposing a night journey intoBohemia, and she was actually listening to him. 

She turned quickly toward the door and stood, one hand grasping theportière, while she turned a white face toward him. 

"Thanks, Herr Renwick, " she said icily, "but I go alone----"

"That is impossible. There is danger. A night journey in a train ofuncertain quality----"

"I hope that you will not waste words. I thank you for what you havedone, but I--I must go at once----"

Renwick took a pace toward her. 

"Countess Strahni, if you will listen to me----"

But he got no farther, for he knew that her will was as strong as hisown, and that forgiveness was not to be read in her eyes. 

"I beg that you will excuse me, Herr Renwick. The time is short----"

He bowed gravely. 

"At least, you will permit me to order you a _fiacre_----"

She nodded in assent as though to be rid of him and then turned and wentup the stairs leaving Renwick to find his way out into the darkness ofthe street. 

Marishka hurried to her room and rang for her maid. In spite of theturbulence of her thoughts, she gave her orders calmly and then preparedfor the journey. The imminence of the danger to Sophie Chotek shouldhave obsessed her to the exclusion of all personal considerations, butwhile she dressed she could not help thinking of the imperturbableimpudence of her visitor. His kindness, his thoughtfulness, the factthat he had done her a service, and was at this very moment doing heranother, gave her a sense of being in a false position, which made hermost uncomfortable. And yet one could not treat with contumely a personwho acted in one's interests. His calmness, his assurance enraged her. She would never see him again, of course, but she seemed to feel theneed of some final words to convince him of the depth of her disdain. Hewas so calm, so gravely cheerful, so assured, so maddeninglyconsiderate! She wondered now why she had not led him on to a renewedplea for forgiveness, that she might the more effectually have crushedhim. 

But her duty to Sophie Chotek soon drove these speculations as to theunfortunate Herr Renwick from her mind. Suppose that Sophie Chotekquestioned closely as to the reasons for Marishka's sudden departure. What should she say? The Duchess was not one who could easily forgive awrong. Her placid exterior served well to conceal a strength of purposewhich had already brought her many enemies in the Royal House. That shewas capable of tenderness was shown in her adoration of her children andin the many kindnesses she had shown Marishka herself, but there was, too, a strain of the Czech in her nature, which harbored grievances andwas not above retaliation. Marishka's cause, as a loyal Austrian's, wasjust, and she had not faltered in doing what she knew to be her duty, but the thought of seeking the Duchess now that she had betrayed her, required all of her courage. She had balked an ambitious woman, stultified all her efforts to advance the fortunes of her children, andhad written her husband before the House of Habsburg a traitor to hisEmperor and his country. What if she had heard something and suspected?Would the Duchess even listen to a plea for her own life and safety fromthe lips of one who had proven an enemy, a bread and salt traitor to theHouses of Austria-Este and Chotek and Wognin?

But Marishka did not falter, and when the _fiacre_ came to the door shedescended quickly. The Baroness fortunately had gone upon a visit tofriends in the country, but Marishka left a note with her maid whichexplained her absence, and departed alone for the railroad station, feeling very helpless and forlorn, but none the less determined to seeher venture through to its end. 

She wore a gray traveling dress and was heavily veiled, and when shereached the station, the guard showed her immediately into an unoccupiedcompartment. This, it seemed, was unusual, as her watch indicated thatonly a few moments remained before the train should leave. But shesettled herself comfortably, grateful for her seclusion, whatever itscause, and closed her eyes in an effort to sleep. 

The last warning words of the guards had been given and the train wasalready in motion when she heard a warning "Sh----" at the open window, where a head and a pair of shoulders appeared, followed immediately byan entire body which was suddenly projected through the opening andlanded head first upon the floor. Marishka had risen, a scream on herlips, but something familiar in the conformation of the figurerestrained her. The tangle of legs and arms took form, and a headappeared, wearing a monocle and a smile. It was the imperturbable butpersistent Herr Renwick. 

CHAPTER V

TWO INTRUDERS

Marishka was too dismayed for a moment to trust her tongue to speech. That she was angry she knew, for she felt the blood rising to hertemples, and the words that hung on her lips were bitter, cruel andunreasoning. 

"It is a pity, Herr Renwick, " she began quite distinctly in English, "that you have neither the good taste nor the intelligence to leave meto my own devices. "

Renwick gathered up his stick and straw hat, bowed politely and seatedhimself opposite her. Indeed, as the train was now moving rapidly, noother course was open to him. But he wore no look of recantation. Hiscalmness was more impudent than ever, and he even took out and reset hismonocle. 

"Oh, I say, Countess Strahni, " he said, "that's rather rough on a chap. I had to come. It was wiser, you know. "

"I care nothing for your wisdom, " she said scornfully. "If it is no morefirmly seated than your sense of honor, it can be of little value to youor to me. "

"I'm sorry. I will try not to interfere with your comfort----"

"You--you arranged this"--as the thought came to her--"this opportunityfor a tête-à-tête?"

"The Countess Strahni's conception of a tête-à-tête may differ frommine, " he said with a smile. 

But his coolness only inflamed her the more. 

"You have taken an unpardonable liberty, " she said wildly. "You havealready passed the bounds of decency or consideration. You have been notonly impudent but ridiculous. One service you have done me tonight. Ithank you. You may do me another--by getting out at the first station. "

He folded his arms and regarded her gravely. 

"I regret that that is impossible. "

"Why, please?"

"Because I propose to go with you to Konopisht, and to accompany youupon your return. "

"You--you----!"

"One moment, please, " he said quietly and with some show of spirit. "Itis not necessary that you should have a further misconception of mymotives or of my agility. I did not seek this--er--tête-à-tête. Myservant engaged this carriage. I had not hoped to have the honor ofaccompanying you. Unfortunately, circumstances forced a change of plan. "

"Circumstances!" she said contemptuously. 

He bowed slightly. "As a discredited Englishman, I still possess, itseems, some interest for certain citizens of Austria. I only discoveredthe fact this evening when leaving the apartment of the Baroness. "

"You were followed again?" she asked quickly, her interest in the factmastering her animosity. 

"The object of my visit to you has been guessed. I was followed--but youwere followed also. "

"I----?"

"Yes--to the station. "

"And where----"

"Booked through to Konopisht not a foot from the back of your head inthe adjoining compartment----"

And then as she straightened in alarm and regarded the cushioned seatbehind her in sudden terror, "But I do not think you need be undulyalarmed. We can----"

"They are following _me_!" she whispered. "But why? Why?"

"Because of your friendship with the Duchess. Those who plan the deathof the Archduke are in no humor to fail. "

"Incredible! And they----" she halted again, breathless withapprehension. 

"I fear, Countess Strahni, that your mission to Konopisht has now becomea difficult one. That is why I thought it better to go with you. The menwho are following you are moving with considerable insolence andconfidence. They will carry out their orders unless circumvented. "

"But how?" she whispered, her anger of a moment ago magicallytransmuted. "What can I do?"

He gazed out of the window at the blur of night and smiled. 

"To begin with, " he said politely, "they think you are alone. You see, Imight help you, Countess Strahni, if you could manage to endure mypresence for a few hours. "

It was Renwick's innings and he made the most of them. Indeed, Marishka sat leaning forward looking at him appealingly, aware thatafter all here was the only prop she had to lean upon in this extremity. She did not speak. The wrong he had done her and Austria wasgreat--unforgivable, but the merit of his service in this situation wasunmistakable. Inimical as he might be to the sentiments in her heart, there was no disguising the relief his presence gave her or theconfidence that radiated from his calm assurance. 

"One of the men I have seen before, " he said. "He has gained somecelebrity in the Secret Service. You see, we must give them the slipbefore we get to Budweis. This train makes several stops. It ought notto be difficult. "

The plural pronoun seemed quite inoffensive now, and she even utteredit--herself. 

"Yes, " breathlessly; "but suppose they tried to stop us?"

"Er--that would be most unfortunate, " he muttered, as though to himself. 

"You don't think they will, do you?" she appealed. 

"I'm sure I don't know, " he said thoughtfully. 

For some moments he said nothing and Marishka, whose pride had comeagain to her rescue, gazed steadily out of the window away from him, trying to forget her dependence upon her companion, whose initiative anddevotion were hourly growing more in importance. Whatever his privatepurposes in aiding her, and she had no reason to doubt hisdisinterestedness, for the present at least they had a common duty tohumanity which must be performed at any costs to prejudice or pride. 

At the next station a surprise awaited them. The door of theircompartment was opened, a man entered and bowing most politely, quicklyclosed the door behind him. Marishka examined him with apprehension, noticing that he seemed more interested in the Englishman than inherself, for in the brief glance he gave Renwick, the suavity of hisdemeanor seemed for a brief moment to have changed. 

He was a person of middle age, tall, stockily built, but withal ratherjaunty in appearance, and when he smiled again he disclosed a gold toothwhich seemed to Marishka for some reason inexpressibly reassuring. Herubbed his hands together and looked a great deal like a successfulhead-waiter in mufti. But he glanced from one to the other quickly andsettled himself in a corner with an air of being very much at home, which removed the earlier impression. Renwick took the initiative atonce. 

"A pleasant evening, " he said to the newcomer, in German. 

"One might say so, " replied the other, bowing calmly. 

"But one doesn't?" asked Renwick. "The conditions are not so propitiousas they were a while ago. A storm is brewing perhaps?"

The man examined him steadily, aware of the double meaning, but onlysmiled again. Renwick got up and with great deliberateness, moved thelength of the aisle, and, while Marishka followed him with her gaze, seated himself directly opposite the intruder. The man made a movementwith his right hand which he put into the side pocket of his coat, butas Renwick sat, he smiled again and shrugged. 

"You are traveling to Budweis and beyond?" asked the Englishman. 

"To Budweis and beyond, " said the other coolly. "And I would advise HerrRenwick, " he went on quickly, "that the hotels of Budweis areexcellent. "

"Ah!" That he had come out into the open suited Renwick's plansexcellently. He removed his monocle and slipped it into a waistcoatpocket. "To be sure. Budweis. Unfortunately the lady whom I have thehonor to accompany, visits friends at some distance in the country. "

"The Countess Strahni must go to the Kaiser von Oesterreich Hotel atBudweis tonight, " he said with precision. "It is near the station. " Andthen quickly "I would also advise Herr Renwick to move at once to theother end of the compartment. "

Renwick stared at him for a moment as though he had not understood hismeaning and then shrugged and rose. Polite amenities had ceased. Heturned half toward Marishka and then, without warning, threw himselffuriously at the man. 

There was a muffled discharge as the stranger attempted to draw theweapon from his pocket, but the bullet did no damage, and theEnglishman's blow, fiercely struck, sent the other reeling sideways. Hesmiled no longer, but struggled upward gamely. Renwick had caught hispistol hand and forced him down to the floor, where he pinioned him withhis weight. 

The whole affair had happened so quickly that after one gasp of terror, Marishka had sat stupefied with horror. But as the struggle continued, the man on the floor began to shout lustily for help, and she sprang tothe aid of the Englishman, who was choking the man by twisting hiscravat. 

"Your veil--quick, " he stammered breathlessly. And after she had givenit to him, "Now, take the revolver from his coat pocket. "

She obeyed. Most of the fight was out of their antagonist, and themuzzle of the automatic, thrust beneath his nose, completed hissubjugation. After they had gagged him, they bound his wrists and ankleswith handkerchiefs, and then straightened and looked at each other, listening. Marishka's eyes were sparkling and the color was coming backinto her cheeks. 

"He--he might have killed you, " she stammered in English. 

"Or I him, " said Renwick. "Thank the Lord, I didn't have to. Do youthink they heard?"

They listened again, but there was no sound above the roar of the train. 

"We'll have to get out of this--at the first stop--and run for it. Idon't know where we are, but Budweis can't be far off. You still want togo on?"

"Yes, I must, " she cried resolutely. "I must. Oh, God, if I failed now, I could never forgive myself. "

"You see--they're determined----"

He paused, staring at the mummy upon the floor, who had raised his head. One eye was badly damaged, but the other was frowning at them comically. But neither Renwick nor Marishka felt like laughing. Renwick startedsuddenly toward the window and peered out, for the train was coastingand ahead of them in the distance he saw the lights of a station. 

"Quickly!" he said to the girl. "There's nothing for it but to go out onthe opposite side. The door is locked. " He glanced at the prostratefigure. And then to Marishka, "You must follow me. "

He did not wait for her answer, but opening the closed window he swunghimself from the floor by a grip on the door jamb, put his feet out andlowered himself to the running board. The brakes were on now as thetrain approached the station, but still Marishka hesitated. 

Renwick's face appeared in the aperture. "All clear, " he whispered, "thetracks on this side are empty. Wait until the train stops and then stepout--quickly, please. "

There was no denying his command of her and of the situation, and, difficult as the feat appeared, in a moment she was sitting on the sill, her feet depending outside into the darkness, where Renwick withoutanother word seized her in his arms and lowered her to the step besidethem, thrilled by the danger of her flight, but ready to follow whereverhe led. 

With a grinding of brakes the train stopped, but they got down quickly, and in a moment had dodged behind a building, and listening for soundsof pursuit, made their way up the dimly lighted street of a small town. It was not yet midnight and there were signs of activity here and there. She hurried beside Renwick blindly, content as he was for the present toput as much distance as possible between themselves and the railroadstation. They listened anxiously for the train to move, but there was nosound of bell or exhaust. The distant shouts seemed more ominous. Renwick only glanced behind them and hurried the pace. He led her arounda corner, into a well-lighted street where an automobile, its enginerunning, was standing before a rather pretentious house. He ran up to itand examined it quickly. 

"It's really too bad, " he muttered, with a quick glance toward thehouse, "but our need is great, " and got in, Marishka following without aword. "It's a Mercedes, thank God, " he whispered. "I hope it will go. "

It did, with a sputter and roar which brought a shouting figure to thedoor of the house, but Renwick was beyond stopping and turned blindly atthe next turning and followed the street through the sleeping town intoa well-traveled country road, which led straight onward toward thesetting moon. 

"I haven't the slightest notion where we're going, " he said presently, "but we seem to be on our way. "

Marishka found herself laughing nervously. She wasn't in the leastamused, but the strain was telling on her. 

"Nice chap--the owner of this car, to put it just there. I'll have tobuy it, I suppose. No end of a good machine. I wonder if he thought tofill the tank. "

Renwick ran the car up a long hill which it took with ease, and at thesummit the moonlit summer landscape was visible for miles in alldirections. There at a crossroad the Englishman stopped the stolen carin the shadow of a tree, got quickly out and investigated the tank. 

"Plenty of petrol--enough for all night, I should say, " he reported. "And now"--as he looked around him in all directions--"which way? Hangedif I know. "

Marishka was scanning the valley below them eagerly. In the distance totheir right a row of lights moved slowly into the night. "The train!"she said, "Budweis lies in that direction. I've often been over the roadfrom Konopisht. If we can reach it----"

"That ought not to be difficult. Here goes. " And he took the crossroadto the right. 

So far all was well, but the stolen motor car was a dead weight onRenwick's conscience, and the danger of detection was still mostunpleasant. If an excuse were needed for his arrest, a pretext whichwould hide the real secret of the mission of his pursuers, the larcenyof the machine would now furnish it. He had no humor to see the insideof a village jail from which communication with the Ambassador would bedifficult if not impossible. There were processes of law in Austriawhich suddenly became formidable to one in his position. But he droveon, keeping a lookout for sign posts, aware that the girl beside him, now that their danger was passed, had again assumed an uncompromisingsilence which was not too favorable an indication of the state of hermind and feelings toward him. He smiled inwardly. At least she could notrob him of the moment when on the steps of the train he had held her inhis arms. He did not doubt that she was thinking of that moment also, hating him the more cordially because she was so dependent on him. Didshe hate him? He stole a glance at her. She sat stiffly staring beforeher into the night, a frown at her brows, her lips closed in a thinline. Pride?

"Marishka, " he ventured softly, "will you forgive me?"

Her figure grew more rigid. 

"Herr Renwick----!" she gasped. 

"I love you, " he broke in. "You must know how much----"

"It is a pity that I have already gauged your capacity for devotion, "she said bitterly. 

"I _had_ to tell, Marishka----"

"Herr Renwick, I am already much in your debt. Add to my burden, if youwill, by keeping silence on a matter so painful----"

"Forgive me----"

"Never. You have betrayed me. "

"I'll never give you up. "

"You must. Circumstances have placed me in this false position. I am atyour mercy. I beg you to be silent. "

"You will marry me, some day, Marishka, " he asserted cheerfully. 

"Never, " scornfully. "Never. The House of Strahni, Herr Renwick, holdshonor high and loyalty even higher than honor----"

"There is another precept of the House of Strahni, " he broke in calmly. "Their women--where they give their lips----"

"Oh, you are intolerable! I abominate you!"

"And I--I still adore you, " he whispered. "I shall always adore--andserve. "

"Thank God, the hour of your service nears its end, " she said chokingly. 

"Who knows?" he muttered. 

But he made no further attempt to break through her reserve. She was toogreatly in his power. And so he drove in silence, passing through thesilent streets of Budweis without challenge and soon found himself uponthe main highroad to Prague, over which the two had traveled less than aweek ago in their hurried flight to Vienna. The moon had long since set, but when they climbed the hills along the Moldau faint gray streaks upontheir right hand proclaimed the coming of the dawn. If Marishka wasweary she gave no sign of it, for she sat bolt upright in her seat, hereyes wide open, staring along the thin yellow ribbon which marked theirroad. To the few questions as to her comfort she answered inmonosyllables, and at last he made no further effort to engage her in aconversation. He felt no anger at her rebuffs--only tenderness--for inhis heart he could not altogether blame her for her repudiation of him. 

Broad daylight found them on the Prague highroad, not three miles fromKonopisht Schloss. Here Renwick decided to desert the car and go afootthrough the forest to the castle. He hid the machine in a thicket andled the way, Marishka following silently, content to trust herself to ajudgment which until the present moment had seemed unerring. He glancedat her from time to time, aware of the pallor of her face and thefatigue of her movements. Once when he turned he fancied that her lipswere smiling, but when he spoke to her she answered him shortly. Thewounds to her pride were deep, it seemed, but he armed himself withpatience and smiled at her reassuringly as they paused at the edge ofthe wood. 

"The Schloss is just beyond these woods, I think. Some smoke is risingyonder. We must avoid the village. I think we may reach the garden bythe lower gate. And there I will await you, Countess Strahni, " hefinished quietly. 

It seemed as though in giving her her title, that he was acceptingwithout further plea any conditions of formality in their relationswhich she might impose. 

She waited a long moment without moving or replying. And then she turnedtoward him with a smile. 

"Herr Renwick, " she said gently, "whatever the personal differencesbetween us, I owe you at least a word of gratitude for all that you havedone. I thank you again. But I do not wish you to wait for me. I shallnot trouble you longer. "

"I will wait for you, " he repeated. 

"It is not necessary. I shall not return. "

"You might, you know, " he smiled. "I don't mind waiting at all. I shallbreakfast upon a cigarette. "

"Oh, " she cried, her temper rising again, "you are----you areimpossible. "

With that she turned and strode ahead, reaching the gate before him andentering. 

"_Au revoir_, Countess Strahni, " he called after her. 

But she walked rapidly toward the rose garden without turning her head, while Renwick, after lighting his cigarette, strolled slowly after her, sure that the world was very beautiful, but that his path of love evenamid the roses did not run smoothly. 

He reached the hedge just in time to see a man, one of the gardeners heseemed to be, come forward along the path from the direction of thecastle and stand before Marishka bowing. He saw the girl turn a glanceover her shoulder, an appealing glance, and Renwick had just started torun forward when from each tree and hedge near him figures appearedwhich seemed to envelop him. He struck out to right and left, but theywere too many. He felt a stinging blow at the back of his head, and hadthe curious sensation of seeing the garden path suddenly rise and smitehim tremendously. 

CHAPTER VI

HERR WINDT

When Renwick managed again to summon his wits, he found himself lying inthe dark where somebody was bathing his brows with a damp cloth. Hishead ached a great deal and he lay for a moment without opening hiseyes, aware of soft fingers, the touch of which seemed to soothe thepain immeasurably. He opened his eyes to the semi-obscurity of a smallroom furnished with the cot on which he lay, a table and two chairs. Itwas all very comfortable and cozy, but the most agreeable object was theface of Marishka Strahni, not a foot from his own. Through eyes dimmedby pain he thought he read in her expression a divine compassion andtenderness, and quickly closed them again for fear that his eyes mighthave deceived him. When he opened them again he murmured her name. 

"Marishka, " he said gently, "you--you have forgiven me?"

But she had moved slightly away from him and was now regarding himimpassively. It was too bad for his vision to have played him such atrick. It was so much pleasanter to sleep with Marishka looking at himlike that. 

"You have had a blow upon the head, Herr Renwick, " her voice came asfrom a distance. "I hope you are feeling better. It was necessary for meto bathe your head with cold compresses. "

Necessary! Of course. But it would have been so much pleasanter to knowthat she had done it because she wanted to. 

"So it was _au revoir_, after all?" he smiled, struggling to a sittingposture. 

"You had better lie still for a while, " she said briefly. 

His head was throbbing painfully, but he managed to make light of it. 

"Oh, I'm quite all right, I think, " he said looking around the roomcuriously. "Would you mind telling me what happened and where we are?"

"They struck you down and brought us here. It's one of the gardener'scottages on the estate. "

"And you?"

"They were very polite but we are prisoners--for how long I don't know. I've failed, Herr Renwick----" she finished miserably. 

"Perhaps it isn't too late----"

"There are men outside. They intend to keep us here for the present. "

"There ought to be a way----" said Renwick, putting his feet to theground. "I could----" He stopped abruptly, for at that moment hediscovered that the captured weapon had been removed from his pocket. 

"I'm afraid it's hopeless, " said Marishka bitterly. 

Renwick glanced at his watch. "Only eight o'clock. Even now wecould----"

He rose and walked to the window, peering through a crack in theshutter, but an attack of vertigo caused him to sink into a chair. Sheregarded him dubiously, pride and compassion struggling, but she saidnothing. 

"Beastly stupid of me, " he groaned. "I might have known they'd spare nodetail----"

There was a knock upon the door, and at Marishka's response, a turningof the key, and a man entered. In spite of a discolored eye and awrinkled neckband, he was not difficult to identify as their friend ofthe railroad train. His manner, however, was far from forbidding, for heclicked his heels, swept off his cap and smiled slowly, his gold toothgleaming pleasantly. 

"Herr Renwick is, I trust, feeling better, " he said politely. 

Renwick grinned up at him sheepishly. 

"I congratulate Herr Windt upon his adroitness, " he said. "I fear I madethe mistake of underestimating his skill in divination. "

"It was not inspired enough to guess that you were in the CountessStrahni's carriage, " he replied. "You have quick fingers, Herr Renwick. Fortunately I was aware of your destination and knew that we shouldmeet. All is well that ends well. "

"That depends upon the point of view, Herr Windt. But I might havekilled you in the railway carriage. "

"That would have been an error in judgment, which would have been mostunfortunate for both of us. I, too, might have shot you through mypocket, but I refrained, at some hazard to myself. I try never to exceedthe necessities of a situation. Having performed my mission successfullyI can now afford to be generous. "

"Meaning--what, Herr Windt?"

"That I shall keep you here only so long as is absolutely necessary. " Heglanced at his watch and said significantly, "The Archduke's privatetrain will leave here in half an hour. "

Marishka had listened in some amazement to this conversation, but thepoliteness of her jailer only angered her. 

"I would like to know by what authority you imprison a loyal citizen ofAustria, " she stormed. "Your identity seems to have made some impressionupon Herr Renwick, but I would inform you that I at least am not withoutfriends to whom you will answer for this outrage. "

Herr Windt bowed low. 

"I beg that Countess Strahni will reconsider that word. I have intendedto act with great discretion. Herr Renwick unfortunately underestimatedthe forces to which he was opposed. I am sorry he has suffered injury. As for you, Countess, I beg leave to recall that those who haverestrained you have treated you with every consideration. "

"Who are you?" she asked angrily. 

"Herr Renwick has spoken my name. "

"You are a member of the secret service of the Austrian government?"

He smiled again and bowed low. 

"It is the custom of those in my trade to ask questions--not to answerthem. In this service, however, it will please you perhaps to know thatI am not acting for the Austrian government. "

"Who then?"

"I cannot reply. "

"You dare not. "

"Perhaps. But I am willing to admit, Countess Strahni, that the samemotive which impelled you to Schönbrunn, " he said significantly, "hasactuated both myself and my employers. "

"And that motive?"

"The safety of the Empire. "

"Austria! But not complicity in this dastardly----"

At a warning sound from Renwick she paused. Herr Windt was regarding hergravely. 

"I regret that I do not comprehend the Countess Strahni's meaning, " hesaid with a bow. "It would be a source of great unhappiness to me, if indoing my duty, I had done you a harm. I am not an enemy, Countess, but aloyal compatriot. I may add that I am prepared to do what I can toprotect you from the results of your unfortunate connection with adangerous political situation. "

"Protect! You!" Marishka smiled bitterly and glanced ironically aroundthe walls of the cabin. 

"I beg to assure you that I am not jesting. Herr Renwick will recallthat he was attacked one night upon the streets of Vienna. He was alsoshot at by some person unknown. The inspiration for those assaults didnot emanate from my employers. "

"I suspected as much, " muttered Renwick. 

Marishka was examining Renwick wide-eyed. 

"Shot at!" she murmured. 

"The information in Herr Renwick's possession, " Herr Windt went onsuavely, "was more damaging to other interests than to theirs. HerrRenwick's connection with the British Embassy has terminated. He hasmerely the status in Austria of a traveling Englishman. But hisactivities are dangerous where they concern the movements of theCountess Strahni. I am performing an act of friendship to a loyalAustrian in offering her escort back to Vienna, where if she is wise shewill remain quietly under my surveillance. "

During this speech, of which Herr Windt delivered himself with muchbowing and rubbing of his hands, Marishka remained silent, a wondergrowing in her eyes. 

"I fail to see how my presence here or elsewhere can interest you orothers, " she said as she sank upon the cot. Weariness was telling on herand the disappointment of her mission's failure. And the threat ofdanger that hung in his words was hardly reassuring. 

"Countess Strahni may doubt my good intentions. That is her privilege. In a short time"--here he looked at his watch again--"she will be atliberty to come and go as she chooses. In the meanwhile I beg that shewill listen to me and heed my warning. "

He looked at her until she raised her head and signified for him tocontinue. "The agencies which attempted to prevent the delivery of HerrRenwick's information to the British Embassy are again at work. HerrRenwick having been"--he paused and bowed to Renwick--"if I may bepermitted to say so--having been repudiated by his Ambassador and by theBritish government, he is politically a person of no importance--atleast as far as my relations with him are concerned. Whatever he may doprivately, unless it proves valuable to the interests of Austria'senemies, will pass as it has already passed--unnoticed in Austria. Thecase of the Countess Strahni is different----"

He paused a moment to rub his hands together thoughtfully. 

"I can not understand----"

"Within the past twenty-four hours the apartments of the BaronessRacowitz have been observed by persons not in my service. The Countessperhaps has had no unusual communications?"

Marishka started up in her chair, while Windt, watching her, smiledslowly. 

"Ah, I was not mistaken----" he said. 

"A request to go to the Hofburg tonight--before Herr Renwick came, " shewhispered, now thoroughly aroused. "I did not go. The signature wasunfamiliar to me. "

Herr Windt took a pace toward the window and peered forth through theslats of the blind. 

"The Countess Strahni would not have reached the Hofburg, " he saidquietly. "She would have gone--er--elsewhere!"

"The man in the green limousine!" came suddenly in cryptic tones fromthe silent Renwick. 

"Exactly. He followed the Countess Strahni's fiacre in motor car to theNordwest Bahnhof. "

"And you?"

"We forestalled him--that's all, " he said, showing his gold tooth in amost ingratiating smile, but there was a flash in the deep set eyeswhich explained much to Renwick. 

"There was a commotion near the booking-stall, " said Renwick. 

"Ah, you witnessed?"

"From a distance. I had other affairs. "

"Yes. That will perhaps make my laxity with regard to Herr Renwick'ssudden appearance the more pardonable, " said Windt, with a professionalair. 

Marishka, who had listened with growing inquietude to these revelationsof her danger, had risen and paced nervously the length of the room. 

"But why?" she pleaded. "Who can dare to molest me in my own home or inthe streets of Vienna?"

Herr Windt rubbed his injured eye gravely. 

"The Countess Strahni has unfortunately become a political document, thepossession of which, I may even say the suppression of which, is highlyimportant. "

Marishka sank upon the couch, and for a moment buried her face in herhands. 

"But what would be gained by getting me out of the way? I have alreadytold what I know. "

Herr Windt smiled. 

"As Herr Renwick would perhaps inform you, the place for an importantdocument is the safe. If the document is harmless a desk may do. If itis incriminating, like you, Countess"--he said with a dramaticgesture--"the fire!"

Renwick by this time had risen and stood fitting his monocle into hiseye. 

"Astounding!" he muttered. "And yet I quite believe you. "

"There seems little room to doubt. " Herr Windt walked to the window andpeered out again. "My men are all about this place, Herr Renwick, andyet even now I am not certain that you have not been followed. "

He turned and faced Marishka with his usual bland composure. "HerrRenwick should, I think, be able to take care of himself. I beg, however, that Countess Strahni will not be unduly anxious. I shallmyself go outside and take every precaution. " He turned at the door andbowed. "I beg that in the meanwhile, you will come to some decision asto your immediate plans, counting upon my efforts to aid you. There isno train for Vienna until this afternoon, " he said significantly. "I mayadd that the machine in which you came from Altensteig will be returnedto its owner by one of my young men, who will explain the circumstances, and arrange a proper compensation. "

With this parting shot delivered in his best professional manner, HerrWindt left the room with an air of triumphant urbanity which added not alittle to the respect with which Renwick now regarded him. 

Marishka sat upright on the bed staring straight before her whileRenwick paced the floor frowning. 

"If I could only have reached her--for a moment, " said Marishkabrokenly, as though thinking aloud. "She would have listened to me--shewould have believed me. I would have thrown myself upon her mercy--toldher all. It is horrible--a death like that--when a word might save themnow--and it will be I--I who have killed them----" She started upstaring at Renwick. "And you! Why do you stand there, doing nothing?"she flung at him wildly. "You learned of this thing--at Belgrade. Whycouldn't you have prevented it? Given it publicity? Why don't you dosomething now? England has power. Why doesn't your Ambassador speak? Ishe frightened? Dumb? Will he stand idly by and see this----"

"It is none of England's affair, Countess Strahni, " Renwick broke insoothingly. 

"Then it is of Germany's?" She halted as the new idea came to her, andwalked to the small table where she sank into a chair and buried herhead in her hands, trying to think. 

After a while she raised her head suddenly and looked at Renwick. 

"Do you believe that this man tells the truth?"

"I do. He stands high among those of his profession. "

"Do you believe that agents of the German government were trying to takeme prisoner--and you?"

"Herr Windt is surprisingly well informed. I am quite sure that someoneis trying to shoot me, " he laughed. "I believe that you werefollowed--by whom I don't know. "

"Then how do you explain the efforts of German agents to take me, when Iam acting in the interests of the Kaiser's friend and ally, the ArchdukeFranz?"

"You forget that this plot is a secret one. The Archduke may fear theSerbians and the Bosnians, not his own countrymen. "

"Oh! Yes--of course. " She was silent again, but moved her handsnervously along the table top and in a moment got up and peered throughthe window-blind. 

"I beg that you will submit yourself to Herr Windt if not tome----" pleaded Renwick earnestly. "At least in his company you will bein no danger. I have done what I can to help you reach the Duchess, because the secret we shared brought about this calamity. But the matterhas been taken out of my hands and yours. I advise you to return thisafternoon to Vienna. "

She did not reply and only stood by the window, tapping at the sash withunquiet fingers. 

"You are tired, " he said gently. "Lie down on this bed for awhile and Iwill see what can be done about breakfast. "

"I'm not hungry. "

"You can't go without food. "

"I'm not hungry, " she repeated. 

Renwick shrugged and walked to the other window, where he presentlyobserved Herr Windt coming around the corner of the building. Thatremarkable person had thought of everything, for he carried in his handsa coffeepot and cups, while another man followed with plates and asaucepan. 

He turned the key in the lock and entered, putting the coffee upon thetable and rubbing his hands with a more than usual gusto. 

"I am delighted to be able to inform you that the occasion for yourdetention has passed. Within certain bounds you are now at liberty. Thetrain of the Archduke has just passed down the valley. "

"Oh!" gasped Marishka. 

"I would advise you, however, to keep within call. If Herr Renwick willgive me his word of honor not to try to escape----"

"I don't quite know where I should go----"

"Very good. The wires, of course, Herr Renwick, are in the hands ofAustrian officials. "

Renwick nodded. 

"You have won, Herr Windt. I have no plans which conflict with yours. "He turned a glance toward Marishka. "Countess Strahni is very tired. Ithink if we were to leave her for a few hours, she would probably eatand rest----"

"By all means, " said Windt with alacrity, moving toward the door. "Andif Herr Renwick will follow me I think I can find another coffeepot. "

Marishka did not turn from the window as they went out of the door. Herheart was heavy within her, and through the glaring summer sunlightwhich came in at the window and beat upon her face, she saw--Sarajevo!Sophie Chotek alighting from her train, the pomp and circumstance, theglitter of uniforms, the crowded streets through which she must pass andthe crowd which seethed with unrest, along the street through whichSophie Chotek must pass. .. ! It was too horrible. She wanted toshriek--to cry out against the infamy that was to be done, but she couldonly close her eyes to try and shut the vision out. 

After awhile she grew calmer, and tried to think clearly. There was apitcher and basin in the corner of the room, and so she bathed her faceand hands and refreshed herself. The coffee still steamed upon thetable. There was rye bread, and there were eggs in the water of thesaucepan. She felt weak and dispirited, but it would not do to fail forlack of strength, and so she sat and ate and drank. The plan born of hertalk with Hugh Renwick still turned over and over in her mind. WouldRenwick still be able to do something to help her? Which way should sheturn? If her own efforts to warn Sophie Chotek had been futile, if HughRenwick could not do something, and England selfishly held aloof whilethis horrible conspiracy which seemed to have its very tendrils hiddenin the hearts of those who should have been her friends, was under way, what must she do? She felt dreadfully; alone, and fearfully guilty. Herown death or the threatened imprisonment of which Herr Windt spokeseemed slight atonements for the wrong that she had done Sophie Chotek. If she could still succeed, by using the agents of the Archduke'simperial friend and ally, in sending a warning through the Germanambassador at Vienna, to Budapest or Sarajevo, the consequences toherself were immaterial. They might have her to do with as they chose;for by this sacrifice only could she atone. She did not fear death, fordeath to youth and health is inconceivable. She smiled incredulously asshe thought again of the ominous surmises of the impossible Herr Windt. There was something of the opera bouffe about his methods whichabstracted from the brilliancy of his success. To Marishka he was stillthe head waiter. This was the twentieth century. No political secretcould justify the imprisonment or death of a woman!. .. She shuddered alittle, as she thought of the very death that had been planned by theemployers of Herr Windt--Austrians--loyal Austrians he called them, ofthe same blood and lineage perhaps as herself. She had not yet succeededin wholly believing it. There was some missing reason for the actions ofthis secret service agent, some motive which neither she nor HughRenwick had yet fathomed, which would explain her detention and his. Itwas unbelievable that----

Marishka started at a small sound from the direction of the fireplace. It was a curious sound, a subdued metallic clink which neverthelessdifferentiated itself with startling clearness from among the alreadyfamiliar sounds of the quiet summer morning. She started up and peeredinto the shadows of the hearth. There was something there, a smallobject--round, wrapped in paper. She reached forward quickly, picked itup and examined it curiously then took off its covering, disclosing anAustrian coin--a _kroner_--nothing more. It was most mysterious. Thething could obviously have not come from the sky. Who?

She examined the paper closely. It seemed like a leaf torn from a notebook. There was writing on it, and moving to the window she made out thescript without difficulty. It was written in evident haste with a bluntpencil. 

 I have found a way to escape in a machine from Herr Wendt, if you will come at once. Only one man watches the cabin by the door. There is another in the orchard. Go quietly out by the window and follow the hedge to the garden wall. I will be at the gate beyond the arbor. Destroy this note. 

 HUGH RENWICK. 

Marishka read the note twice to be sure that there was no mistake. Shequickly peered through the window by the door. Yes, the man was there, smoking his pipe in the sunshine, his back against a tree, dozing. Anything were better than this interminable suspense--this horribleoppression of acknowledged failure. To be under further obligations toHerr Renwick was an added bitterness to her wounded pride, but hope hadalready beggared her and she could not choose. She got into coat andhat, and after another careful scrutiny of her somnolent guardian, quietly opened the shutters of the side window, stepped out into theshadow of the hedge, and made her way toward the distant garden wall. 

CHAPTER VII

THE GREEN LIMOUSINE

Herr Windt started up from the bench on which he had thrown himself. Itwas a pity there was no earlier train for Vienna. He stretched himselfand yawned, for he confessed himself a trifle disappointed that therewas to be, after all, no test of wits between himself and the agent ofthe Wilhelmstrasse who had followed the Countess Strahni to the Nordweststation in Vienna. His men had done the fellow in the motor cap no greatdamage, for his own instructions had been limited but definite: to saveMarishka Strahni in all secrecy from coming to harm, but to prevent herat all hazards from reaching Konopisht before the Archduke and Duchessleft for Sarajevo. This simple task had been accomplished with littledifficulty. The agent of the Wilhelmstrasse, undoubtedly a person ofsmall caliber, had given up his efforts, or would seek a more propitiousmoment, to carry it out later in Vienna. Herr Windt yawned again. Hisvisit to Bohemia would have been indeed a delight if a secret agent ofthe caliber of Herr Hauptman Leo Goritz, or Ober Lieutenant FranzScheib, could have been sent upon this delicate mission to oppose him. But there was no such luck. Herr Windt had made a careful round ofvillage and garden while Herr Renwick remained under the eye of his men, and there had been no sign of anything suspicious to disturb themonotonous peacefulness of the quiet garden. The reaction which alwaysfollowed upon success, had set in, and the famous man was now franklybored and somewhat fidgety. He got up and paced the stone walk a fewtimes and then gazed out to where his most trusted man, Spivak, wasdozing in the sun. Everything was too quiet, too peaceful. The serenityof the landscape annoyed him. He glanced at his watch--still four hoursof this infernal quiet before their train left for Vienna. He went tothe door of the room into which Herr Renwick had gone to lie down andlooked in. The room was empty. This was not surprising, for Herr Renwickwas under parole and would have the freedom of the garden in theimmediate vicinity of the two cabins. As the morning was hot he hadperhaps gone out to enjoy the shade of the trees. But Herr Windt nowmoved with alacrity and crossed the small plot of vegetable garden whichseparated the two cabins, and in some haste turned the corner of thesmall building which sheltered the Countess Strahni. 

Before the door, listening, a puzzled look upon his face was HerrRenwick. 

"I have called her three times, " said the Englishman quickly. "Shesleeps very soundly--or else----"

But Herr Windt did not stand upon ceremony, for he thrust past theEnglishman, threw open the inner door, then returned bellowing lustily. 

"Gone! The room is empty----"

"Gone!" cried Renwick. 

Windt eyed him keenly. 

"I have been yonder, by the trees, near your man----" protested Renwickand there seemed no doubt as to his innocence. 

"Hi! Spivak! Linder! Hadwiger!" cried Windt. And as the men came runningfrom all directions, "She is gone. What have you been at?"

"Gone?"

"By the window, idiots; did none of you see her?"

"No, Herr Windt----"

"But she could not have flown up the chimney----"

He halted abruptly, then dashed into the room again, peering into thefire place and examining the furniture, all his professional instinctskeenly aroused. As he shook the bed clothing, there was a tinkle uponthe floor, and a coin rolled into the farthest corner of the room. Thishe pounced upon like a dog upon a rat and brought it forth into thelight of the window. 

"A _kroner_!" he muttered. "Curious! Could she have dropped it do yousuppose?"

"Perhaps. Her money was in a handbag, " cried Renwick with his legs outof the window. He had already espied a possible mode of escape, andstarted running along in the shadow of the hedge. 

"Your parole, Herr Renwick!" shouted Windt, scrambling after him. 

"Come on then, " cried the Englishman over his shoulder while theAustrian followed swiftly shouting orders to his assistants. "Follow me, Spivak! The Park gates, Hadwiger! Let no vehicle get out! Linder, notifyLengelbach--the telegraph!"

Renwick went fast but Herr Windt and the puffing Spivak kept at hisheels as they reached the garden, crossing it at full speed toward thearbor, whither Renwick led them as though by an inspiration, through thebushes and toward the small gate beyond, which led to the door in thewall, over which a week ago he had climbed in his hurried flight withMarishka to Vienna. 

Renwick was thinking rapidly. Had Marishka escaped alone--perhapsdevised a plan of her own to reach Vienna from Budweis in time to comeup with the party of the Archduke? Or had someone----He doubled hispace, cursing his throbbing head and his own simplicity and impotence. Atrap?

"There is a door?" stammered Windt. 

"In the bushes just beyond--a private one--usually locked----"

"Spivak! You hear?"

"I could not know----" panted the other. 

"You should have known----"

They reached the small flight of steps that led down, and dashed alongthe path among the bushes toward an open gate, emerging upon the roadwhich marked the beginnings of the village street. There were a fewpeople in sight, an old man hobbling upon a stick, a child with a dog, two peasants in the shade of a tree eating their midday meal--and downthe road to the west--a cloud of dust!

The peasants rose in alarm at the rapid approach of the three excitedmen, and turned as though to flee into the safety of the adjoiningfield, but Renwick overtook them. 

"You saw a lady come out of the gate yonder?" he questioned. 

"A lady, Excellency?"

"Yes, yes. A lady and perhaps a gentlemen. "

"We are merely eating our dinner, Excellency. We--we have no wish to doharm to anyone. "

"Idiots!" cried Windt. "A motor-car? An automobile? Did you see it?Answer--or----"

"A motor-car--Excellency?" the fellow stammered. "Yes--a motor-car. "

"How long since?" snapped Windt. 

"A moment only--it was here--just here--and now it is gone----"

"Where?"

"Y-yonder----" and he pointed down the road. 

The three men exchanged frowning glances, but Herr Windt's were the mostterrible of the three. 

"You saw? Speak--What color was this car?"

"H--how should I know, Excellency? I was peacefully eating my dinner. See! It is but half finished----"

"You will never eat what remains unless you speak the truth----" heroared. 

"I--I am speaking the truth----"

"What color had this car?"

"I don't understand----"

"Its color, man--the paint?"

"Oh! The paint----"

"Speak! Blockhead----"

"Excellency, I think----" he stammered in terror, "I think----"

"What--quickly----"

"I think, Excellency, that it was green. "

Renwick gasped. The face of Herr Windt wore a blank look as though hehad suddenly received a glacial douche. 

"_Herr Gott!_" he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow with aneloquent forefinger. 

"The green limousine!" muttered Renwick. 

For a moment all three men stood helplessly staring down the road towardthe west, where the dustcloud was slowly settling on leaf and hedgerow, but there was a turn in the road which hid all objects beyond. HerrWindt was the first to recover his initiative. 

"Clever!" he muttered. "A message! Linder should have observed----Butthey will not get far. Come----" And he led the way at a quick trot inthe direction of the village, where they reached the telegraph office atthe railway station. 

While Herr Windt went inside to give his orders, Renwick sank upon abench outside and tried to think of what had happened and what it mightmean to Marishka and to him. The green limousine--a German secretagent--there could be no doubt, and he, Renwick, already warned of thispossible danger to Marishka had permitted her to fall into this trap, while he had come off unscathed. His conscience assailed him bitterly. Trusting to the efficiency of Herr Windt's men he had slept--slept whileMarishka was being carried off to danger--to imprisonment--orperhaps--he did not dare to think of anything worse. And Marishka musthave connived at the plan for her escape! How had the message passed?And what was the lure?

As the new idea came to him he rose quickly and moved toward the door ofthe telegraph office. He paused for a moment to adjust his monocle andit was fortunate that he did so, for there was a crash of glass at thewindow just by his head, followed by a cry of alarm within the room. Renwick dodged behind a projection of the building, and peered out whileWindt and Linder came rushing from the office. 

"A shot?"

"Who?"

"I can't imagine. He can't have gone far. "

The four men raced out, Herr Windt with automatic drawn, but when theyreached the freight station which seemed to be in the direction fromwhich the shot had come there was no one in sight. Across the railroadwas a patch of dense woods. 

Here Herr Windt paused. 

"He was shooting at _you_, Herr Renwick, " he said calmly. 

"I haven't a doubt of it. "

"Go forward, Linder and Spivak--search the woods--but do no shootingunless attacked. " Here Windt pocketed his weapon. "I regret, HerrRenwick, that my other business is of the utmost importance. You willcome with me to the telegraph office, please. "

Renwick obeyed rather willingly. He was unarmed and saw no possibleutility to his own cause or Marishka's in dodging around in woods whichcontained a person bent upon assassinating him. 

"You see, Herr Renwick, the matter is not ended. "

"I'm much more comfortable that it is not, " replied Renwick grimly. "Heshoots well. "

"You must be careful, " said his companion casually. "Come inside. Hadwiger will watch. " And he calmly took up his interrupted duty withthe telegraph officer, with an air of impassivity, which of course, waspart of his professional mien, but Renwick somehow gained the idea thathis own death whether by shooting, poison, or other sudden device was amatter with which Herr Windt could have the least possible concern. Renwick sank into a chair and smoked a pipe, trying to think what hecould do, listening dully meanwhile to the Austrian's dictated messagesto the wire, delivered rapidly and with a certain military precision. 

"Stop all green motor cars traveling north on the Prague highroad--andall roads leading north. Report at once here by telegraph description ofthose arrested. Confirm this message by name of station. " And then inquicker tones, "Send that to all telegraph stations in this districtnorth and west of here--and quick, you understand--lose no time. Whenthat message is sent I will give you another--for the Chief of Police atPrague. " Then turning to the door as a new thought came to him he spoketo Hadwiger. 

"Go to the wood on the Prague highroad where the machine is concealedand bring it here. Quick. We may need it. You see, Herr Renwick, in tenminutes all the roads into Prague will be closed to them. Even if theyreach the city they will be detained. "

Renwick did not reply. He was weighing the probabilities in his ownthorough English way. His head still ached, but the pipe of tobaccoaided his faculties. The thought that persisted in his mind was thatMarishka had escaped from Herr Windt with the sole purpose of carryingout the object of her visit to Konopisht. He remembered the suddeninterest she had displayed at the mention of the possibility of herhaving been followed to Konopisht by an agent of the Wilhelmstrasse. England could do nothing for her, Austria her own country stoodhelpless, while the Military Party, which alone possibly had the powerto help her, still remained in ignorance of the plot. Germany! Heremembered the look that had come into her eyes as he had confirmed theopinions of Herr Windt--an opinion borne out by the attempts upon hislife and her safety in Vienna. But what of the man in the greenlimousine? She was a human document, as Herr Windt had said, which wasdestined for the safe, or possibly for destruction. By what means hadthe man in the green car lured her from the security of the cabin?Renwick could not believe, after all that he had done for her, that shewould throw herself into the hands of a stranger on the barest chance ofsuccess without at least confiding in him. A shadow had fallen betweenthem, a shadow and an abyss which had grown darker and deeper with thehours, but that he was her enemy--political, personal--he could hardlybelieve she could think him that; for he had done what he could--strivenearnestly to help her reach the Duchess in safety. That he had failedwas through no fault of his own. He could not understand her flight--notfrom Windt, but from him--without a word or a sign. It was not likeher--not even like the Marishka who had chosen to call him dishonorable. However much she could repudiate his political actions, there stillremained between them the ties of social consanguinity, the memory ofthings which might have been, that no wounded pride could ever quitedestroy. But to repudiate him without a word--that was not likeMarishka--not even the Marishka of today and yesterday. And while hetried to solve the problem in his own way, the telegraph instrumentticked busily on. Herr Windt leaned over the desk reading the messages, repeating the names of the towns which replied. 

"Beneschau--Pribram--Wrshowitz--that district is covered, Lengelbach?"

"Yes. Ah, here is something. "

Windt bent forward again repeating the message aloud. 

"From Beraun--Franz--Schweppenheiser--and--a--woman--says--she--is--his--wife. Small--four--cylinder--car--American--make--black--in--color--with--brass--band--on--hood. Both--man--and--woman--have--grey--hair--age--seventy-two--and----" Herr Windt broke off with an oath, "_Schafsköpfen!_" he cried. "Enough of that----" And paced the floor ofthe room before Renwick, glaring impatiently out of the window. 

"Another, " said Lengelbach, "from Bresnitz. Man--and--girl--muchfrightened----"

"Ah!"

"Say--they--are--running--away--to--be--married. "

"Yes--the description----"

"Man--dark--age--twenty-five--girl--yellow--hair----"

"Bah!" furiously. "Enough--the next. "

For an hour or more, Renwick sat helplessly and listened while thedifferent towns including the city of Prague responded. There was nogreen limousine in all Bohemia. At last, his patience exhausted, he roseand knocked his pipe out. 

"Herr Windt, " he inquired calmly, "what reason have you for believingthat they will go to Prague?"

"The roads are good. The German border lies beyond, " said Windt shortly, turning away. 

"Wait!" Renwick's hand clutched his arm firmly. "Is there a road runningsouth and parallel to the highroad?"

Windt regarded him in silence for a moment and then--

"Yes, many--but most of them mere cow paths. "

"An automobile could pass over them, Herr Lengelbach?"

"Yes, the roads to Brünn are not bad, " said the man. 

Renwick smiled grimly. "It is my belief, Herr Windt, that they haveslipped through your fingers. "

"No. "

"You have exhausted almost every means----"

"There are other stations----"

"I would suggest that you try the country to the southward. "

"Why?"

"Because that is the way that they have gone----"

"Impossible!"

"I think you forget the Countess Strahni's mission--and yours. "

"She will not succeed. "

His stubbornness angered Renwick, and he caught him by the arm again, and whispered a few words in his ear. 

Herr Windt turned a startled glance at the Englishman. His mind had beenbent upon mere machinery. When he spoke there was in his voice a note ofrespect. 

"Ah--it is worth considering. But how? The telegraph wires are now in mypossession--here in this district to Budweis--to Vienna----"

"Then why don't you use them?" asked Renwick bluntly. 

Windt stood stock still a moment and then went quickly to the desk. 

"Repeat that message to Budweis, to Gmund, to Altensteig and Absdorf. Also cover the Brünn road. It can do no harm, " he said turning urbanelyto Renwick. 

"Perhaps not, " said Renwick dryly, "if the harm is not already done. "

Together they listened to the clicking of the telegraph instrument. Halfan hour passed. Hadwiger returned with the machine. Spivak and Lindercame in from their fruitless search of the woods. The suspense wasunendurable. Renwick, forgetting his danger, paced the road outsideuntil a cry from Windt brought him into the office. The others wereleaning over the instrument while Windt spelled out the words, "I-g-l-a-u t-w-o s-e-v-e-n-t-e-e-n G-e-r-m-a-n o-f-f-i-c-e-r a-n-dw-i-f-e. G-r-e-e-n l-i-m-o-u-s-i-n-e p-a-s-s-e-d h-e-r-e t-e-nm-i-n-u-t-e-s a-g-o f-o-r V-i-e-n-n-a. "

"_Kollosaler Halunke!_" thundered Windt, his urbanity shattered toshreds. "They have taken the other road. Here, Lengelbach, take thisquick. "Hold green motor-car man and woman. " Send that to everytelegraph station between Brünn and Danube. Relay all messages toBudweis. I'm going there. "

And turning quickly he went toward the automobile, with a sign to theothers to follow. Very politely he stood aside while Renwick entered, and with one of the men climbed into the rear seat while the other twogot in front, Hadwiger driving at a furious pace. For a long time theywent in silence, Herr Windt sitting with folded arms, his brows tangledin thought. To acknowledge that he had been outwitted had been galling, but to let this English creature of pipe and monocle indicate, in thepresence of his own underlings, the precise means of his discomfiturewas bitter indeed. At last his lips mumbled vaguely. 

"Still I do not understand, " they said. 

"A note wrapped around the coin, " suggested Renwick. 

"_Ach, so. _ It is very probable. The simplest expedients are often themost effective. Still it is remarkable that they have slipped through. "

"The green limousine goes to Vienna, " said Renwick. 

Herr Windt had self-respect enough for a rather cynical smile. 

"And after Vienna?" he asked. 

Renwick shrugged. 

"That will depend upon the efficiency of the Austrian Secret Police. "

"Meaning, precisely what, Herr Renwick?"

"Merely that the Wilhelmstrasse is skillful, Herr Windt, " he replied. 

"You mean that they will escape--here in Austria! Impossible!"

"You will need all your wits, " said Renwick dryly. 

The truth of the remark was soon apparent for when Herr Windt's partyreached the telegraph station at Budweis, there were no reassuringmessages. The green limousine had vanished into the earth. 

CHAPTER VIII

AN ESCAPE AND A CAPTURE

In her flight from the cabin in the Archduke's woods, the CountessStrahni crept along in the shadow of the hedge which bordered theorchard, and reached the gate of the garden. She had seen the watcher inthe orchard pacing to and fro, and, awaiting the moment when his backshould be turned, she hurried swiftly on to the shelter of the gardenwall, once within which, she thought that she would be safe fromdetection by the men of Herr Windt. She waited for a moment at the gateto be sure that the man near the cabin had not observed her, and noted, through the foliage, that he had not moved. Then summoning her courage, she crossed the garden boldly in the direction of the arbor--the fatefularbor of Austria's betrayal--and her own. In the path beyond it HughRenwick would be awaiting her--Renwick, the imperturbable, thepersistent, the--the despicable. Yes, she was quite sure that shedespised him, in spite of all his efforts on her behalf, so the thoughtthat she was once more to be beholden to him in this hapless quest gaveher a long moment of uncertainty as she reached the arbor. She pausedwithin the structure, wondering whether, now that she had succeeded ineluding Herr Windt, it would not be better to flee into the castle, andenlist the aid of the servants in behalf of their master and mistress. She had even taken a few steps toward the tennis court, when sheremembered--the telegraph in the hands of Austrian officials who hadtheir instructions! That way was hopeless. The Archduke's chamberlainhad, of course, gone south, and in the castle, beside thehouse-servants, there would have remained only the English governess, the children, and the housekeeper. There could be little help expectedfrom them--only bewilderment, horror, or perhaps incredulity. She mustgo on to Herr Renwick, continue the impossible situation between them, hide her exasperation in a studied politeness, and trust implicitly, asshe had done before, to his undoubted desire to retrieve his loststanding. 

She turned into the path which led from the arbor, and hurried throughinto the narrow path which led to the hidden gate beyond. Just herewhere the foliage was thickest, and not twenty yards from the spot whereshe and Hugh Renwick had listened to the pact of Konopisht, a figurestood bowing. She had been so intent upon seeing the Englishman that itwas a full moment before she recovered from the shock of her surprise. The man before her was tall, with good shoulders, and wore a brownNorfolk jacket and a soft hat. His eyes were dark and as he smiled theywrinkled very pleasantly at the corners. 

Marishka halted and stared at him uncertainly. 

"I beg your pardon, " she said. "I came here to meet----" She paused, forthe thought suddenly entered her head that this perhaps might be anotherof the men sent to detain her. But in a moment she realized her mistake. The air with which the man swept off his hat and bowed convinced herthat he was a gentleman and his manner put her at once at her ease. 

"Herr Renwick, " he said, with a smile, "has gone on to make somearrangements for your comfort. He has asked me to conduct you to theautomobile, and will join us beyond the village. "

An automobile! There would still be time, perhaps, to reach Viennabefore the archducal party should leave for Bosnia. 

"Oh, of course, " gasped Marishka thankfully. 

"If you will come this way, Countess----" he said, with something of anair. He bowed, but kept his gaze fixed upon hers. There was somethingvery remarkable about this man's eyes--she could not tell just what itwas--but they held her for a second, held her motionless until the handwhich held his hat gestured for her to pass on. She took the walk beforehim, descended the steps which led to the lower path where he hurriedforward and opened the door in the wall. 

Even now, no notion entered her head that this polite person was otherthan he represented himself to be. And the well equipped machine whichstood in the road outside the wall only caused her a momentary thrill ofjoy at the opportunity which placed the means of their escape so readilyat the hand of the now really admirable Herr Renwick. As she pausedagain for a moment, her companion threw open the door of the limousine, and lightly touched her elbow. 

"If the Countess Strahni will enter----" he said quietly. "There islittle time to lose. "

Marishka obeyed and in a moment the man in the Norfolk jacket was seatedbeside her, the chauffeur had thrown in the gears, and the machine wasmoving swiftly upon its way. She sank back into the comfortable cushionswith a sigh of satisfaction which did not escape her companion. 

"It was fortunate that I should have been in this neighborhood, " he saidwith a strange smile. It was not until then that she noticed theslightly thick accents with which he spoke and she glanced at hisprofile hurriedly. His nose was aquiline and well cut, but thesuggestion of his nationality was elusive. In spite of his evidentgentility, his good looks, his courtesy and his friendship with HughRenwick, Marishka now had her first belated instinct that all was not asit should be. The man beside her looked past the chauffeur down the roadahead, turning one or two glances over his shoulder into the cloud ofdust behind them. She noticed now that the car had not gone in thedirection of the village, but had reached the country road which led tothe west and was moving at a high speed which seemed to take the waitingRenwick little into consideration. All the windows of the car wereclosed, and she had a sense of being restrained--suffocated. For a whileshe did not dare to give her thoughts utterance, but as the car reachedthe Prague highroad and turned to the right, she started and turned inalarm to the man beside her. 

"You told me that Herr Renwick was waiting for us just beyond thevillage. Where is----?"

The question trembled and died on her lips for the eyes of the manbeside her answered before it was asked. 

"I regret, " he said evenly, "that there is no time to wait for HerrRenwick. "

"You--you have----" she stammered helplessly. 

"I beg that the Countess Strahni will not be unduly disturbed. "

"Where are we going? This is the road to Prague. Tell me where you aretaking me. I insist----"

He smiled at her again, but did not reply. 

Marishka was now really alarmed and looked out of the closed windows atthe flying hedgerows in desperation, wondering what she must do andtrying to think how this dreadful mishap had befallen her. HughRenwick--his note to her--this stranger with the remarkable eyes whoalways smiled! Where was the missing link--what the deduction? But itwas no time in which to lose one's courage. She turned toward the manbeside her who was regarding her calmly. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

[Illustration: "Who are you?" she asked. ]

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked past her out of the window. Thenhe said politely:

"The Countess Strahni is well within her rights in asking that question. I am Captain Leo Goritz. "

That meant nothing to her and she found herself repeating her question. 

He deliberated a moment. 

"I see no reason why I should not tell you, " he said at last. "I do notdesire a misconception of my personal motives--which I beg you tounderstand are of the highest. I am merely carrying out my orders tobring the Countess Strahni with all dispatch within the borders of theGerman Empire. "

"You--you are----" she paused in dismay. 

"Of the German Imperial Secret Service, " he said quickly. 

Marishka sank back into her seat breathless with apprehension, thewarnings of the hated Herr Windt dinning in her ears. 

"Then you sent----" She fingered the scribbled note which had not lefther fingers. 

"I regret, Countess, that the situation made deception necessary. One ofmy men in the tree above the chimney. My orders were urgent. "

Marishka glanced about the machine helplessly, her thoughts, in spite ofherself, recurring to Hugh Renwick, who must before long discover herabsence and guess its cause. But there seemed no chance of escape. Toopen the door and leap forth into the road at this speed was onlycourting injury, and the calm appearance of Captain Leo Goritz seemedonly the mask for a resoluteness of purpose with which she could notdare to cope. To cry out seemed equally futile for the road was desertedexcept for a few market wagons, the occupants of which were countrylouts who only stared dully as they passed. But in a flash theinspiration came to her. Germany! Germany could help her carry out herpurpose to warn the Duchess before she reached Sarajevo. She glanced ather companion and found that his brown eyes had turned as though byprescience to hers. 

"Captain Goritz, " she stammered, "I--I seem to be in your power. Whatever your authority for this--this restraint of my liberty--I submitmyself----"

He showed his fine teeth in a smile. 

"I regret that the Countess Strahni should have been put to thisinconvenience. "

She made a motion of deprecation. 

"I beg that you will spare yourself meaningless civilities. I do notknow the meaning of this outrage. "

"The Countess Strahni is far too clever to suppose that I can believeher----" he put in quickly. 

"What do you mean?"

"Merely that an intelligence which can throw central Europe into aturmoil, " and he laughed pleasantly, "does itself and me too littlecredit. "

"Oh, you know----" she gasped. 

"Yes, I know. "

She examined Captain Goritz with a new interest. 

"But you did not know the object of my visit to Konopisht, " she went ondesperately. 

"I confess, " he said slowly, "that your sudden departure from Vienna wasmost mystifying----"

"I will tell you, " she went on excitedly. "I came to Konopisht to warnthe Archduke Franz of a plot to assassinate him when he reachesSarajevo----"

"Ah! So that----" Captain Goritz started suddenly forward in his seatand faced her eagerly in an attitude of sudden alertness. 

"A plot! Serbian?" he asked sharply. 

"No--I----" Loyalty stifled her lips. 

"I see. " And then keenly, "Austrian--as a result of your disclosures tothe Emperor?"

She eyed the man in amazement. He was omniscient. 

"A plot----" she stammered. "I do not know--I came to warn them--theArchduke and Duchess, but I was prevented from doing so. They----" shegasped again--"those who plan this dastardly thing are powerful--theycontrol the telegraph. There was no way to reach them and so I came----"

"Herr Windt----?"

She nodded. "You know--he acts for them. He kept me in the cabin untilit was too late. "

"I understand----" He nodded, his brows tangled in thought. "There canbe no other explanation. "

"I heard. I saw--back there in the garden--Emperor andArchduke--friends. Oh, don't you understand? _He_ would dosomething----"

Captain Goritz had sunk lower into his seat and with folded arms wasgazing at the back of the man in front of them, but under his frowningbrows his eyes glowed with initiative. 

"What you tell me is serious, Countess----" he muttered. 

"So serious that I beg you will listen to me, " she went on almosthysterically. "The Duchess was my friend--I heard and I told what Iheard----"

"Yes. It is a pity, Countess Strahni. "

"But I did not know, " she went on breathlessly, conscious only of theimminence of Sarajevo and of the power of the man beside her perhaps toaid her. "I could not know that I should be betraying her--the friend ofa lifetime--to this--I did my duty as I saw it--to Austria. I am tellingyou this--a stranger--an enemy perhaps--because it is in your power tohelp--to prevent this terrible thing. Think! Think! It is your duty aswell as mine--your duty to the one who shares with Franz Ferdinand thesecret of the rose garden--his friend, and if God so wills--his ally. Itis all so terrible--so bewildering. But you must see that I am inearnest--that I am speaking the truth. "

"Yes, yes, " he said abstractedly, nodding, and then was silent, whilethe machine went thundering northward, every moment taking them furtherfrom Marishka's goal. She watched his face anxiously for a sign. Hiseyes glowed somberly but he did not more or glance aside. His problem, it appeared, was as deep as hers. For an age, he sat there like a stonefigure, but she had the instinct not to speak, and after a while hestraightened, leaned quickly forward and threw down the window in frontof them. 

"What is the village before us, Karl?" he asked in quick tones. 

"Beneschau, Herr Hauptmann. "

"There is a road to Brünn?"

"Yes, a fair one, Herr Hauptmann. "

"Take it--and faster. "

That was all. Marishka knew that she had won. Captain Goritz wasfrowning at the dial of his watch. 

"Perhaps we are too late--but we can at least try, " he muttered. 

"Whatever your mission with regard to me--that is unimportant--besidethis other duty----"

"Yes, yes. We shall need you. If you could reach the Duchesspersonally----"

"She will listen. I have known her all my life. "

"Good. We must succeed. " And then, figuring to himself. "Brünn--onehundred kilometers--Vienna seventy more--five hours--six perhaps. Theymay not leave Vienna at once----"

"The German Ambassador----" she suggested. 

"Of course. " And then, turning suddenly toward her, his eyes intent, hesaid, with great seriousness: "Countess Strahni, for the moment yourinterests and mine are identical. The success of this project dependsupon your silence----"

"Anything----!"

"One moment, please, " he put in quickly. "I wish you to understand theseriousness of your position. Your security, your safety now and later, will depend upon your own actions. You have proved yourself politicallydangerous to the peace--to the welfare of Europe. My mission was tobring you safely into Germany. Failing in that, I must exact absolutesilence and obedience----"

"Yes----"

"You travel as my wife, the wife of a German officer going to Vienna formedical advice----"

She flinched a little, but his air of abstraction reassured her. 

"Do you agree?"

"Yes. "

"You have friends in Vienna. You must not see them. Have I your word?"

"I have no wish but to help you. "

He examined her keenly. 

"I regret that the terms of our contract must be more explicit. "

"In what?"

"I exact your word of honor to remain under my orders, to make noattempt to escape, to speak no word as to my identity or your own----"

"Have I not told you that my own fate is unimportant if I succeed inreaching the Duchess of Hohenberg?"

"And after that?" he asked keenly. 

"What do you mean?"

"Merely that the same conditions as to yourself shall continue toexist. "

Marishka hesitated. What lay before her? It was incredible that harmcould come to one of her condition at the hands of the servants of agreat and Christian nation like Germany. She glanced at Captain Goritz. He was still examining her gravely, impersonally. There seemed littledoubt as to the genuineness of his intentions. 

"And the alternative?" she asked. 

His expression changed and he looked slowly away from her at the flyinglandscape. "I regret that you are still oblivious to your danger. Youand one other person in Europe were the witnesses to the meeting atKonopisht. His Majesty's government does not deem it expedient at thistime that you should be at liberty to discuss the matter----"

"But I have already spoken----"

"That matters nothing if the witnesses are eliminated. "

His tones were quiet, but there was no doubt as to his meaning and shestarted back from him in dismay. 

"You mean that you would----"

She halted again, wordless. 

"Political secrets are dangerous--their possessors a menace. "

"You--you would destroy----?" she gasped. 

"The evidence!" he finished. 

His voice was firm, his lips compressed, and he would not look at her. But she was still incredulous. Civility such as his and violence such ashe suggested were incongruous. She took refuge from her terror in alaugh. 

"You are trying to--to frighten me, " she stammered. 

"If you are frightened, I am sorry. You are in no danger, if you will dowhat I ask. I shall spare no courtesy, neglect no pains for yourcomfort. "

"Thanks. That is kind of you. You will gorge the goose that it may bethe more palatable. "

He gave a slight shrug. 

"I am but doing my duty. In my position, Countess, one is but a piece ofthinking machinery. "

"Yet it has been said that even machinery has a soul. "

He glanced around at her quickly, but she was looking straight beforeher at the narrow ribbon of road which whirled toward them. She was veryhandsome, this dark-haired prisoner of his, and the personal note thathad fallen into her speech made their relations at once more easy andmore difficult. 

"I regret, " he said coolly, "that my orders have been explicit. I stilldemand that you comply with the conditions I have imposed. Your word ofhonor--it is enough. "

She paused for a long moment--debating her chances. She was selling herliberty--bartering it with a word--for Sophie Chotek. This was heratonement, and if she failed, her sacrifice would be in vain. 

She took a surreptitious glance at the profile of Captain Goritz. A partof the great machine that the world calling Germany he might be, but sheread something in his looks which gave her an idea that he might besomething more than a cog between the wheels. 

Some feminine instinct in her, aroused by his impassive performance ofhis duty, gave her new courage. Since they were at war, she would playthe game using women's weapons. After all, he was a man, a mere man. 

When she spoke, it was with the air of calm resolution with which onefaces heavy odds. 

"I am in your power, " she said quietly. "I give my word of honor to doas you wish. "

And as his gaze dwelt for a moment upon her face--

"I shall not break it, Captain Goritz. "

"Good!" he said, with an air of satisfaction. "Now we understand eachother. "

Meanwhile the machine went thundering on, the man at the wheel drivingwith a skill which excited admiration. At times the speed of the carseemed frightful, for it swerved dangerously at the frequent turns inthe road, but Marishka clung desperately to the arm-rest to save herselffrom being thrown into the arms of Captain Goritz, aware of herimpotence, but conscious, too, of a sense of exhilaration in thewildness of their pace, which seemed at any moment likely to throw boththe car and its occupants into the ditch. Her companion made no effortto resume the conversation and only sat staring forth watching thevillages through which they passed, his brows deeply thoughtful. 

CHAPTER IX

CAPTAIN GORITZ

At Iglau, a town, as Marishka afterwards learned, inhabited largely byGermans, they stopped to replenish the petrol tank. But Captain Goritzwore a deep frown when he got into the seat with the chauffeur, whoimmediately started the car. They were off again. 

What this action portended Marishka could not know, nor could sheunderstand the meaning of the conversation which immediately took placebetween the two men. But the car still moved forward as rapidly asbefore, and in a moment when they skidded around a passing vehicle anddangerously near a stone wall, she found herself wishing that CaptainGoritz had chosen to enter the limousine, leaving all the wits of theirastonishing chauffeur for the exigencies of the road. 

But as the front window was down, a tribute to the confidence her jailernow reposed in her, fragments of their conversation reached her. 

"A road--away from trunk-lines. Jarmeritz, perhaps. .. . It should not bedifficult--a Peugeot if possible, or a Mercedes--its age would tell. Atany time now. .. . A détour here, I think--there is a telegraph line alongthe hill yonder. .. . It would be better in a more desolate place, in thefoothills of the Mährische-Höhe. It is a matter of luck, Karl. We mustchance it. "

She saw the chauffeur nodding and putting in here and there asuggestion, while every little while she caught an allusion to herself. She had no inkling of the meaning of this extraordinary conversation norof the way the man called Karl now slowed down as they passed othermachines either going or coming, and gazed at them with a critical air, shaking his head as he passed on at redoubled speed. But the mystery wassoon to be revealed to her, for on a long piece of level road which wentstraight through a strip of pine woods, she felt the machine leapsuddenly forward and heard the comments of the men in front. 

"I cannot tell at this distance. A good one, I should say, and new. " Andgazing through the dust before her she made out the lines of atouring-car traveling rapidly in the same direction as their own. Karl'smotor horn sent a deep blast, but the fellow in front was in no mood togive him the road. He repeated it loudly, warningly, encroaching uponthe rear wheels of the touring car, and at last the other car sloweddown, and as the road was narrow, drew aside into a shallow ditch. Butinstead of putting on speed in passing, as he had done before, thechauffeur Karl merely drew up a little ahead of the other car and heldout his hand as a signal to stop while Captain Goritz quickly clambereddown into the road and stood just below Marishka where she could quiteeasily hear the conversation which followed. The people in the touringcar were a chauffeur, a stout man and a small boy. Captain Goritz wasbowing politely. 

"Very sorry, " he said, "but we are almost out of petrol. "

"There is a garage a few miles beyond, " said the chauffeur of thetouring car. 

But Goritz shook his head. 

"I wish to exchange cars with you--at once, please. "

The chauffeur and the stout man, who looked like a small magistrate, satstaring at Goritz as though they thought that he or they had suddenlybeen bereft of their senses. But Karl, who seemed to know precisely whatto do, got down beside them and produced from his pocket a pistol, whichhe brandished in their direction. The meaning of the situation was nowobvious, and the Austrians scrambled down in great alarm. 

Captain Goritz smiled at their precipitous movements and his voice wasreassuring as he addressed the fat man. 

"I regret that we have no time to lose. I only ask you to exchange carswith me. Mine, I think, is the more valuable. "

But the others seemed stricken dumb and continued to stare wide-eyed, their mouths gaping open. 

"Would you mind telling me how you are equipped with oil and petrol?"asked Goritz coolly. 

"The tank is full, " stammered the frightened chauffeur, still eyeingKarl's weapon dubiously. But by this time the fat man had regained someof his courage. 

"What is the meaning of this outrage?" he blustered. 

"We go upon a matter of life and death, " said Goritz sharply. 

"And I----"

His remark was cut short, for at that moment a bullet from Karl's pistolwent off somewhere in his general direction, and leaving the boy and thechauffeur to their fate, he fled, a frightened behemoth, into the woods. 

Captain Goritz now opened the door of the limousine. 

"You will get down at once, please, " he said quietly to Marishka. "Wewill go on in the other car. " And while Karl transferred a suitcase andother personal belongings, Captain Goritz scribbled something upon acard which he handed to the astonished chauffeur. "If your master evercomes back and is not satisfied with his bargain, he should presenthimself at this address in Vienna and the matter will be satisfactorilyarranged. " And then as he got into the tonneau of the car besideMarishka, "I would warn you not to follow us too closely. It would bedangerous. "

Karl put in the gears and they started at once. "It would also bedifficult, Herr Hauptmann, " he said with a laugh, "for I have locked theswitch. "

"Ah, it is better so, " said Goritz calmly. "And now, by Jarmeritz, Ishould think. "

Karl nodded and, increasing the speed of the touring car, soon left thegreen limousine and its new owners far behind. 

The precision and speed with which the exchange of automobiles had beenaccomplished and the unruffled impudence of the demeanor of CaptainGoritz gave Marishka a new idea of the caliber of the man upon whosemercies she had been thrown, a new idea of the lengths to which he wasprepared to go in the performance of his duty. Success, the gaining ofwhich might easily have been tragic, was by his command of the situationturned into something which seemed comically near opera-bouffe. Shecould not understand what it all meant and timidly she asked him. 

He smiled gravely. 

"Your friend, Herr Windt, will be trying to make our journey difficultfor us. The green limousine was conspicuous. It was observed in Vienna. We shall be more dusty, but I hope otherwise quite as comfortable. "

"You think that we may be detained?" she asked anxiously. 

"We shall do our best to prevent that from happening, " he replied. "Theway is long and our paths must be devious, but I think we shall succeed. There are many roads to Vienna, Countess. " And then, with an air ofconsideration, "I hope that loss of sleep is not wearing on you. Presently we shall get out and have something to eat. "

"Thank you, " said Marishka with a grateful glance. 

She felt Captain Goritz's look upon her for a long moment after she hadturned away. Marishka sighed gently. Her companion's gaze left her andhe peered straight before him, frowning. All this she knew by herwoman's sixth sense without even looking at him. Even a thinking machinemust have its moments of aberration. In a little while, the choice ofroads having been decided, he turned to her again and Marishka's eyesmet his fairly. 

"You have not already regretted your bargain?" he asked quietly. 

"No, " she replied, smiling at him. "If you succeed, I shall regretnothing. A pawn has small chance, when the fate of kings is inquestion. "

He was silent for a moment. 

"I hope that you will understand my position, Countess. It is not mywish to make war upon women----"

"But one's duty is paramount, of course, " she put in quickly. "I am notsqueamish, Captain Goritz, but if my--my--er--elimination is necessaryto your plans, it is only fair that I should be advised of the fact intime to say my prayers. "

He regarded her soberly. Was she laughing at him? Her mien was quiteserious, but her tone was sprightly--even flippant. 

"It would be a matter of profound regret to me, Countess Strahni, " hesaid, with some dignity, "if any misfortune should happen to you whileunder my charge. "

"It is so nice of you to put it that way, " she smiled at him. "Underother conditions, you know, we might even have been friends. "

"I would be deeply pained if you should consider me an enemy, " hereplied. 

"_Ach! leider!_" she sighed. "A prisoner can have no choice. "

He made no reply to that and sank back into his favorite position witharms folded, staring straight before him. This girl was too handsome toquibble with. Her newly discovered cheerfulness disturbed him. He hadknown in abundance women of courage, women of skill in dissimulation, but he remembered that when they were both beautiful and clever it wasthe part of wisdom to be upon one's guard. 

Marishka glanced at Captain Goritz's well-shaped head in the seat besideher. It was to be war between them--war! A thinking machine! Was he? Shesmiled to herself. She knew that she had power. What handsome cleverwoman does not know it? Men had desired her--a Russian duke, an Italianprince. And an Austrian archduke even, braving the parental ire, hadwished to marry her, willing even to sacrifice his princely prerogativesif she would have said the word. Hugh Renwick----She swallowedbravely. .. . But the sense of her power over men gave her a new courageto meet Captain Goritz with a smile upon her lips while she summoned insecret all her feminine instinct to aid her in the unequal struggle, agame needing both caution and daring, a game for high stakes--in whichperhaps no quarter would be given. 

As they approached the environs of Vienna, the car now moved at areduced speed and boldly chose the main highroads. Twice they werestopped and examined. This showed that all the machinery of thetelegraph was now in operation, but the touring car did not answer tothe given description and Captain Goritz's air of surprise and annoyancewas so genuine that there was little delay. 

"Our friends of the Mährische-Höhe are fortunately still frightened orelse quite satisfied with the green limousine, " he laughed. "We shall gothrough, I think. "

"Shall we be in time?" asked Marishka. 

The German shrugged and looked at his watch. "We shall be in Vienna intwenty minutes. "

Marishka made no comment. As their journey neared its ending sherealized that she was very tired, but the incentive that, had spurredher last night and all day still gave her strength to cope with whateverwas to come. 

"To the Embassy, " Goritz whispered, "and fast!"

He had mounted again into the seat beside the chauffeur, and so Marishkadid not question him, but his back was eloquent of determination. Theydrove boldly into the Ringstrasse and turned rapidly into a side street. Here the machine stopped again and Captain Goritz stood at the door ofthe tonneau waiting for her to descend. He led the way, walking rapidly, while Marishka struggled beside him as fast as her stiffened limbspermitted. 

"The Ambassador can succeed where we should fail. He must procure aninterview for you. I think it may be managed unless----" He paused. "Butwe shall see. "

Silently Marishka followed into the Metternichgasse and up the steps ofthe Embassy and into a lofty salon where Captain Goritz bade her wait, and disappeared. A gloomy room with dingy frescoes of impossible cupidsand still more impossible roses. Roses--the _leit motif_ of her tragedy!There were mirrors--many mirrors, all of which seemed to be reflectingher pallid face. She was weary and covered with dust, but not so wearyas she was desperate. Why should she wait again, while Sophie Chotek washere--here in Vienna. Unable to remain seated, she rose and walked aboutthe room, the eternal feminine impelling a rearrangement of her hat andveil at the long mirror near the upper end of the room. Beside her was awindow which opened upon a small court. Opposite this window was anotherwindow from which came sound of voices. She listened. It was herprivilege, for they were speaking of her. 

". .. I acted upon my own judgment, Excellency. There seemed nothing elseto do. The Countess Strahni has given me her word of honor. She willkeep it. "

"But the telegraph----"

"Sealed----"

"Impossible!"

"I beg you to try it--at once. "

"Ah--the telephone!"

Marishka heard the clicking of the instrument and the voice again askingfor a number. Silence. And then, --"I do not understand. .. . " A pause. "_Ach--so!_" Another click and tinkle of the bell. "_Donnerwetter_, HerrHauptmann! You are right. They say there is a temporary derangement ofthe system. "

Another bell sounded. A door opened and shut. Then a question in thesame voice. 

"Graf von Mendel, the Archduke Franz reached Vienna this afternoon withthe Duchess on the way to Sarajevo. Where are they now?"

Another voice replied, "I do not know, Excellency. They were at prayersin the Capuchin Church. "

"When does their train leave Vienna?"

"At six--from the Staats Bahnhof--Excellency. "

"It is six o'clock now, " cried the other voice in dismay. "We are toolate----"

Marishka heard no more. It was enough. Too late! She had failed. Hersacrifice, her atonement, --fruitless. She sank into a chair and buriedher face in her hands, trying to think. But in her head was a dull chaosof sounds, echoes of her wild ride, and her body swayed as she sat. Shehad never fainted, but for a moment it seemed that she lostconsciousness. She found herself presently staring through her fingersat the pattern in the gray aubusson carpet--and wondering where she was. Then she heard the voices again and remembered that she must listen. 

The voice of the one they called Excellency was speaking. 

"_Herr Gott_, Goritz! Austria's mad archdukes! The telegraph alsoclosed! It is unbelievable. I must send a message in code to Berlin. "

"It would be delayed, " said Goritz dryly. 

"But something must be done----"

"If you will permit----"

"Speak. "

"Excellency, this is a desperate game. I thought perhaps we shouldarrive in time to get a message through. But Herr Windt has wasted notime. We must suit our actions to the emergency----"

"Of course. But how?"

"Go to Sarajevo--at once. "

"But I----"

"Not you, Excellency. I shall go. A railroad book, Graf Mendel, if youplease. Today is the twenty-sixth. The Archduke goes by way of Budapest. We can save several hours, I think, by way of Gratz and Agram--if thereis a train tonight. "

"And the Countess Strahni?"

"Your Excellency may well see her usefulness merely in telling what hashappened in her efforts to reach the ear of the Duchess of Hohenberg. Noword from you to Archduke Franz could be more convincing----"

"_Ja wohl_, even if I could send it----"

"And you cannot--of that I am convinced. "

Another voice broke in. 

"A train at eight--Excellency--by way of Oedenburg and Brück--reachingMarburg in the morning----"

"Good!"

"And from there, " added Goritz, "by automobile along the new militaryroad through Brod. We might reach Sarajevo tomorrow night--surely bySunday morning. "

"If that would not be too late. "

"It is the only thing to do. "

A silence. And then--

"The Countess Strahni is here?"

"Yes, Excellency. "

"You will make proper preparations to leave at once--secretly--youunderstand. I will secure the necessary papers. "

"_Zu befehl_, Excellency----"

Without waiting to hear the conclusion of the interview Marishka movedaway from the window to the further end of the room, and when Goritzcame some moments later she stood looking out upon the traffic of thestreet. Fortunately dissimulation was not difficult, as the growingdarkness of the room hid her face. 

"We are too late, " said Captain Goritz. "The Archduke's train has gone. "

"How terrible!" muttered Marishka. 

"Are you prepared to go on, Countess Strahni?"

"Yes--yes, if----" she paused. 

"To Sarajevo--tonight--at once?"

"Yes--at once. "

She realized that she was repeating his words like a parrot, but sheseemed to be speaking, moving as in a dream. Captain Goritz came closerand examined her face in the dim light of the window. 

"You are tired?"

"A little----"

"I am sorry. I wish I could spare you further trouble. "

"It does not matter. "

Her voice was very close to tears. 

He paused uncertainly for a moment. 

"Countess Strahni, we leave at eight by the night train. I shall makearrangements for your comfort, a sleeping compartment. In the meanwhileyou may go upstairs to a guest room of the Embassy and rest. If you willwrite a note asking for a valise with necessary articles of apparel, Iwill see that it is brought to you. A dark suit and heavy veil. "

He walked to the side of the room and touched a button. "You see, " hesaid with a smile, "I am trusting you. "

"You are very kind. "

"_Bitte_. You will not mention the Embassy. "

"No. "

A man-servant appeared. 

"His Excellency wishes the Countess Strahni to occupy a room upstairs. You will inform one of the upstairs maids that everything is to be donefor her comfort. You will also bring to his Excellency's office a notewhich Countess Strahni will write. "

The man bowed, then stood aside while Marishka went out. 

"At half-past seven, Countess----"

She nodded over her shoulder to where the German stood with bowed headlooking after her. 

CHAPTER X

DIAMOND CUTS DIAMOND

Captain Leo Goritz made it a habit to neglect no detail. There was but alittle more than an hour of time, but he acted swiftly. At his requestthe Ambassador procured money, and from the War Ministry the necessarypapers, a safe conduct for an officer of the Fifteenth Army Corps, returning to his regiment at Sarajevo with his wife. Graf von Mendelattended to the secret arrangements for their departure from the Embassyand booked the passage. Captain Goritz sat at a desk in a privateoffice, upon which was a small copper teapot above a spirit lamp. Thewater in the pot was steaming. A servant knocked at the door and broughthim a letter. 

"Ah! You followed my directions about the paper and ink?"

"As you ordered, Herr Hauptmann. And a maid is with the CountessStrahni. "

"Very good. Wait outside and be prepared to take a message in anautomobile. "

"_Zu befehl_, Herr Hauptmann. "

As the servant reached the door Goritz halted him. 

"The room which the Countess Strahni has is not on the side toward theBritish Embassy?"

"No, Herr Hauptmann. "

"Very good. You may go. "

The man withdrew, closing the door gently. And Captain Goritz took thenote of the Countess Strahni and held it in front of the copper teapot, moving it to and fro, the back of the envelope in the jet of steam. In amoment the flap of the envelope curled back and opened. The thing wassimplicity itself. He took two slips of paper out of the envelope andread them through attentively, smiling amusedly as he did so. Thenwithout waste of time, he put one of the notes before him, and drawingsome writing paper nearer wrote steadily for ten minutes, tearing upsheet after sheet and burning each in turn. At last apparently satisfiedwith what he had written he put the sheet aside and burned the originalnote in which he had been so interested. Then he addressed several smallenvelopes, glancing from time to time at the other note of the CountessStrahni upon the desk in front of him. The envelopes all bore the words, HERR HUGH RENWICK Strohgasse No. 26 Wien. 

At last, critically selecting one of those he had written, he burned theothers, and folding the note enclosed it in the smaller envelope, whichhe sealed carefully, putting it with the Countess Strahni's letter intothe original and larger envelope, which he pasted anew and carefullyclosed. Then he rang the bell, and when the man appeared:

"You will take this note to the given address. You will explain that thenote within is to be delivered tonight at eight o'clock. Then you willwait twenty minutes for a suitcase or valise and bring it here. That'sall. And hasten. "

"_Zu befehl_, Herr Hauptmann. "

Goritz sat for a moment--just a moment of contemplation. It was merely athread of possibility, a chance, if other expedients had failed, butthoroughly worth taking. His man Kronberg was a good shot, but he mighthave missed, and if so Europe was large, and Herr Renwick clever. Thehook of Leo Goritz was baited with a delectable morsel--mostdelectable--it would have been childish not to use it. Where MarishkaStrahni was, there also was the heart of Renwick--the Englishman withthe nine lives--the last of which must be taken. 

This duty accomplished, Goritz went to a room upstairs, bathed anddressed in the uniform which had been provided, packing a large bag withseveral objects besides clothing and necessities of the toilet, including two automatic pistols, and went down to the Embassy office. All this had occupied an hour. He was awaiting Marishka when, somewhatrefreshed and newly attired, she descended and entered the Embassyoffice. His Excellency rose and bowed over her hand--

[Illustration: His Excellency rose and bowed over her hand--]

"Captain Goritz tells me that you have consented to help us in thisextraordinary affair. I wish you Godspeed, Countess Strahni, and a safereturn, " he added with some deliberateness. 

She glanced at Captain Goritz who stood in a military attitude, but heonly smiled politely and said nothing. 

"I thank Your Excellency for your hospitality and protection, " she saidslowly. "I am sure that I shall be quite safe with Captain Goritz----"

"Ober Lieutenant Carl von Arnstorf, at your service, " corrected Goritz, "of the Third Regiment, Fifteenth Army Corps. "

Marishka smiled. 

"And I?"

"Frau Ober Lieutenant von Arnstorf, " said Goritz shortly. 

"It is necessary, I suppose?"

Goritz bowed, and his Excellency added, "It simplifies matters greatly, Countess Strahni. "

Marishka shrugged. It was no time for quibbling. 

"The way is clear?" asked the Ambassador of von Mendel. 

"Quite, Excellency. The side street has been patrolled for ten minutes. "

Goritz opened a door which led to a small staircase, and he and Marishkadescended and went through the kitchens to a small street or alley wherea machine was awaiting them. A question--a reply from a man who hadbrought down their bags, and they moved slowly out of the alley into asmall street. 

A bath, food, and a glass of wine had restored Marishka, and she nowfaced the immediate future with renewed hope and courage. Apart from thebelief, fostered by the careful detail of her companions arrangements, that she might still be successful in reaching the ear of the Duchessbefore the royal train reached Sarajevo, there was an appeal in thehazard of her venture with Captain Goritz. He was a clever man and adangerous one, who, to gain his ends, whatever they were, would nothesitate to stoop to means beneath the dignity of honorable manhood--anintriguer, a master craftsman in the secret and recondite, a pervertedgentleman, trained in a school which eliminated compassion, sentimentand all other human attributes in the attainment of its object and theconsummation of its plans. And yet Marishka did not fear Captain Goritz. There is a kind of feminine courage which no man can understand, that isnot physical nor even mental, born perhaps of that mysterious relationwhich modern philosophy calls sex antagonism--a spiritual hardihoodwhich deals in the metaphysics of emotion and pays no tribute to anyform of materiality. Captain Goritz, whatever his quality, to Marishkawas merely a man. And whatever the forces at his command, her promise, the half uttered threat as to her fate--which she had refused to takeseriously--she was aware that she was not defenseless. The elaboratenessof the Ambassador's manner, the graces of Graf von Mendel, and CaptainGoritz's now covert glances advised her that she was still armed withher woman's weapons. Marishka was young, but her two years in the lifeof the gayest court in Europe had sharpened her perceptions amazingly, but she knew that if beauty is a woman's letter of credit worth its facevalue with a man, it can also be a dangerous liability. Captain Goritzdiffered from the gay idlers of the Viennese Court. The signs ofinterest he had given her were slight, --a courtesy perhaps a trifle toostudied, a lingering glance of his curiously penetrating eyes whichmight even have been impelled by professional curiosity, athoughtfulness for her comfort which might have been any woman's due, and yet Marishka did not despair. 

They reached the railway station uneventfully, where she learned thatmen from the Embassy had followed on bicycles as a matter of precaution, and the travelers found their compartment and were safely installed. Shesank into her place silently and looked out of the window into the blurof moving lights as Vienna was left behind them. Upon the seat oppositeher sat the newly created officer of the Fifteenth Army Corps, OberLieutenant Carl von Arnstorf, looking rather smart in his borrowedplumage. The intimacy of their new situation did not frighten her, forshe thought that already she had read enough of her companion'scharacter to know that at least so far she was on safe ground. She gavehim permission to smoke without his asking it, and this, it seemed, madefor the beginnings of a new informality in their relations. 

"There isn't the slightest reason, " she said with a smile, "that youshould be uncomfortable. Since you are doomed for the present to sharemy imprisonment----"

"Doomed?" he exclaimed civilly. "You may be sure that I don't look uponsuch a doom with unhappiness, Countess. Are you very tired?"

"A little. I shall sleep presently. "

"Do you know, " he said as he thoughtfully inhaled his cigarette, "forthe first time in my rather variegated career, I find myself in a falseposition. "

"Really! How?"

"I will explain. I have had much dealing to do with women--with womenof a certain sort. It is a part of my trade. Were you unscrupulous, intriguing, you would meet your match. As it is you have me at adisadvantage. "

"I?"

"I have felt it--from the first. Even a secret agent has eyes, dimensions, senses. I am a little abashed as if in the presence ofphenomena. Your helplessness and innocence, your loyalty andunselfishness--you must be sure that I am not unaware of them. "

Marishka laughed easily. 

"You restore my faith in human kind, Captain Goritz. You'll admit thatyour attitude toward me has been far from reassuring. "

"Countess, I beg of you----"

"The alternative to disobeying your wishes--destruction--death!" shewent on, shuddering prettily. 

"I am merely a cog in the great wheel of efficiency. I spokefiguratively----"

"But of course you know, " she broke in quickly, with another laugh, "that I didn't believe you. I haven't really been frightened at all. How_could_ I be? You're not in the least alarming. To face the alternativeyou imposed would take courage. I am easily frightened at a mouse. Thededuction is obvious----"

He laughed and then said soberly, "It is far from my wish to frightenyou. That kind of brutality has its justification, but this is not theoccasion, nor you the woman. "

"I was sure of it. If I hadn't been I shouldn't have come with you. "

"Ah!" Goritz straightened and stared at her. "But--your promise----"

"I should have broken that and asked the first _gendarme_ in theRingstrasse to take me home. You admit that the plan would have beenfeasible?"

He shrugged. 

"The Countess Strahni's word of honor----"

"Honor is as honor does and I am here, Captain Goritz. "

"I trust that you will have no reason to regret your decision. "

"That sounds like another threat. "

"It isn't. I actually mean what I say. A secret agent doesn't permithimself such a luxury very often, " he laughed. 

"Then you're not going to murder me offhand----"

"Countess, I protest----"

"You wish my last moments to be graced with courtesy. I shall at leastdie like a rose--in aromatic pain. "

Her irony was not lost on him. He was silent a moment, regarding hersoberly. 

"Countess, you are too clever to be unkind--your lips too lovely toutter words so painful. I could not do you harm--it is impossible. Ipray that you will believe me. "

"I am merely taking you at face value, Herr Hauptmann, " she returnedcoolly. "You have told me that you are merely a thinking machine, or acog in the wheel of efficiency, which plans my elimination----"

"A figure of speech. Your silence was what I meant. "

"Ah, silence! Perhaps. It seems that I have already said enough. "

"Quite, " he smiled. "You have set Europe in a turmoil--anotherHelen----"

"With another Paris in your background?" she shot at him. 

He smiled, lowering his gaze to the ash of his cigarette. 

"You speak in riddles. "

"It's your trade to solve them. "

"Do not underestimate my intelligence, I understand you, " he laughed. "It is a fortunate thing for me that you are not a secret agent. Myoccupation would be gone. "

"It is a villainous occupation. "

"Why?"

"Because no secret agent can be himself. It's rather a pity, because I'dlike to like you. "

"And don't you--a little?"

"I might if I thought that I could believe in you. If a man is not trueto himself, he cannot be true to those that wish to be his friends. "

He was silent for a moment. 

"I think perhaps, " he said quietly at last, "that you do me aninjustice. I am merely the servant of my government----"

"Which, stops at no means--even death. "

"I too look death in the face, Countess, " he said with a slow smile. "Itlurks in every byway--hangs in every bush. "

"It is frightful, " she sighed, "to live like that, preying upon others, and being preyed upon--when the world is so beautiful. "

"The world is just what men have made it. I, too, once dreamed----" Hiswords trailed off into silence, and he looked out of the window into thenight. 

"And now?" she asked. 

Something in the tone of her voice made him straighten and glance ather. He had seen the same look in other women's eyes. 

"And now, I dream no more, Countess Strahni, " he said abruptly. 

Marishka's gaze fell before his. 

"I am sorry, " she said. 

There was another silence in which Captain Goritz took out anothercigarette. 

"I do not think that I quite--understand you, Countess Strahni----"

"Naturally, " she broke in. "You have known me--let us see--a little lessthan twelve hours. "

Her smile disarmed him. 

"You are far from transparent, Countess, " he said quizzically. 

"And if I were?"

"It would probably be because you wished me to see something beyond, "with a laugh. 

"To one who deals in mystery and intrigue, sincerity must always bebewildering. "

"H--m! I was once stabbed in the back by a woman who was too sincere. "

The smile left Marishka's face. "How terrible!"

"It was. I nearly died. It was my mistake, you see. "

Marishka was silent for a long moment. And then, "I'm afraid, Captain Goritz, that the world has left you bitter. "

"To the secret agent the world is neither sweet nor bitter. He has nosense of taste or of feeling. He is merely a pair of ears--a pair ofeyes which nothing must escape----"

"Deaf to music--blind to beauty, " sighed Marishka. "From the bottom ofmy heart I pity you. "

Captain Goritz gazed at her for a long moment, in silence, then his eyesnarrowed slightly and his voice was lowered. 

"It is rather curious, Countess Strahni, that you should hold in suchlow esteem a profession practiced by one of your most favored friends. "

"Mine?" she questioned, startled. 

"Herr Renwick, " he replied dryly, "is a secret agent of the Serbiangovernment. "

A gasp escaped her, and she struggled for her composure at the mentionof Hugh Renwick's name. 

"That is impossible. "

"I beg your pardon, " he said politely, "I happen to know it to be thetruth. "

She laughed uneasily. 

"Until two weeks ago Herr Renwick was an attaché of the BritishEmbassy, " she asserted. 

"Of course. But he has been also in the pay of the Serbiangovernment--Austria's enemy. "

"You are misinformed, " she gasped. 

"I beg your pardon. England and Serbia are on excellent terms. You willnot deny that Herr Renwick has been to Belgrade in the last two weeks?"

"You--you----" she paused in consternation, aware again of this man'somniscience. 

"The details had not been clear until my return to Vienna. Think for amoment. Herr Renwick visits Belgrade and Sarajevo while a plan isarranged to take the life of the Archduke Franz. It is well within thebounds of possibility----"

"Your skill in invention does you credit, " she put in quickly, "but HerrRenwick has no interest in the death of the Archduke. On the contrary, he has done what he could to save him. "

"You will admit that it was Renwick who gave you the information of thisplot. "

"Yes--but----"

"One moment. You'll also admit that he gave no authority for hisinformation. "

"But he did what he could to help me warn the Archduke. "

"H--m! You did not know perhaps that it is to Serbia's interest and toRenwick's to warn the Archduke. Austria needs a pretext to make war onSerbia. Every diplomat in Europe is aware of that. If the Archduke isattacked in Sarajevo, war will be declared on Serbia within a week. "

He paused a moment watching Marishka's face, intent upon its changingexpressions. 

"Herr Renwick is no enemy of Austria, " she asserted firmly. 

"If he is no enemy of Austria, how could he act for the Serbiangovernment, which follows instructions from St. Petersburg? Herr Renwickknew of the plot against the life of the Archduke, for he told you ofit. Where did he learn of it? In Sarajevo or Belgrade, where it washatched. Who informed him? His friends of the Serbian Secret Service wholive among the anarchists at Sarajevo and Belgrade. "

"I do not believe you. "

"You must. Serbia has done what she can to prevent this crime. HisExcellency tells me that today the Serbian Minister in Vienna pleadedwith the Austrian Ministry to use its efforts to have the visit of theArchduke Franz postponed. He was ignored. "

He paused and flecked his cigarette out of the window, while Marishkagazed straight before her, trying to think clearly of Hugh Renwick. ASerbian spy! It was impossible. And yet every word that this man spokehurt her cruelly. Renwick had been in Sarajevo and Belgrade, for he hadtold her so. He alone of all persons outside the Secret Government ofAustria had been in a position to know the details of the plot and toprepare her for them. He had sought to use her in warning the Duchess, not as an agent of humanity and Christian charity, but as the emissaryof the cowardly and vicious government across the border, Austria'senemy, Serbia the regicide and the degenerate, about the fate of whichhung the peace of Europe. Hugh Renwick!

Her mind refused her. Fatigue and want of sleep were making herlight-headed. She would not believe. She shut her eyes and by an effortof will managed to get control of her voice. "I find that I am verytired, Captain Goritz, " she said quietly. 

"Ah, it was very thoughtless--inconsiderate of me, " he said, with suddenaccents of civility. "It is very painful to believe ill of those to whomone is attached, " he finished suavely. 

"You are mistaken, " she said slowly. "There is no attachment betweenHerr Renwick and me. "

"A friend, let us say, then, " he put in keenly, "in whom one isdisappointed. "

"It is nothing to me, Captain Goritz, " she said, meeting his eyesbravely, "what Herr Renwick is or does. "

He smiled and bowed. 

"Still, " he said with his exasperating pertinacity, "it is of courseinteresting to know the truth. It would perhaps be still moreinteresting to know what Herr Renwick has to say in regard to thematter. "

"I do not care what Herr Renwick would have to say. I do not expect tosee Herr Renwick again, Captain Goritz, in Vienna or elsewhere. "

He smiled at her politely. 

"But you will admit, it is not within the bounds of possibility. HerrRenwick is clever--indefatigable----"

Marishka started up in her seat. 

"You mean?"

"Merely that Herr Renwick is not easily discouraged. I would not be inthe least surprised if he followed us on to Sarajevo. "

Marishka stared at her companion for a moment and then sank back in herseat. 

"Oh, " she gasped. 

Her long sustained effort to keep pace with events had been too much forher. Her faculties failed to respond, and she closed her eyes in anattempt to obliterate all sight and sound. Dimly she heard the voice ofCaptain Goritz above the grinding of the brakes of the train. 

"I am sorry that you are so tired, Countess Strahni. I shall now leaveyou to your own devices. We have reached Brück, and I shall go toanother compartment. I shall arrange with the guard to see to yourcomfort. "

The train stopped and the guard opened the door. 

"Good-night, _liebchen_, " he said with a smile. And as she opened hereyes in astonishment, she heard him say to the guard:

"Frau Lieutenant von Arnstorf desires to sleep. I am going to smoke witha friend in the adjoining carriage. She is not to be disturbed. Youunderstand. "

The man saluted and closed the door, and Marishka was alone. With aneffort she rose and mechanically made her dispositions for sleep, thinking meanwhile of the words of Captain Goritz and feeling a dull andunhappy sense of disappointment and defeat. There was a latent crueltyunder his air of civility which astonished and terrified her. And therevelations with regard to Hugh Renwick, astounding though they were, had in them just enough of a leaven of fact to make them almost if notquite credible. Hugh Renwick, the man she had chosen--a friend, a paidservant of atrocious Serbia! She could not--would not believe it. Andyet this man's knowledge of European politics was simply uncanny. If hiscivility had disarmed her earlier in the day, if she had been able tospeak lightly of the threat of her imprisonment, the fear that hadalways been in her heart was now a blind terror--not of the man'spassions but of his lack of them. He was cold, impenetrable, impervious--a mind, a body without a soul. He haunted her. She lay onher couch and stared wide-eyed at vacancy. The sound of his voice stillrang in her ears. She wondered now why the memory of it was sounpleasant to her. And then she thought she knew that it was because themagnetism of his eyes was missing. His body was a mere shell covering anintricate piece of machinery. She tried to think what it must be like tobe actuated by a mind without a soul. She had pledged herself obedienceto this man, trusting to her implicit faith in the ultimate goodness ofevery human creature to bring her through this venture safe from harm. 

Vaguely, as though in dreams, she remembered that this man had thoughtthat Hugh Renwick would follow her to Sarajevo. She had written him anote of warning telling him to leave for England at once. Would hedisregard her message, discover where she had gone, and if so, would hefollow? Renwick's sins, whatever they were, seemed less important inthis unhappy moment of her necessity. He had failed her in a crucialhour----

She started up from her couch a smile upon her lips. Hugh Renwick was noSerbian spy. The man, Goritz, lied. Hugh Renwick and Goritz--it was notdifficult to choose! One a man who let no personal suffering--not eventhe contempt of the woman he loved interfere with his loyalty to hiscountry; the other, one who used a woman's loyalty as a means to anend--cruelly, relentlessly--which was the liar? Not Hugh Renwick. Wearyand tortured, but still smiling, Marishka sank back upon her couch andat last, mercifully, she slept. 

CHAPTER XI

THE MAN IN BLACK

It was after dark when the train bearing Herr Windt and Renwick reachedthe Franz Josef station, the stolen machine of Altensteig having beenleft at Budweis with Hadwiger, who was to return it to its owner and inthe name of the state to make proper arrangements for compensation. HerrWindt, sadder if no wiser, took a _fiacre_ and drove off hastily, leaving Renwick to his own devices. 

To the Englishman, Marishka's case seemed desperate, for though theidentity of the driver of the green limousine was unknown, hiscleverness in eluding the net which Herr Windt had spread for himindicated him to be an agent of the Wilhelmstrasse, a personal emissaryof those near the Kaiser, who was moving with great skill, using everymeans of a great organization to keep Marishka's mission and identity asecret. But Renwick was not the sort of a man that gives up easily. Inthe back of his head an idea persisted, and he planned to follow itsdevelopment for good or ill to its conclusion. 

The correctness of his surmise as to the direction of Marishka's flightin the green limousine had convinced him that Vienna was not her finaldestination. He, too, took a _fiacre_ and drove at once to the apartmentof Baroness Racowitz. Marishka's guardian was away, but a fee to theAustrian maid put him in possession of the facts. 

"No, Herr Renwick, " she replied, "Countess Strahni did not return to theapartment, but she was in Vienna and had sent for a suitcase andclothing, which were delivered to a man who waited in an automobile. "

"What sort of a man?"

"I couldn't exactly say, sir, a servant, a butler, perhaps; but therewas a note for Herr Renwick. "

"Ah--give it to me. "

"My instructions were to deliver it at eight o'clock at Herr Renwick'sresidence in the Strohgasse. I have but just returned from there. "

Renwick started down the steps and then turned. "There was nothingelse?"

"Nothing. "

"You do not know where Countess Strahni is?"

"I know nothing more than I have told you, sir. "

Renwick rushed out to the waiting _fiacre_, and bade the driver go attop speed. A note from Marishka! Under different circumstances thiswould not perhaps have been surprising. The difference that the changein their personal relations had wrought in the last few weeks, her moodduring their hurried flight to Konopisht, her desertion of him, all ofthese circumstances made the fact of her writing to him the moresignificant. She had accepted his services in the escape from Windt, because he had forced them upon her, but he could not forget that shehad afterward repudiated him and fled from him without a word ofexplanation of her sudden decision. His own personal danger had warnedhim that Marishka, his companion eavesdropper, would also be in jeopardyat the hands of those unseen forces which were working in the interestsof the Wilhelmstrasse. Marishka had thrown herself into their power andwas perhaps at this very moment in danger. But he was soon to know thefacts. At his apartment his servant handed him the note and hastily hetore it open and read. 

 I have gone to Sarajevo. I must do what I can, but I need you. I am a prisoner and in great personal danger if we are stopped en route. Therefore move secretly, telling no one. Go to the Hotel Europa, where I will try to communicate with you. 

 M. S. 

Renwick read the communication through twice, and then glanced at hiswatch. Nine o'clock. There was no time to go to the British Embassy inthe Metternichgasse, though he would have liked to know if anything hadbeen seen of Marishka at the German Embassy which was just adjoining. But he wrote a note to Sir Herbert, then called his servant, who packeda bag while Renwick bathed and dressed. At ten he was seated in thetrain for Budapest--a slow train that he had taken two weeks before onhis mission to Belgrade. 

He had made this move on impulse, without second thought, for Marishka'smessage as to her destination again justified his surmises andcorroborated his fears as to her perilous situation. No other thoughtssave those of her danger and her need of him had entered his head, andhe had moved quickly, aware that any loss of time might be fatal to hishope of helping her. But seated in his compartment of the railwaycarriage, he had time to consider the note in all its aspects and in itsrelation to the extraordinary events of the day. There were but twoother occupants of the carriage, an old gentleman with a white beard, and a young Hungarian officer--a vacuous looking youth inuniform--neither of them obviously of material from which secret serviceagents are made. After the experience at the Konopisht railway station, Renwick had no humor to be shot at in such close quarters, where therange would necessarily be deadly. He settled his automatic comfortablyin his pocket, and after another and more reassuring inspection of histravelling companions he took out Marishka's note and examined itcarefully. 

The knowledge he possessed as to her situation suggested caution. Anagency which could attempt to take his life would not be above forgery. Marishka's hand? There seemed no doubt of it. It was not difficult forRenwick to remember the peculiarities of her angular writing. The noteshe had received from her, invitations, appointments, apologies--veryoften apologies, he remembered with a slow smile--dainty, faintlyscented missives on gray paper which bore her crest, differed from thishurriedly written scrawl on a heavier paper which he had no means ofidentifying. Only upon closer inspection did he discover a hesitation inthe lower curves and upward strokes of the letters which were notcharacteristic of the decisive Marishka. 

Without being certain of its spuriousness, he came to the conclusionthat because of its contents, the note was for the present to beregarded as an object for suspicion. Would Marishka--the Marishka who afew hours ago had treated him with such acidulous politeness--write, "Ineed you"? Could contemptuous silence be turned so quickly into urgentappeal? Her danger made such a transition a possibility, and if she wasnow ready to recant, all the more reason why he should obey. The onething about the message which struck a jarring note was the request forsecrecy under plea of personal danger. And if a forgery--why should hisenemies speak of her personal danger? A lure! So obvious a one that onlythe veriest dolt could be deceived by it. The situation then resolveditself into this: He was invited to go to Sarajevo--if by Marishka, tosave her from personal danger or abduction by her captor--if by theGerman agent, with Marishka as a lure, to be the victim of a conspiracywhich planned either murder or imprisonment. And, however keen his ownprescience, Renwick realized that the note had so far succeeded in itsobject. He was on his way. 

He was too tired tonight to do the situation justice, for the blow atthe back of his head had taken some of his strength, and he realizedthat without sleep his utility would be impaired for the morrow. Andafter a glance at his companions, he decided to chance it, and settlinghimself comfortably, he was soon heavily sleeping. 

Renwick was awakened some while later by the young Hungarian officer'scursing as he stumbled over the Englishman's feet. A glance at his watchshowed Renwick that he had slept four hours. It was dawn. Beside him atthe further end of the seat the old man with the white beard stillslept. Renwick glanced out of the window and found that the station wasVacz. They were twenty or thirty miles from the Hungarian capital. Themorning was cool, and Renwick stepped down from the open door upon theplatform and stretched his limbs, sniffing the air eagerly. He feltrenewed, invigorated, and the ache at his head was gone. He had made noplans beyond the very necessary one of getting money at the BritishConsulate and taking the first train south. The difficulties in makingproper connections, the probability that somewhere he must desert therailroad and beg, buy, or steal a motor car, and the ever present dangerof a shot from a German agent confronted him, but in his early morninghumor nothing seemed impossible. He would get through in some way andfind a means of reaching Marishka! And if Marishka were already spiritedaway? He would find her and the green limousine chap with whom he wouldhave a reckoning. 

Impatient of the delay of the train, he took out his cigarette case andwas about to smoke, when the warning of the guard was shouted, and hegot into his carriage, followed by another traveler who clambered in atthe last moment and sank into the seat opposite. As the train moved, thetwo men scanned each other in the light of the growing dawn which nowvied with the flickering light of the overhead lamp in theircompartment. The stranger was a very tall man in dark clothes, who gavean instant impression of long rectangularity. He had a long nose, a longupper lip which hung over a thin slit of a mouth which resembled abuttonhole slightly frayed by wear. His chin was long and square and, like his upper lip, blue, as though a stiff black beard were in constantbattle with a razor. His eyes were large and regarded Renwick with amild melancholy as he bowed the Englishman a good morning. Renwicknodded curtly. He had planned another nap and hardly relished sittingawake and staring at the sepulchral visitor. Where last night'sweariness had sealed his eyes to the ever-present sense of danger, morning brought counsel of caution and alertness. The leanness of thehuge intruder was of the kind that suggested endurance rather thanmalnutrition, a person who for all his pacific and rather gloomyexterior, could be counted on to be extremely dangerous. 

In a situation where any man might prove to be his hidden enemy, Renwickwas learning to be wary. And so upon his guard for any movement ofhostility, he sat bolt upright and smoked his cigarette, puffing itindolently into the face of his solemn companion. Beyond the firstgreeting, no words passed between them, and the Englishman, more at hisease, looked out of the window at the low marshlands along the river andplanned the business which brought him. Day came swiftly, and before thetrain reached the city the sun was up in smiling splendor, melting thepale fogbanks of the Danube valley beneath its golden glow. 

At the Westbahnhof, Renwick got down, and bag in hand made his way tothe railway restaurant for a cup of coffee. The keen morning air hadmade him hungry, and he breakfasted like a man who does not know wherehis next meal is coming from. It was not until he paid his check and gotup from the table that he noticed his gigantic companion of the traindoing likewise, but he gave the matter no thought, and getting into awaiting _fiacre_ drove to the British Consulate to make some necessaryarrangements, including the procuring of money for possible largeexpenses. The Archduke and Duchess, he discovered, had slept in theircar, which had been shifted to a train that had left for the south inthe early hours of the morning. The service on the road was none toogood, except that of the Orient Express, which had gone through lastnight, but by haste Renwick managed to catch the nine o'clock train forBelgrade, planning to get off it at Ujvidek and trust to Providence foran automobile. 

He was no sooner comfortably seated in his compartment andcongratulating himself upon its emptiness, which would permit ofopportunity for sleep, when the door was thrown open and his tallcompanion of the early morning solemnly entered. Renwick did not knowwhether to be surprised or angry, and finished by being both, glancingat the intruder through his monocle in a manner distinctly offensive. But the tall man if aware of the Englishman's antagonism gave no sign ofit, clasping his cotton umbrella with large bony hands and gazinggloomily at the passing landscape. 

An accidental meeting of two travelers bound in the same direction?Perhaps. But there was too much at stake for Renwick to be willing totake chances, and yet he could not kill and throw out of the window anentire stranger who looked like the proprietor of a small confectioneryshop, in mourning for a departed friend. Of course there was nothing tobe done, but the man's presence irritated Renwick. As the moments wenton, and the man still silently stared out of the window, Renwick'scholer diminished. The fellow was quite harmless, a person from whommurder and secret missions were miles asunder. If the man of the greenlimousine had foreseen that Renwick would take the nine o'clock trainfor Budapest and had set this behemoth upon him, the man would have madean attempt upon his life this morning in the ride between Vacz and thecapital. And how, since the telegraph lines were closed to the Germanagent, could this person have been put upon the scent? It hardly seemedpossible that this was an agent of Germany. And yet as the miles flewby, the stranger's silence, immobility and unchanging expression got onRenwick's nerves. He was in no mood to do a psychopathic duel with asphinx. 

The morning dragged slowly. At Szabadka he got down for lunch and wasnot surprised to see his traveling companion at his elbow, eating with adeliberation which gave Renwick a momentary hope that the train mightget off without him. Renwick was already in his carriage and the guardcalling when the fellow stalked majestically from the eating-roommunching at the remains of his _Böhmische Dalken_ and entered thecarriage, still clinging to the cotton umbrella, and quite oblivious ofthe powdered sugar with which he was liberally besmeared. Secret agent!The man was a joke--a rectangular comedy in monosyllables. 

There was no connection for Brod at Szabadka until late in the afternoonand Renwick hoped to make better time by going on to Ujvidek, a largetown, somewhat sophisticated, where the buying or hiring of a machinewould be a possibility. During the afternoon he took Marishka's letterfrom his pocket and studied it again, now quite oblivious of thecreature who had curiously enough resumed the same seat opposite him. And in his concentration upon the problem of the note the man was forthe moment forgotten. It was only when he glanced up quickly and quiteunintentionally that he saw the gaze of his neighbor eagerly watchinghim. It was only a fleeting glance, but in it, it seemed, the wholecharacter of his fellow traveler had changed. His hands still claspedthe umbrella, the sugar was still smeared upon his sallow cheeks, but itseemed that his eyes had glowed with a sudden intentness. A second laterwhen Renwick looked at him again, the man was staring dully at thepassing cornfields and vineyards and he thought he had been mistaken. Hewould have liked to know more of this fellow, and was again tempted totry to draw him out but the recollection of his former venture dismayedhim. So he relapsed into silence and lying back in his seat, one hand inhis pocket, he closed his eyes and feigned slumber, watching the manthrough his eyelashes. For a long while nothing happened. Then at lastas Renwick's breathing became regular the giant's head turned, and hiseyes regarded the Englishman stealthily. Renwick did not move. But hesaw his companion lean slightly forward while one hand left the umbrellahandle, unbuttoned his coat and then moved very slowly behind him. Thatwas enough for Renwick, who started upright and covered the man with hisautomatic. But the other had merely drawn a large and rather soiledhandkerchief from a pocket of his trousers and was in the act of blowinghis nose when he looked up and saw the impending blue muzzle ofRenwick's weapon. 

Then his jaw dropped and his eyes flew wide open. 

"_Herr Gott!_" he stammered in a husky whisper. "Don't shoot!"

Whether it was the pleasure of discovering that the man had at lastfound his tongue or whether the innocence of his purpose was explained, Renwick found himself much relieved. 

"Are you crazy?" the other was saying. "To draw a pistol upon me likethat! What do you mean?"

But Renwick still held the pistol pointed in his neighbor's direction. 

"I will trouble you to stand, " he said quietly, "with your hands up andback toward me. "

The man stared at him wide eyed but at last obeyed, lifting his hugeback to its full height, and Renwick ran an investigating hand over hiship pockets. They were empty. 

"Thanks, " he said at last, "you may be seated. " He felt a good deal of afool but he managed an uncomfortable laugh as he returned the automaticto his pocket. "You see, " he explained, "I owe you an apology----"

"Yes, sir--such an outrage upon my dignity. I do not understand----"

"Let me explain, " went on Renwick, feeling more idiotic every moment; "Ihave an enemy who seeks my life and when you put your hand in yourpocket I thought that you----"

"It is strange that a gentleman in a railway carriage may not bepermitted to blow his nose without being threatened with a pistol, " hesaid hotly. 

"But you will admit, my friend, that your always being next to me intrains is at least suspicious. "

"_Donnerwetter!_ And why, for the same reason, should I not besuspicious of _you_?"

"I trust at least that you have no enemies who seek _your_ life. "

"Who knows?" he shrugged. "Every man has enemies. I will thank you, sir, to keep your pistol in your pocket. "

"Willingly. And in return I may say that you may blow your nose as oftenas you please. "

"_Danke_, " with some irony. "You are very kind. I suppose, if whenreaching Ujvidek, I should happen to be going in your direction youwould shoot me without further question. "

"That would depend on which direction you are taking, " replied Renwick, with a sense of abortive humor. 

"I go to Brod--thence to Sarajevo----"

"The devil you do----!" cried Renwick in English, starting forward andstaring at the man. And then more calmly in German, "And how are you going?"

The fellow paused and looked out of the window again. "As to that--I donot know, " he said slowly. 

He had resumed his air of settled gloom, the dignity of which wassomewhat marred by a vestige of powdered sugar upon his chin, but inspite of the low esteem in which Renwick had held him, all his formersuspicions of the creature rushed over him in a moment. 

"And suppose that I, too, should be going to Brod and Sarajevo?" heasked brusquely. 

The stranger turned toward him a slow bovine gaze which graduallyrelaxed into the semblance of a smile. 

"_Ach so_, " he replied blandly, "then it is just possible that we may gotogether. "

His manner was sphinxlike again, and the Englishman eyed him curiously, feeling a strong desire to kick him in the shins. But luckily herefrained, saying coolly. 

"And what means of transportation do you propose to employ? Of courseyou know there are no trains----"

"_Natürlich. _"

"Then how shall you travel?"

"And you, Herr Shooter, how shall you go?"

Renwick smiled indulgently. 

"If I took an automobile----"

"I should be constrained to go with you. "

"Constrained?"

"If you would invite me--or condescend to permit me to pay my share ofthe expenses. "

The man's personality was slowly expanding. Second class confectionerswho venture on wild goose chases were rare in Renwick's acquaintance. Hewas becoming interesting as well as elusive, but Renwick was in no humorfor further quibbling. 

"I regret that that is impossible. I go on alone, " he said decisively. 

"_Ach, so_, " said the other sadly. "That is too bad----" His wordstrailed off into a melancholy silence and he resumed his occupation oflooking out of the window. The incident in so far as Renwick wasconcerned, was concluded. 

At least he thought that. At Ujvidek, when Renwick, bag in hand, gotdown upon the station platform, the stranger stood beside him, fingeringhis cotton umbrella foolishly and looking this way and that. But whenthe Englishman after an inquiry of a loiterer, started in search of agarage, he found his fellow traveler at his heels, and the frown whichRenwick threw over his shoulder failed utterly to deter him from hispurpose--which clearly seemed to be that of continuing his journey inthe Englishman's company. 

When Renwick reached the garage and talked with the proprietor, aHungarian whose German was almost negligible, the man of the cottonumbrella abandoned the doorway which he had been darkening with hisshadow, and shuffled forward awkwardly. 

"If you will permit me, " he said solemnly. "I speak the Hungarian quitewell. I should be glad to interpret your wishes. "

The man's impertinence was really admirable. Renwick's desire to getforward on his long journey made him impatient of obstacles. Heshrugged. 

"Very well, then. Tell him I must have a machine and chauffeur to takeme to Sarajevo by way of Brod. I will pay him handsomely and in advance. I must travel today and all night. I must reach Sarajevo in themorning. "

"_Ach, so_, " said the stranger, and Renwick listened to the conversationthat ensued, endeavoring by the light of his small knowledge of thelanguage to make out what was said. But he was lost in the maze ofconsonants. 

In a moment the interpreter turned with a smile. 

"It is good. There is a machine. This man will drive himself. The priceis two hundred _kroner_ and the petrol. "

"Thank you. That is very good. I must leave within half an hour. "

Renwick produced money, the sight of which brought about an amazingactivity on the part of the garage man. Renwick strolled to and frooutside, alternately smoking and watching the preparations fordeparture, while the melancholy giant stood leaning upon his umbrella inthe doorway. What was he waiting for? Renwick thought that he had madehis intentions sufficiently explicit. At last, his impatience gettingthe better of him, he stopped before the man with the umbrella. 

"I am greatly obliged to you for your kindness. But you understand? I goon alone. "

The man in black regarded him blandly. 

"That is not a part of the arrangement, " he said. 

"What do you mean?"

"That I am to go with you. "

"I asked you to make no such arrangement. "

"It is a pity that perhaps I misunderstood. "

Renwick angrily approached the garage owner and tried to make himunderstand, but he only proceeded with his work with greater alacrity, bowing and pointing to the man in the doorway. 

"You observe, " said the tall man, "that you will only complicatematters?"

Renwick glared at the other, but he returned the look with an impudentcomposure, and Renwick, in fear of losing his self-control, at lastturned away. Nothing was to be gained by this controversy. After all, what difference did the fellow's presence make? As a source of danger hehad already proved himself a negligible quantity. So Renwick with an illgrace at last acquiesced, and within an hour they were on their way, crossing the Danube and turning to their right along a rough road by theFruska mountains. 

The first accident happened before the machine reached Sarengrad, ablowout which made another tire a necessity. The second, a broken leafof a spring, which made rapid travel hazardous. But it was not untilnightfall, in the midst of a desolation of plains, that carburetortrouble of a most disturbing character developed. Renwick paced up anddown, offering advice and suggestion and then swearing in all thelanguages he knew, but the chauffeur only shrugged and sputtered, whilethe tall man gurgled soothingly. An hour they remained there whenRenwick's patience became exhausted, and he gave way to the suspicionwhich had for some time obsessed him, that the pair of them wereconspiring to delay him upon his way. 

He came up behind the tall man who was bending over the open hood of thecar, and catching him roughly by the elbow, swung him around and facedhim angrily. 

"I've had about enough of this, " he said. "Either that car moves in fiveminutes or one of you will be hurt. "

He moved his hand toward his pocket to draw his weapon but his wrist wascaught in midair by a grip of steel that held Renwick powerless. TheEnglishman was stronger than most men of his weight and made a sharpstruggle to get loose, but the man in black disarmed him as he wouldhave disarmed a child, and calmly put the pistol into his own pocket. Itwas not until then that his bulk had seemed so significant, and the realpurpose of his presence been so apparent. There was no use in battlingwith this melancholy Colossus who might, if he wished, break every bonein Renwick's body. 

"Herr Renwick, if it will please you to be reasonable, " he said, releasing the Englishman and speaking as if soothing a spoiled child. 

At the mention of his name, Renwick drew back in growing wonder. 

"Who--who are you?" he asked. 

"My name is Gustav Linke, " he said suavely. "I have been sent to keepyou from coming to harm. You see"----and he patted the pocket whichcontained Renwick's pistol, "it is not difficult to run into danger whenone is always pulling one's pistol out. "

"Who sent you?" demanded Renwick furiously. 

The man in black coolly picked up his cotton umbrella which in thestruggle had fallen to the ground. 

"That is not a matter which need concern you. "

"I insist upon knowing and in going on to Brod without delay. "

The other merely shrugged. 

"I regret to say that that is impossible. "

"Why?"

"Because my instructions were to keep you from reaching the Bosnianborder until tomorrow morning. "

"You are----?"

"Herr Gustav Linke--that is all, Herr Renwick. "

"An agent of----"

"The agent of Providence--let us say. Come. Be reasonable. I am surethat the trifling disorder in the carburetor may be corrected. We shallgo on presently. The night is young. We shall reach Brod perhaps bydaylight. What do you say? Shall we be friends?"

There was nothing else to be done. The disgusted Renwick shrugged andgot into the tonneau of the machine, awaiting the pleasure of hiscaptor. Out of the chaos of his disappointment came the one consolingthought, that whatever Linke was, he was not a German. 

CHAPTER XII

FLIGHT

The visions which disturbed Marishka Strahni in that dim borderlandbetween sleep and waking persisted in her dreams. And always Goritzpredominated--sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning but always cold, sinister and calculating. He made love to her and spurned her by turns, threatened her with the fate of the Duchess, whom she saw dead beforeher eyes, the victim of a shot in the back. There was a smoking pistolin Marishka's hand, and another figure lying near, which wore theuniform of an Austrian general--the Archduke Franz it seemed, until shemoved to one side and saw that the figure had the face of Hugh Renwick. She started up from her couch, a scream on her lips--calling toHugh----! Was she awake or was this another dream, more dreadful thanthe last? There followed a conflict of bewildering noises, as thoughnight had mercifully fallen upon a chaos of disaster. She sat up andlooked around her. A train. 

She gasped a sigh of relief as her gaze pierced the dimness of theelusive shadows. She remembered now. Captain Goritz. But she was stillalone. She lay down again, trying to keep awake in dread of the visions, but exhaustion conquered again and she slept, dreaming now of anotherHugh, a tender and chivalrous lover who held her in his arms andwhispered of roses. 

It was daylight when she awoke. Captain Goritz was now sitting by thewindow smiling at her. She started up drowsily, fingering at her hair. 

"You have slept well, Countess?" he asked cheerfully and without waitingfor her reply. "It is well. You have probably a trying day before you. "

Marishka straightened and looked out of the window past him at thesunlit morning. Could it be possible that this alert pleasant person wasthe Nemesis of her dreams? The world had taken on a new complexion, washed clean of terrors by the pure dews of the night. 

"Thanks, Herr Hauptmann, " she smiled at him. "I am quite myself again. "

"That is fortunate, " he said. "We are nearly at our journey's end--atleast this part of it. Our train goes no further than Marburg. "

"And then?"

"An automobile--a long journey. "

"I am quite ready. "

At Marburg they got down, and after Marishka had made a hurried toilet, they breakfasted in comfort at the Bahnhof restaurant. If Captain Goritznourished any suspicion that they were being followed he gave no sign ofit, and after breakfast, to Marishka's surprise, Karl the chauffeurappeared miraculously and announced that their car was awaiting them. 

"If I were not sure that you were Herr Lieutenant von Arnstorf, " laughedMarishka, "I should say you were the fairy of the magic carpet. "

"The magic carpet--_ach_, yes--if we but had one!" he said genuinely. 

The motion of the automobile soothed and satisfied her. At least she wasdoing what she could to reach Sarajevo before the archducal partyarrived, and as her companion hopefully assured her, with a fair chanceof success. If Marishka could see Sophie Chotek, all her troubles wouldbe over, for then the Wilhelmstrasse would not care to oppose the dictumof the Duchess in favor of one who whatever her political sins inGermany's eyes, had made endless sacrifices to atone. 

If Marishka succeeded! But if she failed?

The morning was too wonderful for thoughts of grim deeds or the authorsof them. The poisons distilled in her mind the night before weredispelled into the clear air of the mountainside, over which singingstreams gushed joyously down. Birds were calling--mating; wild creaturesscampered playfully in thicket and hedge; and the peaceful valleys wereredolent of sweet odors. 

In the long hours of the afternoon Marishka's thoughts were of HughRenwick. Perspective had given him a finer contour, for she had Goritzto compare him with. She loved Hugh. She knew now how much. Herhappiness had been too sweet to have had such a sudden ending. She hadbeen unkind--cruel--broken with him even when he was bending everyeffort to aid her. He was trying to help her now for all that sheknew. .. . She had written him a note from the German Embassy--just a fewlines which she had enclosed with the message to her maid at theapartment--warning him that he was in danger and praying that he leavethe country and return to England, a kindly note which by its anxietyfor his safety conveyed perhaps more of what was in her heart than shewould have cared to write had she believed that she was to see himagain. 

What reason had Captain Goritz for believing that Hugh would follow herin this mad quest? How could Hugh be sure where she had gone and withwhom? There had been a quality of the miraculous in the judgment ofCaptain Goritz. What if even now Hugh Renwick were near her? Her pulsewent a little faster. Pride--the pride which asks in vain--for a whilehad been dashed low, and she had scorned him with her eyes, her voice, her mien, her gestures, all, alas! but her heart. The women of the houseof Strahni----! Hugh Renwick had kissed her. And the memory of thosekisses amid the red roses of the Archduke was with her now. She feltthem on her lips--the touch of his firm strong fingers--the honest gazeof his gray eyes--these were the tokens she had which came to her asevidence that the readings of her heart had not been wrong. A Serbianspy----! She smiled confidently. 

In a moment she stole a glance at Captain Goritz, who was bent forwardstudying his road map. She waited until he gave directions to thechauffeur and then spoke. 

"Captain Goritz, " she said carelessly, "you manage so cleverly that I ambeginning to trust implicitly to your guidance and knowledge. But thereis one thing that puzzles me. It must be more than a whim which makesyou think that Herr Renwick will follow us to Sarajevo. "

"Not _us_, Countess, " he smiled; "I said _you_. "

"But granting that he would follow me--which I doubt--how could he knowwhere I have gone?"

Goritz laughed easily. 

"He will find a way. "

Marishka's face grew sober. 

"I fear Herr Renwick's friendship cannot achieve miracles. The last hesaw of me was in a hut in Bohemia. What clew could he have----? Whatpossible----"

"Ah, Countess, " Goritz broke in, "you do not realize as I have done thecleverness of the Austrian Secret Service. We have so far eluded them. We were very lucky but it cannot be long before the green limousine willbe discovered, and the direction of our journey. "

"But even that----"

"To a clever man like Herr Renwick--to a man whose affections areinvolved, " he added slowly, "it would not be difficult to decide whereyou have gone. He knows the discomforts and dangers you have passedthrough to achieve your object. He will, of course, seek your apartmentand read the meaning of your sending for your clothing just aseasily"--he paused a moment and smiled at the back of Karl's head--"justas easily, " he repeated slowly, "as though you yourself had written hima note telling him--er--exactly which train you had taken. "

Marishka felt the warm color flooding her neck and brows. In writingRenwick she had broken her promise to this man not to communicate withher friends. Goritz watched her pretty distress for a moment withamusement which speedily turned to interest. 

"Of course, Countess, you did _not_ write to him?" he said, with suddenseverity. 

"I owe you an explanation, Captain Goritz----" she said timidly. 

"You wrote--Countess?" evincing the most admirable surprise. 

"I inclosed a few words in my note to my maid--a warning of danger and arequest that Herr Renwick leave at once for England----"

And as Goritz frowned at her, "Surely there is no harm in that. "

"Your word of honor----"

"I betrayed nothing of my whereabouts or plans, " she pleaded. 

"How can I know that you speak the truth?"

"I swear it. "

Goritz shrugged lightly. 

"It is, of course, a woman's privilege to change her mind. Still, youput me upon my guard. It is unfortunate. How can I be sure that you willnot be sending other notes without my permission to the Europa when wereach Sarajevo?"

"The Europa----? I fail to understand. "

"The Europa Hotel, " he said with a curious distinctness, "where allEnglish people stop, and where of course your friend Mr. Renwick willstop. "

Marishka examined him keenly. 

"Your prescience cannot be infallible. "

"No. But Herr Renwick will come to Sarajevo, " he repeated confidently. 

He was still studying the road map and she was silent, thinking. But ina moment he raised his head and shrugged again. 

"Of course it is nothing to me. As an English subject he has theprotection of his Ambassador. Even if my orders demanded his arrest Ishould be without power to carry them out. "

"It is easier to deal with the credulity of women, " she said quietly. 

"Countess Strahni, you make it very difficult for me--doubly difficultsince I have learned how lightly you hold your promise. "

"But confession absolves----"

"With me, perhaps, because I could refuse you nothing, but not withthose that have sent me. "

"But why should you be uneasy at the possibility of Herr Renwickfollowing to Sarajevo?"

"I do not relish the disturbance of my plans. "

She smiled a little at that. 

"I think I should be a little happier if I knew just what those planswere. "

He did not reply at once. Then he went on slowly, choosing his wordswith care. 

"My sentiments of respect must by this time have told you that no harmcan come to you. Last night His Excellency, the German Ambassador, informed me that I shall do a great damage to the friendship betweenyour nation and mine, if I presume to take you across the German borderwithout your consent. I have been much moved by his advice. He hasalready written to the Wilhelmstrasse in your behalf. I cannot yetabsolve you from your promise since my own actions in Austria have beenfar from conventional. Herr Renwick, if he chooses, can make my visit toSarajevo most unpleasant. But I see no reason, after our purpose hasbeen achieved, why you should not be restored to your friends, even toHerr Renwick, if that is your desire, " and then in a lower tone, "I canassure you, Countess Strahni, that I relinquish you to him with an illgrace. "

"Herr Renwick is no Serbian spy, Captain Goritz, " she said steadily. 

He smiled. 

"Oh, you do not believe me. Very well. You will discover it foryourself. "

"How?" she asked timidly. 

He looked at her with every mark of admiration, but his reply did notanswer her question. 

"Herr Renwick is indeed fortunate in having so loyal a friend--eventhough, as you say, there is nothing between you in common. I envy himthe possession. I hope that he may better deserve it. "

She smiled but did not speak for a moment and then, "Why is it that youso dislike a man whom you do not know--whom you--you have never seen?"

Goritz bent forward toward her, his voice lowered while his strange darkeyes gazed full into hers:

"Need I tell you?" he whispered. "You have thought me cruel, because Ihave done my duty, heartless--cold--a mere piece of official machinerywhich could balk at nothing--even the destruction of a woman'shappiness--because my allegiance to my country was greater than anypersonal consideration. But I am not insensible to the appeals ofgentleness, not blind to beauty nor deaf to music, Countess Strahni, asyou have thought. Beneath the exterior which may have seemed forbiddingto you, I am only human. Last night I took advantage of your wearinessand weakness in telling you, with cruel bluntness, of Herr Renwick'srelations with the Serbian government. I learned what you have laboredto conceal--that you care for him--that you care for one who----"

"It is not true, " she broke in calmly. "I do not care for Herr Renwick. "

"It would delight me to believe you, " he went on with a shake of thehead, "but I cannot. It has been very painful to me to see you suffer, for whatever you have done in a mistaken sense of loyalty to yourcountry, nothing can alter the fact of your innocence, your virtue, andyour dependence upon my kindness in a most trying situation. I have toldyou the facts about Herr Renwick because I have believed it my duty, toyou and to Austria. If I have hurt you, Countess Strahni, " he finishedgently, "I pray that you will forgive me. "

Marishka was silent, now looking straight before her down the mountainroad which they were descending slowly. The voice of Captain Goritz hada sonorous quality which could not have been unpleasant to the ears ofany woman. She listened to it soberly, trying to detect the tinkle ofthe spurious, but she was forced to admit that beyond and behind themere phrases which might in themselves mean nothing, there was a depthof earnestness that might have proved bewildering to one less versed inthe ways of the world than herself. His eyes, singularly clear andluminous, dominated and held her judgment of him in abeyance. For themoment she was able to forget her terrors of the night before, hisenmity for Hugh Renwick, and the threat he had hung over her freedom. She did not dare to trust him. Too much still hung in the balance of herfavor or disfavor. And yet she was forced to admit the constraint of hisfervor, his kindness and courteous consideration. A woman forgives muchto those who acknowledge without question the scepter of her femininity. 

At last she turned toward him with a smile and gave nun her hand. Nordid she withdraw it when bending low he pressed it gently to his lips. This was a game that two could play at. 

"We are to be friends, then?" he asked quietly. 

"Of course, " she smiled at him. 

Toward six of the afternoon a trifling mishap to the motor delayed themfor two hours, and it was long after midnight before they reached Brodand learned that the train of the Archduke had left within the hour. This was a terrible disappointment, which seemed to menace the successof their venture. But Captain Goritz determined to go on as rapidly aspossible, trusting to reach their destination before the royal partyleft its train, hoping that the sight of Countess Strahni by the Duchesswould be sufficient to let down any official barriers which might beinterposed. But an unforeseen difficulty at Brod still further delayedthem, a difficulty which required all of the ingenuity of Captain Goritzto get them once more upon their way. It was three o'clock in themorning, when having made some necessary repairs to the machine, theyreached the Austrian end of the great bridge across the Save. Here theywere halted by an iron chain across the bridge entrance and a policeofficer who, it seemed, looked upon their night traveling withsuspicion. Captain Goritz protested indignantly and produced his papers, which the officer inspected by the dim light of an ancient lantern heldby a subordinate. 

"I am sorry, " he said firmly, "but no motor cars are permitted to crossinto Bosnia until tomorrow morning. "

"But, my friend, " said Goritz with an air of outraged patience, "I am anofficer of the Third Regiment of the Fifteenth Army Corps returning toSarajevo from a leave of absence which expires at nine in the morning. It is necessary that my party goes through at once. "

"I must obey orders, Herr Ober Lieutenant. "

"But my papers are correct. They are signed, you will observe, byGeneral von Hoetzendorf himself. "

"I am sorry, but you cannot go through. If you choose to take up thematter with my superior officer, you will find the Kaserne in the mainstreet near the mosque. I shall pass you only upon his visé. That isfinal. You will please turn your car and return to the village. "

Captain Goritz gazed longingly along the pale beam of the motor lampsinto the dark reaches of the bridge, and then at the shadow of the heavychain. At last with reluctance he gave the order to turn back. Thereseemed no doubt that the restriction was unusual, and that the visit ofthe Archduke had much to do with the obstruction of traffic betweenSarajevo and central Europe. The car moved slowly back through thedarkened village in the direction from which they had come, while Goritzplanned what was better to be done. The nearest other crossing at Kobaswas twenty miles away, over the road by which they had come, and theyknew that the roads upon the Bosnian side of the river were mere cowtracks. If the officer at the bridge refused to pass them, how were theyto be certain that they would fare any better at the hands of hissuperior, probably a crusty village official who would not relish beingawakened in the small hours of the morning even by a belated armyofficer? At the order of Captain Goritz, the chauffeur Karl backed thecar into a meadow and put out the lights. Then Goritz lighted acigarette and smoked rapidly. 

"Brod is Serbian for ford. Is the passage above the bridge or below?"

"Below, Herr Hauptmann, but dangerous at this season. I should not riskit. "

"Ah, I see. " He paused a moment, thinking rapidly. "Is there a chain atthe other end of the bridge?"

"I have never seen one, Herr Hauptmann. "

"Very good. You will await me here. "

And without further words he got down and disappeared into the darkness. Marishka sat trembling with uncertainty, trying to pierce the obscurityin the direction in which her companion had gone. Silence, except forthe droning of the insects and the distant rushing of the river. Fifteen, twenty minutes in which Marishka sat tensely waiting, hoping, fearing she knew not what, and then silently, merely a darker shadow ofthe night itself, a figure appeared and silently mounted into the seatbeside the waiting Karl. 

CHAPTER XIII

TRAGEDY

She heard a few phrases pass between them and then, without lights, themachine suddenly moved forward. The explosions of the engine, muffledthough they were, seemed like rifle shots to ears newly accustomed tothe silences of the night. But the speed of the motor increased rapidly, and she felt the damp of the river fog brushing her cheek. She could seenothing though she peered into the blackness eagerly. The car wasrushing to destruction for all that she knew, yet Karl was drivingstraight and hard for the entrance of the bridge. Marishka saw the dimgleam of a lantern, heard a hoarse shout, and then the sound of shotslost in the crashing of the timbers of the bridge as they thunderedover, the throttle wide, past the bridge house at Bosna-Brod upon theother side of the river, and on without pause through the village intothe open road beyond. All this in darkness, which had made the venturethe more terrible. 

It was with relief that she heard the light laugh and even tones ofCaptain Goritz. 

"That is well done, Karl. Your eyes are better than mine. But I have nohumor for a bath in the Bosna, so we will have the lights, if youplease. "

"They will follow us?" stammered Marishka. 

"There is a greater danger of detention at Dervent or Duboj, but I'mhoping the bridge-tender may keep silent. It was stupid of him not toguard the chain. "

"You lowered it----?"

"It made a fearful racket, but the roar of the river helped. "

A little further down the road, at a signal, Karl brought the car to astop and silenced the engine, while Goritz got down into the road andlistened intently, striking a match meanwhile and looking at the dial ofhis watch. There were no sounds in the direction from which they hadcome but the distant roar of the river and the whispering of the wind inthe trees. 

"It is half-past three, Karl. How far have we to go?"

"More than two hundred kilos--two hundred and fifty perhaps. "

"Ah, so much?" and he frowned. "I wish to reach the capital by eighto'clock, Karl, " he said. 

"_Zu befehl_, Herr Hauptmann--if it is in the machine. I can at leasttry. "

As Goritz got in beside Marishka, he started the engine, and they wereoff again. As a sign that at least the chauffeur was trying to carry outhis orders, in a moment they were rushing along at a furious pace whichseemed to threaten destruction to them all. In spite of an impendingstorm which had now, fortunately, passed, at Brod Karl had lowered thetop of the car in order to make better speed in the final race for theirgoal, and the rush of wind seemed to make breathing difficult, butMarishka clung to the bracket at her side, trying to keep her balance asthey swung around the curves, and silently praying. Conversation wasimpossible until the road rose from the plains of the Save into themountains, where the speed was necessarily diminished. The car, fortunately, seemed to be a good one, for no machine unless well provencould long stand the strain of such work as Karl was giving it to do. Through Dervent they went at full speed, seeing no lights or humanbeings. Beyond Duboj the moon came out, and this made Karl's problemsless difficult, though the road wound dangerously along the ravines ofthe Brod river, which tumbled from cleft to cleft, sometimes a silverthread and again a ragged cataract hundreds of feet below. There were noretaining walls, and here and there as they turned sudden and unexpectedcorners it almost seemed to Marishka that the rear wheels of the machineswirled out into space. She held her breath and closed her eyes fromtime to time, expecting the car to lose its equilibrium and go whirlingover and over into the echoing gorge below them, the depth of which theshadow of the mountains opposite mercifully hid from view. But Karl hadno time in which to consider the thoughts of his passengers. He had hisorders. If achievement were in the metal he intended to carry them out. The feudal castles of old Bosnia passed in stately review, Maglaj, Usora, clinging leech-like to their inaccessible peaks, grim sentinelsof the vista of years, frowning at the roaring engine of modernity whichsent its echoes mocking at their lonely dignity. Marishka could look, but not for long, for in a moment would come the terrible down-grade andthe white, leaping road before them, which held her eyes with fearfulhypnotism. Death! What right had she to pray for her own safety, whenher own lips had condemned Sophie Chotek? There was still a chance thatshe would reach Sarajevo in time. She had no thought of sleep. Weary asshe was, the imminence of disaster at first fascinated--then enthralledher. She was drunk with excitement, crying out she knew not what inadmiration of Karl's skill, her fingers in imagination with his upon thewheel, her gaze, like his, keen and unerring upon the road. 

Beside her Captain Goritz sat silently, smiling as he watched her. 

"It is wonderful, is it not?" he said in a lull, when the machinecoasted down a straight piece of road. "Fear is the master passion oflife. Even I, Countess, am in love with fear. " And then with a laugh, "We shall arrive in time if the tires hold. It is a good machine, a verygood machine. "

Dawn stole slowly across the heavens between the mountain peaks, an opaldawn, pale and luminous. Here and there objects defined themselvesagainst the velvety surfaces of the hills, a hut by the river brink, athread of smoke rising straight in the still air, a herdsman driving hisflock in a path across the valley. But Karl, the chauffeur, drove madlyon, more madly, it seemed, as the light grew better. People appeared asif by magic upon the road, with loaded vehicles bound tomarket--awe-stricken peasants, who leaped aside and then turnedwondering. 

The machine climbed a mountain from which a vista of many miles ofcountry was spread out before them, but there was no sign of theirdestination. Half-past eight--nine----! The roads became crowded again, with vehicles, horsemen, footmen, and groups of soldiers, all travelingin the same direction. Sarajevo was not far distant but they went at asnail's pace, their nerves leaping in the reaction. Marishka, pallidwith fatigue, sat leaning forward in her seat, dumb with anxiety. Goritzrubbed his chin thoughtfully. But he had not yet begun to despair. Suddenly the car came to a turning in the road, and the Bosnian capitalwas spread out at their feet. Goritz looked at his watch. It was nearlyten. If the thing they dreaded had not yet come to pass there mightstill be time. As they descended the hill into the valley of theMiljacka, it was apparent that the town was in holiday attire. Flagsfloated from many poles, and the streets and bridges were crowded withpeople. At the direction of Captain Goritz, Karl drove quickly to therailroad station, where a group of officials stood gesturing and talkingexcitedly. 

"Has His Highness gone into the city?" asked Goritz of the man nearesthim. 

The fellow paused and turned at the sight of the Austrian uniform. 

"Ah, Herr Lieutenant--you have not heard?"

"I have just come down from the hills. What is the matter?"

"A bomb has been thrown into the automobile of the Archduke----"

"He is killed?" asked Goritz, while Marishka leaned forward in horror. 

"Fortunately, no. He cast the bomb into the street, but it explodedunder the vehicle of his escort, killing several, they say. "

"She is safe--Her Highness is safe?" questioned Marishka. 

"Yes, but it was a narrow escape, " said another man. 

"Where is the Archduke now?" asked Goritz. 

"At the Rathaus--where he is to receive a testimonial from theBurgomaster, in behalf of the city. From there they go to the Governor'spalace, I think. "

"Thanks, " said Goritz with a gasp of relief, and gave the word to Karlto drive on toward the center of the town. 

"'Forewarned is forearmed, '" he muttered to Marishka. "They may not dareto attempt it again. I think you need have no further anxiety, Countess. "

"But I must reach Her Highness. I must let her know everything. "

"We shall try. " And then to Karl, "Go as far as you can into the town, to Franz Josef Street. "

But at the tobacco factory the crowd was so great that they could not goon, and Goritz after some directions to Karl, helped Marishka down, andthey went forward through the crowd afoot, listening to its excitedcomments. 

"Cabrinobitch----"

"A Serbian, they say. The police seized him. "

"I was as near to him as you are. Stovan Kovacevik was hit by a piece ofthe bomb. They have taken him to the hospital. "

"Colonel Merizzi--they say he is dead. And Count von Waldeck badlywounded. "

Marishka shuddered. She had known them both at Konopisht. She caughtCaptain Goritz by the arm and forced her way to the Stadt Park, following the crowd of people and at last reaching Franz Josef Street, which was filled almost solidly with an excited, gesticulating mass ofhumanity. 

"A Serbian plot!" they heard a man in a turban say in polyglot German. "Not Serbian nor Bosnian. We have no murderers here. "

"So say I, " cried another. "They will blame it upon us. Where are thepolice, that the streets are not even cleared. "

"Why does he come here to make trouble? We do not love him, but we arean orderly people. Let him be gone. "

"He was at least brave. They say after the bomb was thrown into hismachine he threw it into the street. "

"Brave! Yes. But he is a soldier. Why shouldn't he be brave?"

"Courage may not save him. There is something back of this. A man toldme there was a bomb thrower on every street corner. "

Marishka pushed forward shuddering, with Captain Goritz close behindher. 

"I cannot believe it, " she whispered. 

"The ravings of a crowd, " he muttered. "It matters nothing. "

But as they neared the corner of Rudolfstrasse, there was a stir and amurmur as all heads turned to look up the street in the direction of theCarsija. 

"He comes again. " "The machine is returning from the Rathaus. " The wordflew from lip to lip with the speed of the wind. A few Austrian soldierswere riding down the street clearing the way. They were all. No police, no other soldiers. It was horrible. The sides of the machine wereutterly unprotected from the people, who closed in upon it, almostbrushing its wheels. Marishka pressed forward again, jostled this wayand that, until she stood upon the very fringe of the crowd at thecorner of the street. Captain Goritz held her by the elbow. What purposewas in her mind he could not know. But every nerve in her--every impulseurged her to go forward to the very doors of the machine and protectSophie Chotek, if necessary with her own body, against the dangerswhich, as the people about her said, lurked on every corner. The machineapproached very slowly. There was no cheering, and it seemed strange toMarishka that there could be no joy in the hearts of these people at thecourage of their Heir Presumptive, who had faced death bravely, and nowwith more hardihood than prudence was facing it again. The car was open, and she could see the figures of the royal pair quite clearly, theirfaces very pale, the Archduke leaning forward talking with a man inuniform in the front seat opposite him, the Duchess scanning the crowdanxiously. As the machine stopped again at the street corner, Marishkarushed forward until she stood just at its front wheels, waving a handand speaking the Duchess's name. She saw the gaze of Sophie Chotek meethers, waver and then become fixed again in wonder, in suddenrecognition, and incomprehension. Words formed on the girl's lips andshe called, "It is I--Marishka Strahni, Duchess--I must speak----"

She got no further. Out of the mass of people just at her elbow thefigure of a man emerging, sprang upon the running board of the machine. He seemed to wave his hand, and then there were sounds of shots. TheArchduke started up, holding a protecting arm before the body of theDuchess, who had sunk back into her seat, her hand to her breast. TheArchduke wavered a moment and then fell forward across the knees of theDuchess. 

Of the mad moments which followed, Marishka was barely conscious. Shewas pushed roughly back into the turgid crowd and would have fallen hadnot an arm sustained her. Men seized the assassin and hurried him away. There were hoarse shouts, glimpses of soldiers, as the machine of deathpushed its way through the mass of people, and always the strong armsustained her, pushing her, leading her away into a street where therewere fewer people and less noise. 

"Come, Countess, he brave, " Goritz was saying. "God knows you have donewhat you could. "

"It is horrible, " she gasped brokenly. "A moment sooner, perhaps, and Ishould have succeeded. She recognized me--you saw?"

He nodded. "Kismet! It was written, " he said grimly. 

"But someone must pay--someone--who was----?"

"A Bosnian student--named Prinzep--a man said. "

"He was but a boy--a frail boy----"

"He has been well taught to shoot, " muttered Goritz. 

"Death!" she cried hysterically. "And I----"

"Be quiet. People are watching you, " said Goritz sternly. "Lean on myarm and go where I shall lead. It is not far. "

[Illustration: "Be quiet. People are watching you, " said Goritzsternly. ]

The sight of strange, distorted faces regarding her gave Marishka thestrength to obey. Mechanically her feet moved, but the sunlight blindedher. She passed through a maze of small streets lined with market stallswhere groups of people shouted excitedly; and dimly as in a dream sheheard their comments. 

"The police--we have police--where were they? The Government will beblaming us. We are not murderers! No. It is a shame!"

Marishka shuddered and leaned more heavily upon the arm of hercompanion. She was weary unto death, body and spirit--but still her feetmoved on, out of the maze of small alleys into a larger alley, where hercompanion stopped before a blue wooden gate let into a stone wall. Heput his hand upon the latch, the gate yielded, and they entered a smallgarden with well ordered walks and a fountain, beside which was a stonebench. Upon this bench at the bidding of Captain Goritz she sank, burying her face in her hands, while he went toward the house, which hadits length at one side of the garden. She put her fingers before hereyes trying to shut out the horrors she had witnessed, but theypersisted, ugly and sinister. Over and over in her mind dinned thehoarse murmur of the crowd, "We are not murderers! No!" Who then----?Not the frail student with the smoking pistol . .. The agent ofothers. .. . The eyes of Sophie Chotek haunted her--eyes that had lookedso often into her own with kindness. She had seen terror in them, andthen--the mad turmoil, the dust, the acrid smell of powder fumes, andthe silent group of huddled figures in the machine!. .. 

There were sounds of voices and of footsteps approaching, but Marishkacould not move. She was prone, inert, helpless. 

"She is very tired, " someone said. 

"_Ach_--she must come within and sleep. "

A woman's voice, it seemed, deep but not unsympathetic. 

"A glass of wine perhaps--and food. "

"It shall be as you desire, Excellency. I know what she needs. "

Arms raised her, and she felt herself half led, half carried, into thehouse and laid upon a bed in a room upstairs. It was dark within andthere was a strange odor of spices. Presently someone, the woman, itseemed, gave her something to drink, and after awhile the turmoil in herhead grew less--and she slept. 

CHAPTER XIV

THE HARIM

Dreams, colorful and strangely vivid, but not unpleasant. It seemed thatMarishka lay upon a couch so soft that she sank deliciously without endto perfect rest. Above, about, below her, perfumed darkness, spangledwith soft spots of light, which came and went curiously. She tried tofix her gaze upon one of them, but it was extinguished immediately andappeared elsewhere. She found another--and another, but they fled fromher like _ignes fatui_. She heard the whir of a machine, fast and thenslow again, near and then at a distance. Was it an automobile or anaeroplane? The notion of an automobile speeding in space wasincongruous, the milky way--a queer concept! She smiled in herdreams. .. . Then suddenly a bright sunlight peopled with strange figuresin fez and turban, faces that leered at her, lips that howled inexcitement, arms that moved threateningly, dust, noise, commotion, fromwhich she was trying in vain to escape. .. . And then darkness again andthe subdued murmur of voices, one voice familiar, one gruff andunfamiliar. 

"Ten thousand _kroner_--that is a large sum, " said the gruff voice. 

"Yours, Effendi, if the thing is accomplished. "

"It should not be difficult. You may reply upon me. "

"And you are to show the lady every attention--every comfort----"

"_Zu befehl_----"

There was a recurrence of the changing lights and the voices receded. Presently she seemed to hear them again. 

"She is to be kept in seclusion of course, but otherwise you will accedeto all her requests--all, you understand----Should she care towrite--you will send a message. There are more ways than one to kill agoose. And this one lays the golden egg, Effendi----"

"I understands--a golden egg. "

"Very good--perhaps tonight----We shall see. "

"I shall be prepared, Excellency. "

The voices died away and melted into the murmur of a crowd, which mergedcuriously into the whir of an automobile. But it was dark again and thespots of light in the darkness reappeared. One, two, three, a dozen shecounted and then they vanished. She was alone, an atom in the expanse ofinfinity, but the darkness and the perfume now oppressed, suffocatedher, and she tried to escape. But she moved her limbs with difficulty, and a weight sealed her eyelids. She struggled up against it and managedto rise upon one elbow and look about her. 

She was awake. Slowly memory returned, the memory of things which seemedto have happened a long while before, and time and distance seemed tohave robbed them of their sting. She was awake and alone in a dark room, lying on a low couch, upon which were spread a number of pillows ofstrange design. A latticed window was near, and outside, the shadows ofa tree branch fell across the barred rectangle, cutting the lines oflight into broken lozenges of shadow. The room was furnished somberlybut richly with heavy hangings and teakwood furniture decorated withmother-of-pearl. A lantern of curious design depended from the ceiling. There was a figure standing in the corner. She raised herself upon oneelbow and examined the figure attentively, not frightened yet, butmerely curious. 

It was a suit of ancient armor of a period with which she wasunfamiliar. She moved her limbs painfully and sat up. Her head throbbedfor a few moments but she found that she was able to think clearlyagain. Slowly she realized where she was and what had happened. The bluedoor in the wall--this the house that adjoined the garden. She hadslept--how long she did not know, but the beams of sunlight were orangein color and made a brilliant arabesque upon an embroidered hanging onthe opposite wall. She must have slept long. Her dreams returned to her, fleeting and elusive, like the _ignes fatui_ which had been a part ofthem. The whir of wheels, the vision of the vari-colored crowd, themurmur of voices speaking--these too had been a dream. She tried torecall what the voices had murmured. Phrases came to her. "Ten thousand_kroner_--the goose that lays the golden egg----" It was all like astory from a fairy tale. She looked about her--a dream--of course. Whocould have been speaking of _kroners_ and golden eggs here?

There were two doors to the apartment in which she lay, one, ornate withTurkish fretwork, which had in its center panel what seemed to be asmall window, covered by a black grille. At the other end of the roomanother door, open, from which came a flicker of cool light, the softpad of footsteps and the sound of a voice humming some curious Orientalair. Marishka did not get up at once, but sat among the pillows, herfingers at her temples as she tried to collect her thoughts. She knewthat she must think. Everything seemed to depend upon the clearness withwhich her mind emerged from the fog of dreams. Slowly, the happenings ofthe last few days recurred--the flight, the wild ride down the ravinesof the Brod, Sarajevo, the tragedy, the car of Death! She put herfingers before her eyes and then straightened bravely. And what now?Goritz! What was he going to do with her? She tried to judge the futureby the past. She had given herself unreservedly into his hands in thehope of reaching Sophie Chotek before--before what had happened. Theirinterests had been identical--the saving of life--and if they hadsucceeded, there would have been no need for anxiety as to her ownfuture. But now the situation seemed to have changed. Failure had markedher for its own, an unbidden guest in a strange country in which she wasfor the present at the mercy of her captor. She could not forget thatshe was his prisoner, and the terms of her promise to him came to herwith startling clearness. His recantation, his courtesy, his ardentlooks had allayed suspicion, but had not quite removed the earlierimpression. In this hour of awakening and depression there seemed to beroom for any dreadful possibility. 

Was she a prisoner? If so, the window was not barred, and she saw thatit let upon the tiny garden fifteen feet below. If she could gather thestrength, it might not be difficult to lower herself from the windowsill--drop to the garden and flee. But where? To whom? She turnedquickly, listening for the sounds of the footsteps in the adjoiningroom, her hand at her breast, where her heart was throbbing with a newhope. Hugh! Hugh in Sarajevo! And yet why not? It came to her in a throbof joyous pride that in spite of all that she had done to deter him, hehad persisted in helping and protecting her, oblivious of her denial ofhim and of her cutting disdain. But would the frail clew of her flightthrough Vienna be enough to point her object and destination? The memoryof his cleverness and initiative in their night ride to Konopisht gaveher new hope. Why should he not come to Sarajevo? Between the lines ofthe note she had written him he must have read the tenderness that hadalways been in her heart. He was no coward, and the idea of fleeing toEngland when danger threatened her would, of course, be the last thatwould come into his mind. It was curious that she had not thought ofthis before. He would come to Sarajevo if he could--perhaps he was herenow----

A heavy figure stood in the doorway regarding her. She could not atfirst decide whether it was a man or a woman for the wide, baggytrousers resembled a skirt, and the short, sleeveless jacket was similarto that worn by the male Moslems she had seen in the Carsija. But in amoment, a voice of rather low pitch spoke kindly, in atrocious German. 

"The Fräulein is at last awake. Does she feel better?"

"Ah, thanks, yes, " said Marishka, at last deciding that it was a woman. "I have slept long. "

"Seven hours at least, and like the dead. But you must be hungry. I willprepare something at once. "

"Thank you. And if I could wash my face and hands. "

"It shall be as you wish. If you will but come with me----"

Marishka rose, and as she did so, the door with the black grille openedfrom within, and a girl came into the room. Like the older woman shewore baggy trousers and slippers, but above the waist, typifying themeeting of East and West, a somewhat soiled satin blouse which mighthave been made either in Paris or Vienna. The face was very pretty, regular of feature and oval in contour, but the effect of its beauty wasmarred by the hair above it, which was dyed with henna a saffron red. But she wore a flower at her breast, and in spite of her artificialitiesexhaled the gayety of youth. She smiled very prettily and came forwardwith a confiding air, giving Marishka her hand. 

"I have been waiting for you to wake up, " she said in a soft voice. "Ihave never known anyone to sleep so soundly. "

She laughed like a child who is very much pleased with a new toy, andholding Marishka's hand, looked at her curiously from head to foot. There was something very genuine in her interest and kindliness, andMarishka found herself smiling. 

"I must have been very tired, " she said. 

"I am sorry. You are feeling better now?"

"Yes, but very dirty----"

"Come with me. Zubeydeh will bring food. "

She led the way through the door of the black grille, down a shortpassage into a large room at the end of the house. The apartment wasstrewn with rugs, and its furniture was a curious mixture of the colorof the East and the utility of the West--a French dressing stand besidea stove of American make, a Bosnian marriage chest, a table which mighthave come out of the Ringstrasse, a brass tray for burning charcoal, acarved teakwood stand upon which stood a nargileh, a box of cigars, somecigarettes, and two coffee cups still containing the residue of the lastdraught. There were latticed windows in _meshrebiya_, which overlookedthe garden and street, and piled beside them were a number of pillowsand cushions. The room was none too clean, but there were evidences hereand there of desultory attempts at rehabilitation. 

The girl with the red hair led Marishka to one of the window recesses, where she bade her sit upon a pile of pillows, bringing a basin and anewer of water which she put upon the rug beside her. 

"Ah, I was forgetting, " said the girl, and going to the corner of theroom produced with much pride Marishka's suitcase. "His Excellency leftit for you this afternoon. "

The sight of water and a change of clothing did much to restoreMarishka's confidence and self-respect, and she opened the bag withalacrity, bringing forth from its recesses soap, clean linen and awashcloth. 

While Marishka ate and drank, the girl with the red hair crouched uponher knees beside the suitcase, sniffed at its contents eagerly, and withlittle cries of delight touched with her fingers the delicate articleswhich it contained. 

"How pretty! How soft to the touch!" And then rather wistfully, "It is apity that one cannot get such things in Bosna-Seraj. "

"You like them?" asked Marishka, reveling in the delight of being freefrom the dust of her journey. 

"Oh, they are so beautiful!"

For all her years, and she must have been at least as old as Marishka, she had the undeveloped mind of a child. 

"You, too, are beautiful, " she sighed enviously, "so white, your skin isso clear. Your hair is so soft. " And then as an afterthought, "But Ithink it would look just as pretty if it were red. "

Marishka laughed. 

"What is your name, my dear?" she asked. 

"I am called Yeva--they say after the first woman who was born. "

"Eve--of course. It becomes you well. "

"You think so. Was she very beautiful?"

"Yes--the mother of all women. "

"The ugly ones?"

"Yes. We cannot all be beautiful. "

"It must be dreadful to be old and ugly like Zubeydeh. "

As Marishka brought out brush and comb and a towel, Yeva ran quickly andprocured a mirror--a small cheap affair with tawdry tinsel ornaments. 

"You will let me brush your hair, Fräulein. It will be a greatprivilege. "

"Of course, child--if you care to. "

And while Yeva combed and brushed, Marishka questioned and she answered. The house in which she lived was near the Sirokac Tor. Her lord andmaster was of the Begs of Rataj, once the rulers of a province inBosnia, where his father's fathers had lived, but now shorn of histithes and a dealer in rugs. He was an old man, yes, but he was good toher, giving her much to eat and drink, and many clothes. She must askhim to get some of these pretty soft undergarments from Vienna. And theExcellency. She had seen him twice, some months before through the_dutap_, when he had conversed with the Effendi in the adjoining room. And was the beautiful Fräulein in love with the Excellency?

Marishka answered her in some sort, listening to the girl's chatter, meanwhile thinking deeply of the plan that had come into her mind. Scraps of suggestion that she had gleaned from her talks with Goritzgave her at least a hope that she might be successful in reaching HughRenwick by messenger. "The English always go to the Europa, " he hadsaid. There, if Hugh Renwick had come to Sarajevo, was the place where anote would find him. And so, the hair brushing having been successfullyaccomplished, she asked the girl if there was someone by whom she couldsecretly send a note. 

A message! To an Excellency--a Herr Hauptmann--or perhaps aGeneral--yes. She was sure that it could be managed. She herself perhapscould take it. Had not the Effendi told her that the Fräulein was towant for nothing? And greatly excited at the thought of intrigue, brought a tabourette which she placed before Marishka, then found paper, ink and envelopes and squatted upon a pillow, watching eagerly overMarishka's shoulder. But the girl's scrutiny troubled Marishka. Was shein the confidence of Captain Goritz? And if not, could she be persuadedto hold her tongue? Instead of writing at once, Marishka relinquishedthe pen and took Yeva's hand. 

"It is very necessary for my peace and happiness that the contents ofthis note should be only seen by the person to whom it is delivered----"

"Ah, Fräulein, it shall be as you say. By Allah, I swear----"

"Do you care enough? I will give you anything I possess if you will keepmy secret. "

"Ah!" her eyes were downcast and her tone was pained. "That the Fräuleinshould not believe in my friendship----"

"But I _do_ believe in it----"

"Still, " broke in Yeva smiling craftily, "I should very much like tohave something by which to remember the Fräulein--the pink sleepinggarment which is so sweetly smelling and soft to the touch. "

"It is yours, Yeva. See, " and Marishka took it from the valise, "I giveit to you. "

The girl gurgled delightedly, and crooned and kissed the garment like achild with a new doll. She was for trying it on at once and, thus forthe moment relieved of Yeva's scrutiny, Marishka bent over thetabourette, pen in hand. But before she wrote she called Yeva again. 

"There is no entrance to this house except by the garden, Yeva?" sheasked. 

"Oh, yes, to the _selamlik_, the _mabein_ door and this----"

She walked to the side of the room and thrusting aside a heavyKis-Kelim, showed Marishka a door cunningly concealed in an angle of thewall. 

"That leads--where?" Marishka asked. 

"To a small court of the next house. "

"And the street below?"

Yeva nodded and renewed the inspection of her new present in the mirror, so Marishka wrote:

 HUGH, I am a prisoner in a house near the Sirokac Tor beyond the Carsija--a house with a small garden the gate of which has a blue door. I am treated with every courtesy, but I am frightened. Come tonight at twelve to the small court at the left of the house and knock twice upon the door. I will come to you. Forgive me. 

 MARISHKA. 

While Yeva was scrutinizing her new adornment in the small mirrorMarishka reread the note. She did not wish to alarm her lover unduly, for perhaps after all there were no need for grave alarm. 

The intentions of Captain Goritz were perhaps of the best, his givenword to liberate her, to free her from her promise and return her to herfriends, had been spoken with an air of sincerity, which under otherconditions might have been impressive. But some feminine instinct in herstill doubted--still doubted and feared him. And in spite of his manykindnesses, his few moments of insensibility to her weariness anddistress there in the motor in the flight from Konopisht, and in therailway carriage when he had spoken of Hugh Renwick's connection withhated Serbia--these memories of their association lingered andpersisted. She feared him. The failure of their mission would perhapshave made a difference; and the promise of a man whose whole existencewas a living lie, was but a slender reed to hang upon. 

She straightened abruptly and gazed before her in sudden dismay. Herword of honor--as a Strahni! She was breaking her promise--had alreadybroken it. For she had pledged herself to Goritz--to go with him whitherhe pleased, if he would enable her to save the life of Sophie Chotek. 

But he had failed! _But he had failed!_ She clutched at the sophistrydesperately. Goritz had failed. Under such conditions should sheconsider her promise binding? It had been conditional. Liberty, there inthe street below, just at her elbow, and Hugh Renwick within reach! Shecame to this conclusion with desperate speed, and quickly addressed andsealed the envelope. 

Yeva, before the mirror, was wrapped in admiration of her newpossession. 

"Am I not beautiful in it, Fräulein?" she was asking as she twisted andturned, examining herself at every angle. 

"Yes, Yeva, " said Marishka quietly, "but it is not a garment in whichone goes out upon the street. "

"The street!" Yeva laughed deliciously. "I would make a sensation inBosna-Seraj, I can tell you, attired only in this and a _yashmak_. "

And then seeing the note lying upon the tabourette, she came runningwith little childish footsteps. "Ah, you have sealed it! And you are notgoing to let me see?"

"It is nothing, Yeva. "

"But I thought----" peevishly. 

"How can you be interested in my little affairs?"

"I hoped that he might come and I should see him through the _dutap_. "

"Perhaps he may!" said Marishka with an inspiration. "Could you betrusted to keep this message a secret? To tell no one?"

"I have already promised----"

"Not even to Zubeydeh----?"

"Of course not. Zubeydeh is old and ugly. She would not understand whata young girl thinks about. "

"And can you go out without her knowing?"

"By the private stairway. Of course. There is another door below, locked, but I can procure a key. "

"Then I too----" Marishka paused and Yeva turned, reading her thoughts. 

"Ah, I understand. You wish to go to him. It is a pity, but it isimpossible. "

"Impossible! Why?"

"I can do the Fräulein a favor, since she has been kind to me, but todisobey the commands of my lord and master--I would call upon myself thecurses of Allah. "

Marishka pondered for a moment. "The Effendi desires that I remainhere?" she asked. 

"That is his command, Fräulein. "

"I see. "

If Marishka had had any doubts as to the intentions of Captain Goritz, the Beg of Rataj had now removed them. How much or how little of whatthe girl revealed had been born of innocence or how much of design, Marishka could not know, but it hardly seemed possible that the childcould be meshed so deeply in this intrigue. Marishka felt sure that Yevahad promised to deliver her note, because the situation amused andinterested her, as did her visitor, and because of the pink garment Yevawas now so reluctantly laying aside. 

Marishka took another garment from the valise, a dainty drapery of silkedged with fine lace, and held it up temptingly. 

"Yeva, " she said. 

"Yes, Fräulein. "

"This, too, is very beautiful, do you not think so?"

Yeva sighed wistfully. 

"Yes. It is very beautiful. "

"And would you care to have this too?"

"Would I----? Oh, Fräulein! I cannot believe----"

Yeva came forward with arms outstretched, brown fingers curling, but asshe was about to touch the garment Marishka swept it away and put itbehind her back. 

"I will give it to you----"

"Yes----"

"If you will take me out with you by the secret door to the EuropaHotel. "

"Fräulein!" The girl stopped aghast and then slowly turned away. 

"You would have me disobey the commands of my lord and master?" she saidin an awed whisper. 

"I am asking only my rights, " urged Marishka desperately. "I am anAustrian with many friends. I have believed that I was a guest in thishouse, welcome to come and to go as I choose. If the Effendi desires tokeep me against my will he runs a great risk of offending the governmentof Austria and my friends. "

"As to that I do not know----" said Yeva plaintively. 

"It will do you no harm to be my friend. "

"I am your friend. But to disobey the command of one's lord andmaster----"

"It is worse to disobey the laws of Bosnia. "

"But what can I do?" asked the girl, helplessly weaving her fingers toand fro. 

"You need do nothing but go out to deliver my message. Then you shallappear to lock the door below, but the bolt shall not catch. That isall. When you are gone I shall follow into the street. "

"And I shall not see you--and your lover through the _dutap_?"

"You shall see us there--yonder. I promise you. "

"It is a terrible thing that you ask. "

"Yeva!" Marishka held the silk garment up before the childish gaze ofthe girl. "Look, Yeva. "

It was enough. With a cry, Yeva seized the garment in both hands andcarried it to her lips, kissing it excitedly. 

"And if I do what you ask--you will never tell?"

"Never. "

Marishka had won. It was with difficulty that she restrained hercompanion from disrobing again and putting on the new garment, but atlast by dint of much persuasion she succeeded in getting Yeva to put onher own garments, her head dress, veil and _yashmak_, and in a shortwhile they were both attired for the street. With a last look around theroom, a short vigil at the _dutap_ for sounds of watchful Zubeydeh, Yevatimorously found the key of the lower door, pushed the hanging aside, and with a last rapturous look at the draperies upon the dressing stand, vanished into the darkness of the door. 

Marishka, her heart beating high with hope, quickly packed a few of herbelongings into a small package and followed. It was very dark upon thenarrow stair, but with a hand upon the wall to steady herself, sheslowly descended. Feeling for the steps with her feet, at last shereached the floor below, and stepping cautiously forward came upon ablank wall. She turned to the left and found her egress stopped--to theright--yes, there was a door. She fingered for the latch and found it, opening the door, which let in the daylight. But just as she was aboutto step out, she started back in sudden consternation. Upon the step, grim and forbidding, dressed in fez, white shirt, and wide breeches, stood a man with folded arms facing her. He made no sign of greeting, nor did he change his posture by so much as a millimeter, but she heardhis voice quite distinctly, though he spoke in a low tone. 

"You will be pleased to return at once. "

"But I----" It was the courage of desperation--short-lived, alas!

"At once, " the man repeated, unfolding his arms. "At once--or shallI----"

Marishka waited no more upon the order of her going but went at once, finding her way up the dusty stairs, terrified, again a prey to the mostagonizing fears. 

Would Yeva find Hugh at the Hotel Europa?

CHAPTER XV

THE LIGHTED WINDOWS

The night journey of Mr. Renwick to the Bosnian border with the man inblack was one long chapter of accidents and delays. But Herr Linkecommanded the situation. He had taken care not to return theEnglishman's weapon, and there was nothing for Renwick to do but sit insilence by the side of the melancholy Colossus, and pray for anopportunity which never came, for Linke had a watchful eye and sat inthe tonneau of the machine. Toward midnight they reached Vinkovcze, where they had supper, and resumed their leisurely journey with a newsupply of petrol, which only seemed to increase the trouble in thecarburetor. It was at this time that an uncontrollable drowsiness fellupon Renwick. He struggled against it but at last realized that in spiteof himself sleep was slowly overpowering him. As in a haze he saw thehuge figure of Linke beside him lean over, smiling, while a deep voicewhich seemed to come from a distance rumbled calmly, "You are very sleepy, Herr Renwick?"

Renwick dimly remembered muttering a curse. 

"You've drugged--cof----"

Then Renwick slept. 

When he awoke it was broad daylight. The car was moving smoothly enoughalong a good road between two mountains, and at the side of the road ariver flowed in the direction from which the machine had come. 

Renwick felt light-headed and rather ill, and it was some moments beforehe became conscious of the figure beside him, while he struggled uprightand found his speech. 

"Where are we?" he asked. 

"Near Duboj, Herr Renwick, where we shall presently eat our supper----"

"Supper!"

"Yes. You have slept the clock around----"

"Ah, I remember, " and he turned upon the man with a renewed and quitefutile anger. "You drugged me, you----"

"Softly, my friend, " the big man broke in soothingly. "You can do nogood by defaming me. "

Renwick shrugged. "You'll pay the score at settling time, nevertheless. "

"Perhaps. In the meanwhile I beg you to consider that you are but fiftykilometers from your destination. Since we passed the Save we haveproceeded with greater rapidity. "

But Renwick had sunk into a sullen silence. The huge creature, whom hehad held in such light esteem, had made a fool of him, had reduced himto the impotence of a child. As his mind cleared, the object of theman's actions became more involved. Whatever he was, he had succeeded inpreventing Renwick from reaching Sarajevo before the Archduke's partyshould arrive, but why he should wish to drug a man who was meeting hiswishes and giving no trouble was more than Renwick could answer. Stillpuzzled, he glanced at his watch. It was now five o'clock. The sight ofthe dial startled him. Had Marishka succeeded in reaching the Duchess orhad----? Forgetting his quarrel with Linke in the new interest inportending events, he questioned, "You have heard from Sarajevo?"

"By wire at Yranduk, " said Linke, nodding gravely. "The Archduke Franzand the Duchess of Hohenburg were assassinated this morning in thestreets of Sarajevo. "

Renwick's knowledge of the plot and the difficulties which surroundedhis and Marishka's efforts to prevent its consummation had convinced himthat the attempt would at least be made, but Herr Linke's bold statementof the fact shocked him none the less. 

"They are dead?"

"Both, " said Linke. "They died before reaching the Landes hospital. "

"Who----" Renwick paused, aware that names meant nothing. 

"A Serbian student, named Prinzep. "

The Englishman said nothing more, for he was again thinking of Marishka. She had failed! Had she arrived too late or had her visit to Sarajevobeen prevented? And if so where was she now? There was nothing for itbut to go on to the Europa Hotel and inquire for the note that she wouldleave there. In a somewhat desperate mood, he followed Herr Linke intothe small hotel at Duboj, for he knew that he could not go on withoutfood, having eaten nothing since the day before. As he hesitated, the_goulash_ upon the dish before him, Linke smiled. 

"You need have no further fear, Herr Renwick, " he said calmly. "We arenow friends, engaged upon precisely the same service. "

"Indeed! And that----?"

"To find the Countess Stranhni at the earliest possible moment. "

"And after that?"

"To restore her to her friends. "

"You know where she is?"

"No. But I can find her. "

It entered Renwick's head at the moment to tell the fellow of the notein his pocket, but the events of the night had made him careful. 

"Who are you?" he asked again. 

But the man evaded. 

"I beg that you will eat, Herr Renwick, " he said coolly. "We have notime to spare. "

And so at last, when Herr Linke ponderously helped himself and theHungarian chauffeur from the dish, Renwick followed his lead and ate. 

In less than half an hour they were again upon their way, reaching thehills above the Bosnian capital just before nightfall. Here, for somereason, the machine again halted with a loud explosion of back-fire anda prodigious amount of smoke. The chauffeur got out, looked into thehood and straightened, gesticulating wildly. Herr Linke followed, and aconversation ensued, the import of which was lost upon the Englishman. But when it was finished, Linke turned to Renwick and explained that themachinery was injured beyond repair and that the car could go nofurther. Two Bosnian policemen who had appeared in the road before them, now rode up and made inquiries. Renwick shrugged and was about to walkaway with the intention of finishing his journey afoot, when thechauffeur came forward and caught him by the arm, shouting something inan excited and angry voice, appealing to the men on horseback andpointing alternately at the Englishman and at the injured machine. TheBosnians got down and listened while one of them, who seemed tounderstand, addressed Renwick in German. 

"This man says that you engaged to pay for any breakages to the machine, and that you have not paid him all that you owe. "

"He lies. I paid him at Ujvidek. Herr Linke here will bear mewitness----" As he turned to address his traveling companion, he pausedin amazement, for without a word, or a sound, Herr Linke had suddenlyvanished into space. 

But the Hungarian was screaming again, and what he said must haveimpressed the policeman who had spoken to him, for he turned to Renwick, scratching his head dubiously, and suggested that the matter be furtherdiscussed before a magistrate in the city below. Renwick agreed, gavethe policeman his card with the word that he would find him at theEuropa Hotel and leaving his suitcase in the car as security for hisappearance when summoned went hurriedly down the hills toward the city. The colloquy had occupied some moments, but when Renwick came to astraight reach of road which led toward the tobacco factory buildings hewas surprised to find that Herr Linke was nowhere in sight. The man wasan enigma, a curious mixture of desperado and buffoon, but his suddendisappearance without a word of thanks, apology or explanation, gaveRenwick something to puzzle over as he made his way to the bridge. Itspossible significance escaped him until he had reached the river, when, a thought suddenly occurring to him, he put his hand into the breastpocket of his coat, feeling for the note from Marishka. It was gone! Hehunted, feverishly, one pocket after another, and was on the point ofgoing back for a search of the machine when the truth suddenly dawned. Herr Linke had taken it from him, last night when he slept--had druggedhim that he might get it without commotion! In an illuminating flash heremembered the sharp look in the man's eyes yesterday morning in thetrain from Budapest when Renwick had taken the note from his pocket. Linke! He hurried his footsteps, bewailing his own simplicity andwondering what this new phase of Herr Linke's activities might signify. Renwick had assumed that the Austrian was an agent of Herr Windt, whounable to follow him on to Sarajevo had guessed the train upon which hehad left and had sent this man up from Budapest to get into hiscarriage. But his most recent accomplishment seemed to leave thispresumption open to doubt. If Herr Linke had stolen the letter in thebelief that it contained secret information which would be of value toAustrian secret service officials, the mere reading of it would haveconvinced him of its innocence in so far as Marishka was concerned. Andif a forgery! Perhaps something in the message which Renwick hadoverlooked would put him upon the track of the fellow of the greenlimousine. He went along the river bank from the bridge toward thehotel, the location of which was familiar to him, hurrying his pace. Atany rate the note was gone and with it the mysterious Linke, facts whichclearly indicated one purpose. Herr Linke was bent upon intercepting anymessage which might come to the Hotel Europa for the Englishman. Andgiven that to be his purpose, what was his intention with regard to theCountess Strahni?

Still puzzling over the mysteries, which gained in elusiveness as hehurried into Franz Josef Street, he reached the hotel, which was nearthe Carsija, and made hurried inquiries of the Turkish porter, whosmiled and professed ignorance, but said to the Excellency that he woulddiligently inquire, bringing Renwick at last to the major-domo, whoinformed him that a note bearing the name of Herr Renwick had been leftat the hotel an hour before, but that not twenty minutes ago, HerrRenwick had called and claimed it. 

"That is not possible, " said Renwick hotly, "since I am Herr Renwick. "

The major-domo shrugged and bowed obsequiously. It was most unfortunate, he said, but of course as Excellency must know, the Hotel Europa was nota postoffice and could not be held responsible for the proper deliveryof letters when it knew nothing of the identity of those to whom theywere addressed. 

Renwick paused a moment, and then said quickly, "To whom was the notedelivered? You saw?"

"Yes, Excellency. The person who said he was Herr Renwick was tall, attired in black clothing, and carried an umbrella. "

"Who brought the note?"

"As to that--I do not know. "

The major-domo moved majestically away, but the Turkish porter who stoodlistening, broke in. 

"If your Excellency will permit. It was I who received the note, latethis afternoon. It was brought by a woman in a _yashmak_--a Turkishwoman. Of course I could not know her, since one looks with averted eyesupon the women of Islam, but she would have come from the Turkishquarter of the town--from beyond the Carsija--perhaps. I do not know. Ican say no more. "

Renwick paused irresolutely and giving the man a fee, went out of thehotel into the street, mingling with the crowds upon Franz Josef Street, where but a few hours before on a nearby corner, the Archduke andDuchess had met their deaths. Deciding that at all hazards he mustremain inconspicuous while he thought out a plan, he crossed the riverand went into a small park, where he sank wearily into a bench andburied himself in new speculations. 

A pipe and tobacco soothed, if they failed to stimulate his faculties. He had reached an _impasse_. What if the Enigma in black were playingsome deep game of his own with regard to Marishka? What if, after all, he was no agent of Herr Windt, but represented perhaps the militaryparty of Austria, which had as deep an interest in Marishka's silence ashad the Wilhelmstrasse? And yet such a theory was hardly plausible, forif Linke were interested in Marishka's silence he would also beinterested in Renwick's, and this being the case, the easiest way out ofthe business would have been to have dropped Renwick into some deep poolof the Save or the Bosna while he slept. Herr Linke puzzled Renwick, butreason informed him that the unknown limousine chap was the greatermenace both to Marishka and himself. That he held Renwick's life cheaplywas indicated by the frequent attempts upon it in Vienna and in Bohemiaand the mere fact that he had twice failed was no sign that a thirdattempt might not be successful. The most unfavorable phase of thesituation was that the German agent knew Renwick by sight, and wouldhave every opportunity of following him to some secluded spot--shootinghim in the back and escaping into a nearby street before the excitementsubsided. What did the German agent look like? He might pass the fellow, elbow to elbow, and the Englishman would not know him. Renwick had nofear of meeting the man on even terms, but the thought of being stabbedin the back or shot at by any casual passer-by was disturbing to hismorale. Every innocent bush, every tree was an enemy. What did the greenlimousine chap look like? A Prussian? With a bulky nose, small mustache, and no back to his head? Or was he small, clean shaven, and ferret-like?How would he be dressed? In mufti? Or in some favoring disguise whichmight better lend itself to his purposes?

Renwick rose suddenly and, with a careful glance about him, made slowlyfor the Lateimer Bridge, sure at least, that he had not been followed, and convinced that he must equalize the hazards between this German andhimself by playing the game according to the standards of theWilhelmstrasse. So he found his way carefully into the Carsija, andfound a stall where he managed to buy a native Bosnian costume, --fez, white shirt, short jacket, wide trousers fitting close below the knee, sash and slippers. His automatic having been taken by the prudent Linke, he was unarmed, but managed to find a revolver of American make andcartridges which fitted it. With his newly acquired purchases hereturned in the darkness to the other bank of the river, where he founda small inn in the Bistrick quarter. 

He concealed ten one hundred _kroner_ notes in the lining at the belt ofthe trousers, and pinned it securely. The remainder of his money, a fewfifty crown notes and coins, he put in his pockets with his watch andother valuables, and changed his clothing. When he had finished dressinghe examined himself in a mirror. His face was tanned by exposure, andthe dust of the journey which he retained gave him a soiled appearancesufficiently Oriental. He was now Stefan Thomasevic, a seller of sheepand goats, which he had brought to the market. He left his Englishclothing in a bundle in the care of the innkeeper and advising the manthat he would return later in the night or at least upon the morrow, went forth across the river again, with a sense of greater security fromthe observations of any who meant mischief to Hugh Renwick. If he didnot know what the green limousine chap looked like, the limousine chapat least could not know him. 

As he slouched through the alleys of the Carsija, reassured as to thecompleteness of his disguise, he smoked a native cigarette, and askedmany questions among the keepers of the stalls, squatting cross-leggedwith them upon the ground and learning much of all matters save of theone with which he was most concerned. 

"Few but Moslem people had passed through the Carsija upon this day, "they said, "for the terrible happenings of the morning had kept theAustrian Excellencies in their own part of the town and Islam--Islam intime of trouble was always wise to find its company among its ownpeople. "

Renwick's task seemed hopeless, but he did not despair, leaving thebazaar at last, and climbing the hill to the old town beyond theBastion. Here he again questioned every passer-by. "Had the Effendi seena tall Excellency dressed in black who carried an umbrella? He, StefanThomasevic, had sold the Excellency some sheep and goats, but theExcellency had not yet paid all of that which he owed. It was not amatter about which to laugh. If the Excellency did not soon appear inthe Carsija, it was a matter for the police. "

But no one could help him. Herr Linke was moving with discretion, for itwas probable that if such a creature had strolled through the Carsija, there would be a dozen idlers who would have observed and noted thefact. Renwick's chief hopes were crumbling. And yet, if Linke suspectedthat the note which had been sent to the Hotel Europa was a bait, hewould of course act with great caution. It was nearly midnight when, weary and disappointed, Renwick returned from the Kastele quarter in thedirection of the Carsija. The houses were dark save for a glimmer oflight in an upper window here and there, but the moon had come out, andRenwick, moving silently along in the shadow of walls and houses, gazedabout him with the eagerness of despair. For a while he stopped in theangle of a wall, and listened to the sounds of the city below him, therush of the river below the Bastion, the motor and bell of the electrictram-car, the whistle of a freight locomotive at the further end of thetown--strident noises brought from the West to break the drowsy murmurof the Orient, but not a sight nor a sound which could give him a clewas to the whereabouts of Linke or Countess Marishka. The inaction wasmaddening. In his belt the American revolver hung its futile weight. Hadit not been for Linke, he might have had a chance at least to follow theinstructions of the note of the Hotel Europa to some conclusion whetherfor good or ill--it did not matter. If Marishka herself had writtenit!. .. She would be awaiting him now--and he could not come toher. .. . In his stead--Linke the gigantic, the mellifluous. .. . 

Renwick turned slowly into a side street, and crouched in the dark angleof a wall, for a motor car was coming toward him. Motors in the regionof Franz Josef Street and the river were not uncommon, but as a rulethey were seldom to be seen in the hilly region near the Bastion. Fromhis dark vantage point, Renwick saw the car approach and pass him, quietly coasting, and stop a short distance below the angle of thestreet from which he had emerged. He caught a glimpse of the profile ofthe chauffeur, and noted the condition of the car. He judged that it hadcome a long journey, for Sarajevo and the part of Bosnia through whichhis own machine had traveled, had suffered much from the drought. Thismachine was covered with dust, of course, but it was also literallyspattered with mud. The Englishman watched the machine for a while, butthe chauffeur having silenced the engine, remained motionless, in deepshadow, waiting. Of course belated visitors from the European section ofthe city to the Kastele were a possibility, but the quietness with whichthe chauffeur had approached, and the eager way in which he now leanedforward in his seat watching the _meshrebiya_ windows of a house at somedistance, excited Renwick's curiosity. Why was the man there? Who was hewatching in the house of the lighted window? Had this mystery anythingin common with his own? Renwick watched the windows too. A light burneddimly within, and once he thought a shadow passed. The window and thechauffeur interested him, but he was too far away to distinguish thehouse clearly, and so, moving stealthily, he stole quietly up the hillto a cross street, and turning to the left, in the shadow of a wall, walked rapidly down to a small alley which he took at random, at the endof which he paused for observation. The house with the _meshrebiya_windows was now just below where he stood, but opposite him was anancient stone wall, and in its center was a blue door. There were treeswithin the enclosure, and he heard the sound of falling water. He founda dark doorway and crouched silently, watching. 

A _cul-de-sac_? Perhaps. Disappointment and chagrin had done their worstto him. He would wait see what was to happen, and if nothing came of theventure he would merely have his labor for his pains. He noted above thewall that there were windows of the house which overlooked the garden. In one of them, in the room which the chauffeur had been observing, thelight still dimly burned, but he saw no shadows. Peering out from theangle of the alleyway, he thought he had discovered a doorway or courtbetween the house he was watching and the one below it toward theCarsija, and in a moment fancied that he could distinguish the sound ofwhispering voices, from that direction; but the shadow of a mosquenearby threw its shadow upon this part of the street, and he could seenothing clearly. If there were men there, they were keeping in theshadow of the wall around the turn of the street, beyond the range ofRenwick's vision, but the night breeze which carried the sound of thewhispers also wafted the odor of a native cigarette. The smell of itmade Renwick wish to smoke, for the suspense and inaction were tellingupon him, but he resisted the impulse, sinking lower into the shadow, and awaiting events. 

Minutes passed--hours they seemed to the waiting Renwick--and then camethe deep boom of a bell, which echoing down the silent streets, seemedjust at Renwick's elbow--another--another--until he counted twelve, ofthe belfry of the cathedral announcing midnight. 

He waited, thinking deeply. The machine which had come a long journey?The lighted windows which the chauffeur watched? The whisper of voicesfrom the street below him? There was mystery here. He crouched lower andwatched the dark shadow of the arch below the house. 

CHAPTER XVI

THE BEG OF RATAJ

When Marishka reached the top of the stairs, entered the Harim, gazingterrified into the darkness from which she had emerged, she pushed asidethe Kis-Kelim and listening fearfully for sounds of footsteps below, then closed the door, turned the key, and put her back against it, viewing with a new vision the interior which a while ago had seemed sofriendly. Without Yeva who had given its disorder a personality, theroom seemed alien, hostile and madly chaotic. For the first time sincethe reassurances of Captain Goritz in the green limousine as to hersafety, she had a definite sense of personal danger. She was nottimorous by nature, and the hope of success in her mission of atonementhad given her the courage for the venture. She realized now that thewill which had kept her buoyant through two arduous days and nights hadsuddenly forsaken her and left her supine, without hope or initiative. The actions of the man at the doorway below had frightened her. He hadbeen so uncompromising in his ugliness. The shock of her awakening hadbeen rudely unexpected, and had bewildered her with its brutalsignificance. She was a prisoner in this Turkish house, in an obscurequarter of a half Oriental town, and night was imminent, a night whichseemed to possess untold possibilities for evil. What was to happen? Whyhad not Captain Goritz returned? Enemy though she now knew him to be, even Goritz was a refuge in this perilous situation. And yet it seemedcertain that the man at the foot of the stairs was acting under hisorders or under the orders of another who was accountable to him. 

Weakness overpowered her and she threw herself on the pile of cushionsin the window and buried her face in her hands, as if by blindingherself to the imminent facts of her surroundings she could free herspirit of the terrors which were overtaking it. As in her dream, herfaculties were elusive, thoughts and half-thoughts conflicting andinterchangeable. The rush and the roar of the hurrying motor car, thekaleidoscope of the maddened crowd, the shots, the sunlight and then thespangled darkness with the sound of voices. She started upright in hercushions, her face pallid and drawn, her thoughts now focusing withsudden definiteness. The voices! They were no dream--no more a dreamthan the other horrors that encompassed her. She tried to remember whatthey had said. "Ten thousand _kroner_--the goose that lays the goldenegg----" What did the phrases mean? Another--"To be kept in seclusion, of course, but you will accede to all her wishes. " The meaning of thevoices became clearer, at every moment. "Should she care to write, youwill send a message!" Marishka put her hand to her lips as though tostifle a cry, and then sank back with a gasp of comprehension. Goritz!He had expected her to send a message, and had prepared for itsdelivery. But why? How could he have known!. .. Slowly the meaning of itall came to her. His certainty and insistence as to Hugh Renwick'spursuit--the belief that Renwick would go at once to the Hotel Europa!The power of suggestion! And she had followed it blindly--unawares, leading Hugh Renwick into this deadly trap which Goritz had laid. Sheread the plan now in all its insidious perfection. There was somethingmalign--hypnotic--in an influence which could so easily compelcompliance. And Hugh? She had written him to come here--to the door inthe court below, where men would be waiting--perhaps to take his life. It was too horrible!

Nature mercifully intervened. The strain of long days and nights ofanguish had reached the limit of her endurance, and her nerves, too, long under tension, suddenly rebelled. She sank helplessly upon thefloor, sobs racking her body from head to foot. She did not know howlong she lay there, but when she raised her head it was already growingdark in the room, like the shadows that were stealing about her heart. Whichever way she turned, groping mentally for a thought which wouldlead her toward a light, disorder reigned, danger threatened. If therewas a man at the foot of the stairs to prevent her escape, there wouldbe others beneath the windows and at the door into the garden. 

Yeva! She clung to the hope of Yeva's sincerity--the last thing left toher. It was difficult for her to believe that this child with the bodyof a woman could be guilty of complicity in any plot. She might haveobeyed instructions to be the bearer of any note that Marishka mightwrite--indeed her childish prattle as to the wishes of her lord andmaster verified the voices of Marishka's dream, and suggested thatMarishka should be permitted to do as she chose--so that Yeva hadoffered, without fear of consequences, to deliver Marishka's note at thehotel. She had even consented to leave the lower door open that Marishkamight escape and follow her. No woman of the world could have acted apart as Yeva had played it. If the girl had known of the guardian of thelower door, her skill in dissimulation was consummate--so much out ofkeeping with the simplicity of her mind as to be entirely incredible. Yeva was innocent, a mere tool in the hands of Captain Goritz, whodisposed all the pawns in his command to play his game. Yeva had beenpermitted to depart without hindrance. Would Marishka's note reach itsdestination? Or would it be intercepted and its message read by CaptainGoritz? His cunning had amazed her but it frightened her now. A ruse socarefully planned could have for its object nothing less than theobliteration of Hugh Renwick, as a prisoner or something worse--perhapsDeath! She shuddered. She, Marishka, would unwittingly have caused it!She had asked him to come at midnight and knock upon the door in thecourt below and she knew enough of Hugh to be sure that if he receivedthe message, no matter how great the danger to himself, he would come. The note! If she could recall it! She would suffer whatever Goritz hadin store for her, if Hugh could only be spared. She had already done himhurt enough--without the chance of this last most dreadful sacrifice inher behalf--in vain. He would come to her and she must wait--without thepower to warn him, and perhaps see him killed before her very eyes. 

Her thoughts made her desperate--and the idea of another attempt toescape came into her head. If she could only reach the street, she couldrun--and it would be a better race with her pursuer than she had givenHugh in the rose gardens of the Archduke! She made the attempt, quietlyopening the door by which she had entered the room and passing ontip-toe down the corridor to the door with the _dutap_. She drew asidethe curtain which covered it and noiselessly turned the knob. As shepeered out she found herself staring straight into the eyes of Zubeydeh. The woman's look was cold but full of understanding. 

"Does the Fräulein wish anything?" she asked without the slightestchange of expression. Her voice was colorless, like the speech whichmight be expected from a graven image. 

"I--I was hungry, " stammered Marishka helplessly. "I--I am sorry tobother you. "

"If you will return to the room within, I will bring food at once, " shesaid stolidly. And so Marishka, once more balked in her enterprise, wentback to the Harim. Strong as she was, armed anew with the suddenstrength of desperation, she knew that even if she could use herstrength she was no match for this massive creature who, in the_selamlik_ nearby, perhaps had men within call. She went to the windowsand peered out into the street. There was no one in sight, except a tallman in black who carried an umbrella. She watched him a moment throughthe carved screen, but he went up the street and disappeared around acorner. The garden seemed to be deserted. Would the gate to the streetbe locked? She made an effort to move the lattice of _meshrebiya_, butit was nailed fast to the main wood work of the house. Her case washopeless. There was nothing to do but wait upon the clemency--the mercyof Captain Goritz. A new idea of her captor was being born in her, of acreature who differed from the courteous German official of Vienna andAgram. His eyes haunted her, the dark eyes set just a little obliquelyin his head, a racial peculiarity which she had not been able toidentify. She knew now. They were Oriental, like Zubeydeh's, like thoseof the man at the door below, alien, hostile and cruel. And yet it wascurious how the smile in them had disarmed her and she remembered, witha futile glow of returning hope, that she had not feared him, that shehad even had the temerity to defy him. But her courage had ebbed--shecould not have defied him now and in the darkness while she waited forYeva she feared him--feared him. 

It seemed strange that Yeva had not returned. She had been gone an houror more and the Hotel Europa could not be a great distance away. As themoments passed she gave up the other hope of persuading the girl, whenshe returned, to go back at once to the hotel and reclaim the note, before Hugh could get it. Could anything have happened to her? Marishkawanted her--the sound of a voice, the touch of a feminine hand, her airsand graces--the foibles of a child perhaps, but intensely virile intheir childishness and intensely human. It seemed that even Yeva was tobe denied to her. 

For when Zubeydeh brought lights and food the woman made no comment uponthe absence of the girl--a confirmation of Marishka's suspicions thatZubeydeh was aware of the conspiracy and what was to come of it. But asMarishka made a pretense of eating what the woman had brought, shesummoned courage to inquire. 

"Yeva went out into the city by the passage to the street. She has notyet returned?"

"I do not know, " she said in her heavy colorless voice. 

The woman lied. Marishka knew it by the shifting glance of her eye. 

"Will you kindly inform His Excellency--I need mention no names--that Ishould be very glad if he would meet me at his convenience----"

"Excellency is not here, " said the woman. 

"Well, when he comes, I should be grateful if you will deliver mymessage. "

"I will tell him. "

Nothing more. Her manner was not discourteous, but her voice wasforbidding. She had been given instructions to keep silence. And justbefore leaving the room, a further confirmation of Marishka's convictionthat Yeva was at that very moment in another part of the house, Zubeydehgathered up the two pieces of drapery which Marishka had given the girl, and carried them out of the room. 

The hours lengthened while Marishka sat trying to gather the remnants ofher courage to face Captain Goritz when he should come to her. TheTurkish lamp which hung from the ceiling burned dimly, casting grotesqueshadows about the room, flickering in patches of tawdry light upon thegilt of the embroidered hangings, and touching the blades of the ancientweapons which decorated the wall about the couch, scimitars, swords, daggers and spears! Marishka got up and examined them more closely, curiously, as though she had not seen them before. She shuddered alittle as she plucked from its sheath a small dagger with a bronzedhandle, and found that its blade was very sharp and bright. She reachedup to put it back, but as she did so there was a sound from the roombeyond the passage, and a knock upon the door. So she slipped the weaponinto the waistband of her skirt, beneath her blouse, and went to herseat among the pillows. In a moment the knock was repeated, and in replyto her call, the door opened and she heard footsteps along the corridor. 

The man who entered was tall and slender, with a hooked nose, heavybrows, and a beard streaked with white. He wore the turban and brightgreen belt which denoted the Moslem, and the fingers with which hetouched brow, lips, and heart in salutation were covered with rings. 

"_Saläm 'alaikum_, " he muttered, bowing. 

Marishka knew no reply to this and made none, waiting in sometrepidation for him to proceed. He was a villainous looking creature, but comported himself with an air of some dignity. In a moment he spokeagain in excellent German. 

"I hope that Excellency has been able to make herself quite comfortablein my poor house. "

As he spoke, Marishka remembered that this was one of the voices of herdreams, the gruff voice which talked with Goritz. 

Something was required of her in reply, and so, with an effort, "Yeva has been very kind, Effendi, " she managed. 

"Yes. Allah has been good to me. Yeva has a heart of gold. "

"You are the Beg of Rataj?" Marishka asked. 

He salaamed again. 

"Will you tell me, then, what has become of Herr Hauptmann Goritz?"

The man's face wore a sudden crafty look of incomprehension. 

"Goritz, Excellency?" he asked coolly. "There is no one of that name inmy acquaintance. "

Marishka accepted the rebuke and ventured timidly, "I mean, the--theExcellency--who brought me here----"

"Ah! Lieutenant von Arnstorf! He has gone, I think, upon a journey, "said the Beg. 

Marishka was silent a moment, thinking. 

"That is strange. It is very necessary that I should see him. "

The man smiled up at the lamp above his head, revealing a void whereteeth should have been. 

"I need not say that he has directed that everything possible shall bedone for your comfort--and it is my pleasure to obey Excellency'sorders, in so far as my poor house can afford. And even were these notExcellency's instructions, " he added with a grin, "it is an honor forthe house of Rataj to have beneath its roof one so noble and sobeautiful. "

A wave of nerves swept over Marishka for the admiration in his glancewas unmistakable, but she knew that any possible chance of safety forHugh--for herself--lay in the favor of this man. And so with a shudderof repugnance which she concealed with difficulty, she motioned to himto be seated. His small eyes appraised her eagerly for a moment, andthen he sank upon a cushion near her, and without asking permission, took out a cigarette. 

"I--I shall not forget your kindness, Effendi, " said Marishka, struggling for her composure. "Already Yeva and I are good friends. "

"Ah, that is fortunate, for it was upon the question of the future ofYeva that I have come to talk with you. "

"In what may I serve you, Effendi?"

He sighed deeply. 

"Times change, Excellency. In the days gone by, the Begs of Rataj werereckoned among the rulers of Bosnia, high in the counsels of theJanissaries, feudal lords of great domains. But I, alas! the last of theBegs of Rataj, whose father even held the sway of a king, have beendeprived of my tithes, and reduced to the low condition of a merchant inrugs, a dealer in antiquities, dependent upon the good will of touristsfrom the West, reduced perhaps one day to sit in a stall in the Carsija. It is not so much that I am no longer rich, but it is my pride, thepride of race which suffers under misfortune. "

Whither was the man leading? Much as she distrusted him, her curiositywas aroused, and she listened, watching him intently. 

"You will perhaps understand, " he continued gravely, "that all this isvery hard upon Yeva, the star of my heart, with whom Allah has blessedme. The West has flowed in upon the East at Bosna-Seraj, and engulfedit. We are no more a simple Moslem city with the tastes of our fathers;and our women are no more satisfied to remain as they were, childish, ignorant, and unlettered. The spell of the Occident is upon the land. Vienna, Berlin, Paris, have come to Bosna-Seraj. Our women sigh for thethings which are beyond the mountains. The peace of the home is invadedand our women are unhappy, because their lords and masters have no moneyto procure for them the things that they wish. "

Money! Thank God! This man could be bought!

"And Yeva?" Marishka asked, trembling in fear for the new hope that hadrisen. 

"It is the same with her as with the others, Excellency, " he shruggeddespairingly. "She is but a child. I have been foolishly liberal withher--as liberal as my poor means allowed, and she has come to know thevalue of money--the dross for which men perjure their souls, and die ifneed be. Yeva, alas! wishes jewels, the pretty clothing of the women offashion. And I, as I have related, being a mere dealer in rugs, Excellency, have not been able to give them to her. It has madeunhappiness come into my household; it has made me, the Beg of Rataj, hereditary ruler of thousands, ashamed to raise my head or my voice inher presence--I, Excellency, her lord and master!"

He wagged his head to and fro with an air which might have been comical, had not Marishka's need been so desperate. But she read him easily, avile, blackmailing rogue who held no allegiance higher than what he gotfrom it--a man who, for all his fine flow of talk, could be dangerous aswell as unscrupulous. But Marishka met him fairly. 

"I have taken a fancy to Yeva, Effendi, " she said quietly. "She willtell you perhaps that I have already given her several trifles which shefancied. Perhaps I can do something to solve your problems. In my owncountry I am considered wealthy and I can be generous with those whotreat me with kindness. "

"Ah!" The Effendi's eyes sparkled hungrily. The Austrian countess was nofool. She had already begun to understand him. 

"To treat Her Excellency with kindness! And could I do anything else? Myhouse, poor as it is----"

"Effendi, " Marishka cut in boldly, "let us waste no words. I am aprisoner in your house, at the instance of Captain--of Herr Lieutenantvon Arnstorf----"

"A prisoner? Has not the Excellency----?"

"One moment. I am not aware how much you know of the political situationwhich has brought me to Bosna-Seraj, but I do know that I am confinedhere against my will--a prisoner in a house within the realms of my owncountry. Of course you know that I have sought to escape, that I havewritten to a friend who will do what he can to liberate me. "

"Excellency, I beg of you----"

"Please let me finish. For political reasons, the fact of my presencehere and my mission should be kept a secret. My friends, therefore, would not wish to call upon General Potiorek, the governor, for soldiersor police, if my liberty can be secured quietly--without commotion. I amwilling to meet you upon any reasonable grounds. "

Marishka paused, for the man had risen and was pacing the floor slowly. 

"Ah, Excellency, I, too, will waste no further speech, for I see thatyou are a woman of the world, and I, Beg of Rataj, am only a seller ofrugs. But I am placed in a difficult position. It has pained me deeplyto see you constrained to stay in my poor house against your will. Andyet, what would you? His Excellency has done me many favors, andgratitude is one of the strongest traits in a nature which suffers muchmisuse. I do not know anything of politics, or of the controversybetween you, and I have simply obeyed the dictates of my heart in givinghis Excellency some proof--some return of his kindnesses to me. Butsince I have seen you, heard your voice, felt the distinction of yourpresence in my poor house, I am torn between my emotions--of gratitudeand of pity. "

"How much do you want?" said Marishka quietly. 

"Excellency, the brutality of the words!"

"I mean them. How much?"

The man's keen eyes appraised her quickly and then looked away, but hesank upon his cushion again, wagging his head and breathing a deep sighto measure his humiliation. 

"I am but a poor man, Excellency, " he sighed again. 

Upon Marishka's wrist was a bracelet set with diamonds. She slipped itoff quickly and handed it to him. 

"You are a poor man, " she said. "I give you this--for Yeva. "

"Ah, yes. For Yeva. " But his eyes were regarding the bracelet, which hewas weighing in his hand. 

"And if you do what I wish, I shall give you fifteen thousand _kroner_more. "

"Fifteen thou----!" he whispered. "Excellency, a fortune----"

"If you do what I wish----"

"Anything--Excellency has but to speak. "

Marishka deliberated a moment and then, "You will first remove the guardat the foot of the private stairway to this----"

"Excellency, the hour is late. If you can be comfortable in my houseuntil the morning, all shall be arranged. For tonight I haveplanned----"

"No. It must be as I wish. You will also take a message addressed to Mr. Hugh Renwick at the Hotel Europa, and find him----"

"And he will give me money?" the man broke in quickly, his bony fingersclutching like talons at the bracelet. "He will give me fifteen thousand_kroner_?"

Marishka hesitated. The price she had mentioned was cheap for herliberty--for freedom from the fear that had all day obsessed her, but itwas a large sum, and one which it might be impossible to procure at thistime of night. 

"He will give you such assurances as you may require. At least he willgive you something. I shall write that I need this sum of money, and hewill surely do what he can. "

"Something--yes, " he mused. "Something is, of course, better thannothing at all. But how can I be certain that I shall see him?"

"Ah, but you must, Effendi. It is necessary for you, to find him--and atonce. "

"But if he should refuse?"

"He will not. Do you consent?"

He salaamed deeply. 

"Excellency's wish is my law. "

So Marishka sat before the tabourette and wrote:

 I have promised the bearer of this note fifteen thousand _kroner_, as the condition of my liberation. Give him what you can, and arrange for the payment of the balance tomorrow. This is the cry of desperation. _Do not come here or attempt to see me. _ It is dangerous. I will come to you. 

 M. 

She sealed the note and handed it to him. He turned it over and over inhis fingers, his gaze aslant. 

"But suppose, " he repeated slowly, "that I should not be able to findhim. "

"You must, " she said with desperate hardihood. "If the note should notreach him, the conditions of our agreement change. And be sure of this, Effendi--if harm comes to Hugh Renwick, payment will be exacted from youto the tenth part of a hair. His safety and my freedom----"

"I do not comprehend, " said the man, his brows raised in awell-simulated surprise. "What have I to do with the safety of thisExcellency? He can be in no danger, here in Bosna-Seraj. We are apeaceable people----"

"Still--" she said distinctly, "you will remember. "

He shrugged and took a pace away from her, still fingering the note. 

"I do not comprehend, " he repeated. "But I will do as you request. Ishall go at once, " and he moved toward the door, then paused. "As to theguard at the door below, that will not be necessary, since you willawait me in the _mabein_. " He went quickly down the corridor, opened thedoor of the _dutap_, and called Zubeydeh, who entered at once. "TheCountess will wait in the outer room. When I return I shall conduct herto the Hotel Europa, where she will spend the night. You will wait uponher in the meanwhile, as becomes a distinguished guest of the house ofRataj. "

Then followed a phrase or two of Turkish, and the woman bowed stolidly. 

"It shall be as you wish, Effendi. "

And he passed the woman with another phrase, and was gone. 

Zubeydeh and Marishka stood facing each other, the elder woman in sullenantipathy, illy concealed by the habitual mask of imperturbability. Marishka had disliked her from the first, actuated by that rare instinctwhich only women can employ, and now there seemed something ominous inher stolid ugliness. Marishka had not fully understood the instructionsof the Beg, and not until Zubeydeh picked up her suitcase and carried itdown the corridor, did she realize that she was merely carrying out theorders of her master. But Marishka did not move. Before her eyes dancedthe words of her earlier note to Hugh, which asked him to come to her bythe private passage to the court below. If the Effendi did not succeedin finding him, he would come; and she would not be there to meet him. Instead of following Zubeydeh, who had returned and stood staring ather, her feet refused to obey. 

"But I should prefer to remain here----" she said firmly. 

A vestige of a smile--slight, but none the less disagreeable--came intothe woman's yellow face. 

"The Harim, " she said dryly, "is intended for the daughters of thefaithful. You cannot stay tonight. "

And as Marishka still stood irresolutely, she caught her by the arm witha grip which was none too gentle, and pushed her down the corridor andout into the _mabein_. 

Marishka sat upon the couch in the room into which she had first beenconducted, her head near the latticed window, through which the palegreen moonlight vied with the glow from the lantern over her head. Though it could not yet be time for him to return, she listened intentlyfor the sound of the footsteps of the Beg. Had she succeeded? In spiteof the danger which threatened Hugh Renwick, and the ominous absence ofCaptain Goritz, she felt that there was a chance that all might still bewell. Where was Captain Goritz? The tale that he had gone upon a journeywas an invention, of course. He was here in Sarajevo if not in the housewhere she was held a prisoner, at least somewhere near, where he couldbe sure of the culmination of the plot to remove Hugh Renwick, withouthimself being involved in any unpleasant issues. From the appearance ofthe Beg of Rataj and of the man she had met at the foot of the stairs, she knew that any dreadful deed was possible in the darkness of thesecluded streets outside the house, in the garden below, or in the houseitself. But she did not despair. It was easier to win money by keepingwithin the law than by breaking it. The Beg was a rogue, but money washis fetish, and Marishka's bribe was the larger. 

As the moments lengthened and the man did not return, hope ebbed, andshe grew anxious. The small metal clock on the table in the cornerindicated the hour. It was half-past eleven. In half an hour, if the Beghad not delivered her note, Hugh Renwick would come to find her, unless!She breathed a silent prayer--unless he had not yet reached Sarajevo!For hours she had prayed that he had followed her, for that was theproof of his devotion that her heart required of him; but now she prayedjust as fervently that he had not come. The notion of another attempt toescape occurred to her, but when she got up and peered down into thedarkness of the stairway which led below, her courage failed her, andshe remembered the man at the foot of the other stair. Zubeydeh, too, was near, and while she was planning, the woman passed into the Harimand closed the door behind her. 

She peered out of the window into the garden, searching its shadows forsigns of a guard, but all was quiet, except for the sound of whisperingvoices, which might have come from the street or from the houseadjoining. In the dim light she watched the hour hand of the clock as itslowly moved around the dial. Ten, fifteen minutes passed, and still sheheard no sound of footsteps. What if Hugh came while the Beg was absentsearching for him? She knew that there must be other men besides thevillain she had met at the foot of the stairs. What orders had the Beggiven his men? And what orders had he countermanded? The silence wasclosing in upon her like a fog. She could not bear it. What if Hugh werealready at the foot of the stairs, waiting to knock upon the door of theHarim as she had directed? The suspense was killing her. She rosequietly and tried the door of the _dutap_ into the corridor which led tothe Harim. It was locked. 

She staggered and clung to the wall to keep from falling. She saw it allnow. Goritz had intercepted the note she had sent by Yeva. _They_ werein there--Zubeydeh, the Beg and his men, and perhaps Goritz, too, waiting--waiting for the two knocks at the steps below. And then thedoor would be opened, and Hugh----

The bell of the cathedral tolled, and fearfully she counted its strokes. It was twelve o'clock. 

CHAPTER XVII

THE MAN IN ARMOR

Renwick waited in his place of concealment near the blue door, listeningand watching eagerly. Something was happening in the house with the_meshrebiya_ windows, for it was after midnight, and all Islam wasasleep. There were sounds of whispering again, but when he peered outthere was no one in sight. Then he thought he heard footsteps; butwhether they came from the direction of the house of the lighted window, or whether from up the street he could not yet decide. Now he was sureof them. Someone was approaching over the rough cobbles--from the alleybehind him! He crouched into a place of concealment behind a brokenlattice, flattening himself against the door, and waited--breathless. Hedid not dare to look out, for the figure was almost upon him, but thefootsteps now silent, now moving rapidly forward, indicated the stealthof a man who evades pursuit or fears detection. Presently a shadowloomed beside him as a man paused for a moment beside the doorway whereRenwick stood, so close that the Englishman could hear his breathing, and then moved on to the corner of the wider street a few feet away. Even yet, Renwick feared to move, but at last, as the man went on towardthe wall of the blue door, Renwick risked detection, and peered out. 

The figure glanced at the blue door, and then turning quickly, went withlong strides down the street toward the house with the _meshrebiya_windows. Renwick's glance had been but a momentary one, but in it he hadmarked a huge figure, in a squarish hat and ill-fitting clothes. GustavLinke! In his hand, clutched like a weapon, he still carried hisatrocious umbrella. A grotesque outlandish figure, an ink-blot on thevelvet night! What was he doing here near the house of the lightedwindows? Renwick sprang from his place of concealment, whisperingLinke's name; but when he reached the corner of the alley the man wastwenty paces away, and so bent upon his mission that he heard nothing. Renwick halted instinctively, and in the moment of hesitation, hisopportunity was lost. As wisdom had urged caution while Renwick hadwaited, so doubly it urged it now. Linke moved like a man with amission, and Renwick peered forth from the angle of the wall watchingeagerly, sure now of what that mission was--the pursuit of MarishkaStrahni!

He saw the man stop beneath the lighted windows, look up, and then witha glance to right and left, enter the shadow of the mosque and disappearwithin the small court beside the house. Renwick thought rapidly andclearly. In the court where Linke had disappeared there must be anotherentrance to the house. For a fleeting second, the idea entered Renwick'shead to follow the man, and trust to fortune; but the wall and blue dooropposite tempted him. Inside the garden, at least there would be achance for concealment, and a vantage point from which he could watchand hear what went on within the house. He waited a moment, trying todecide whether or not he had better risk detection in the narrow stripof moonlight, or wait and see if anyone moved in the street below. Hewas on the point of taking the chance when from the door of a house justbelow him, several men emerged. It was difficult to determine how manythere were, but Renwick thought that there were at least four--perhapsfive; but whether Bosnians or Turks he could not decide. And from theirstealth and silence, and the rapidity with which they followed the tallfigure of Linke into the dark passage, the obvious inference was thatthey were bent upon mischief. 

There was no further time to plan, so Renwick, with a quick look toright and left, darted furtively across to the gate of the blue door andtried the latch. It was unlocked, and quickly he entered the garden;with his hand upon the revolver in his belt he waited, listening, butthere was no sound within but the plashing of the water of the fountain. His eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, and he searched theshadows of the bushes by the reflected moonlight which silvered theupper stories of the building. He saw that there was a door near thecenter of the house facing the fountain, and upstairs in the windowsover it was the dull glow of a lamp or lantern. The windows of the otherroom, which he had observed from across the street, were now darkened. This was curious, but there was no time to debate upon it. He must actquickly. He was sure now that Marishka was somewhere in this house, aprisoner. She had sent for him, or why should Linke be here? He drew therevolver from the folds of his sash, and with a keen glance to right andleft, crouching below the level of the shrubbery, he reached the door ofthe house and tried it. 

It was locked. He hesitated for a moment, looking over his shoulder, andthen slipping his weapon into his belt again, he put a foot into thetrellis beside the doorway and began climbing. It was a dangerous thingto attempt, for as he emerged from the shadows below, his figure wouldbe clearly outlined against the moonlit wall, and a well directed shotfrom the garden would send him clattering down like a maimed squirrelfrom a tree. But the game was worth the candle, for he had seen that thewindow in the room above the door was open, and as he had decided toenter the house at any cost, this was the only way. But it was slowwork, for the trellis was old, and creaked beneath his weight, and once, when his foot slipped, he thought he must surely be discovered. Then hewaited, with his fingers almost at the window ledge, listening. He heardthe low murmur of voices, but they seemed to come from another part ofthe building, and so risking the whole venture in one effort, he quicklyraised his head above the level of the window-ledge, and peered in. Atfirst he saw only the flickering shadows of a lamp hanging from theceiling, and then a figure in the corner opposite, which startled himuntil he saw that it was immovable--a suit of armor upright against thewall. The room appeared to be empty, and so he grasped the inside of thesill, and hauled himself up until his shoulders were within the windowopening. 

It was then that a female figure started up from a couch just besidehim, stifling a cry. The light from the lantern above fell full upon herface, and her eyes were staring at him in terror. It was Marishka. Hewhispered her name, but still she stared at him wildly, and it was notuntil then that he remembered his disguise. He took off his fez, andspoke to her again. 

"Marishka, it is I, Hugh!"

He saw her stare and then take a pace toward him as he clambered intothe room, and in a moment she was in his arms. 

"Hugh--belovèd!" she murmured brokenly, as she leaned heavily againsthim. "I have been so frightened----"

"Marishka! Your hands are ice cold. They have kept you here--againstyour will?"

"Yes. And you--Hugh--they've tried----"

"Don't fear, " he smiled. "I've as many lives as a cat. Didn't you hearme scratching my way up the wall? Sh----"

He left her for a moment, and peered out into the darkness of thegarden. All was silent as before, and so he returned and took her in hisarms again. 

"You've forgiven me?" he whispered. 

"Need you ask? Oh, Hugh, I've wanted you so!"

"Thank God for that. " Their lips met and she clung to him, all thepitiful longings of her days and nights of misery in her caress, thedependence of helpless womanhood, but greater than that, the fear forhis safety, which took precedence over her own. 

He kissed her tenderly, the joy of possession the greater for thedangers that they ran. 

"You're trembling, Marishka. Don't worry. "

But she clung to him anew. 

"If anything should happen now--that I have you again. "

"Dearest! I, too, have suffered with you--but I haven't despaired. Iwould never have given you up, you know, " he said with a smile. 

"I've never wanted you to give me up, Hugh. I've tested youcruelly--because--because--my pride was hurt----"

"It had to be, Marishka. But you've survived it----"

"My love is greater--greater than anything in the world to me, " shemurmured. "Danger has proved it--and yours----"

"It needed nothing. I love you--now and always. "

"You forgive?"

He kissed her again and again, and for a long moment they clasped eachother in silence, their lips together, questioning, replying in brokensyllables. To the woman, nothing else mattered. If death came now, sheknew that it would be sweet. And it was Renwick who found his reasonfirst. Her hands still in his, he led her to the window, where hescanned the garden anxiously. But there was still no sign of anythingsuspicious, nor, in the house, any sound. But Renwick now questioned herquickly. 

"You sent me a note in Vienna?"

"Yes. A warning. I was afraid. I urged you to return to England, but Ihoped----"

"Ah! The note--a forgery!"

"What do you mean?"

"Your note told me to come to Sarajevo--to the Hotel Europa, where youwould communicate with me. "

"A forgery! Goritz! Now I understand. He said that you would follow. "

"Goritz--the limousine chap! He is here?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since this morning. Hugh! He has laidplans to kill you--a trap----"

"We shall outwit him----"

"But I am frightened, even now with you here beside me, Hugh. Heis clever--I am no match for him--I wrote you to come--tonight. Itwas what he wished. Don't you understand? A trap! You are indanger--here--now----"

But Renwick did not seem to be greatly disturbed. His mind had clearedamazingly. 

"We shall fight him with his own weapons----"

"I am frightened. Are you sure that no one saw you enter the garden?"

"Positive. " And then pursuing his thought, "You sent a note to the HotelEuropa?"

"Yes--" she stammered, "this afternoon. I asked you to comehere--tonight at twelve. You received it?"

"No. It was intercepted. "

"I don't understand. "

He laughed. "I don't wonder. It's the luckiest thing in the world thatI've found you. "

He kissed her again, and then quickly, "The Harim is--where?"

She pointed to the door with the grille, and he regarded it with a newinterest. In the silence that followed, they heard again the murmur ofvoices, a woman's and a man's. 

"Zubeydeh!" she whispered. "The woman here and--a man's voice. "

"We must find a way out quickly. They may come around this way. "

He noticed the door upon the other side of the room. 

"Where does that lead?"

"To the _selamlik_, I think. But it is better to go by the window. I canclimb. Let us go. "

He shook his head. 

"It's dangerous. The stairs----"

"It is dark below. I don't know where they lead. "

"To the garden. They must. The door is locked on the inside, but perhapsthere's another exit at the rear. Come. "

He drew his revolver from his belt, and taking her by the hand, led herto the stair, and there they stopped, for Marishka clutched his arm insudden consternation. From the Harim came a sudden muffled noise--asthough some one were beating upon a carpet. 

"Shots!" whispered Renwick. "We must hurry. "

"Shots! What does it mean?"

"I'll explain later. Hurry!"

There were cries now--the shriek of a woman, and above all, a hoarsebellow as of some enraged animal. Renwick had already descended a fewsteps, Marishka following him, when the door to the _selamlik_ opened, and a female figure clad in Marishka's silk drapery rushed forth. It wasYeva. 

"Fräulein----" she whispered in awed tones to Marishka. "Forgive me!"she pleaded. "I have seen. It was beautiful. I could not see harm cometo you. His Excellency has been in the street at the back of the house, but when the fighting began came up the rear stairway of the_selamlik_----"

"Goritz!" stammered Marishka in terror. 

"But I have locked the upper door. "

"He will come here, Yeva!"

"Excellency must go--if there is yet time. "

"The garden!"

"No, " said Renwick, looking about for a place of concealment. "I shallstay. "

"It is death----" whispered Marishka. 

But Yeva was resourceful. "The armor!" she whispered. "I have oftenhidden in it from Zubeydeh. Quickly, Excellency! It stands upon bracketsin the wall. "

And while Marishka watched the stairhead in terror, Yeva helped theEnglishman into this strange place of concealment. Excited as Yeva wasat her share in the affair, her fingers were nimble, and she buckled thestraps quickly, then turning fled into the _selamlik_ and unlocked thedoor. But Goritz by this time had managed to find a way to the stairs tothe _mabein_, and came up stealthily, listening eagerly to theincreasing commotion in the Harim. He found Marishka and Yeva hand inhand at the door to the _selamlik_ staring in consternation at the doorof the black grille. There were no more shots, but more ominous eventhan shots were the sounds of voices, strained, subdued, tense witheffort--the heavy breathing of men, the crashing of furniture, and thenat last the jar of heavy bodies falling--a cry of triumph--and silence. 

Captain Goritz had folded his arms and waited expectant. 

"It is very strange, " he said coolly to Yeva. "Someone has broken intothe Harim?"

"Excellency, I do not know. I was at the other end of the house. TheFräulein was frightened and called to me, " she lied glibly. 

"It is not to be wondered at----" he said with a strange smile. "Theyhave made enough noise to raise the dead. I have a pardonable curiosityas to what has happened. " But as he strode toward the door and laid ahand upon the knob, Yeva rushed forward. 

"Excellency!" she whispered. "You dare not! The law!"

He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged and turned to Marishka. 

"I would suggest, Countess Strahni, that you go with this girl at onceinto the _selamlik_. I have no idea of what has happened, but it must besomething quite disagreeable--an intruder within the Harim--the penaltyis severe----"

Marishka was leaning against the rail of the stairway near the suit ofarmor, and Goritz watched her curiously. 

"I--shall not go, " she stammered faintly, wondering at the growingmystery. 

He shrugged. "As you please, " he muttered, "but I warn you that thesituation may be--unpleasant----"

"I shall remain--" she said again. 

There were sounds of heavy footsteps, and the door of the _dutap_ swungopen, revealing the Beg of Rataj, torn and dishevelled, his facedistorted with passion. He paused in the doorway, and looked from Goritzto Marishka, breathing rapidly. 

"Ah, Excellency, " he gasped. "I call you all to witness. A man hasentered the Harim--a Christian. Yeva, I knew, was not there, but I sawhim and followed from the street with my friends--my son, mybrother-in-law, my cousins. He is here. We have killed him. "

Goritz glanced at Marishka, but she stared past the dreadful apparitioninto the corridor, behind him, incapable of speech or thought. 

"A Christian!" said Goritz. "Incredible!"

"You shall see, " said the Effendi. And turning to those within heuttered a phrase in Turkish, and presently Zubeydeh and a man cameforward dragging something behind them. Marishka hid her face in herhands, and crouched nearer the corner where the armor was. 

She saw Goritz suddenly start forward, his gaze upon the prostratefigure in black, which its bearers had deposited none too gently in themiddle of the rug. Then he peered into the upturned face, startingupright and glaring at the Effendi. 

"_Vermalerdeiter Hällen_----" he cried. "_It's not the man!_"

"What do you mean, Excellency?" cried the Beg. 

"What I say--Idiots!"

"A Christian--in my Harim!" wailed the old ruffian. "He has ruined myfurniture and killed my brother-in-law and my cousin. "

"What do I care?" cried Goritz furiously. "You've got us all intotrouble with your bungling. Do you know who this man is?" he stormed. 

"Who, Excellency?" cried the Effendi. 

"Nicholas Szarvas--the most famous secret service agent in Hungary. "

"What say you, Excellency?" the Effendi asked bewildered. 

"You have heard. "

"It is impossible. This was the man----"

"Bah! You are a sheep's head. "

"Sheep's head I am not----"

"Then you are a fool!"

"By the beard of the Prophet--he was in my Harim, " muttered the Effendi. "I call you all to witness----"

"I wash my hands of the matter, " said Goritz furiously. 

"I am within my rights--the Harim----"

"Bah--You have killed a police officer of the Empire!"

"And you?" The Effendi's face was the color of that of the man upon thefloor, but his eyes glowed with fear and desperation. 

"I know nothing of the matter, " continued Goritz. "A Christian comesinto your Harim and you kill him. If he turns out to be an officer ofthe law, what is it to me?"

"You will pay me that which you owe, " shrieked the Effendi. "The man hasbroken my furniture. "

"It is a pity he didn't break your head. I pay you nothing. "

And then to Marishka, "Come, Countess, we must be upon our way. "

Marishka stood staring at Goritz, a new horror in her eyes. She nowunderstood. The Effendi thrust himself between them. 

"You will pay me that which you owe, " he stormed again. 

"Stand aside!" said the German, and then to Marishka, "If the Countess Strahni will be good enough to accompany me?" he said, civilly. 

But Marishka stood fixed, staring at him with alien eyes, as the Effendirushed forward toward her, his arms extended. 

"She shall not go. She will see what has been done. He is _not the man_. She will remain here in my house until----"

"Stand aside, Effendi!" cried Goritz furiously, and as the man did notmove, he caught him by the shoulder and thrust him roughly aside. Hescorned to use a weapon, and the other man and the woman seemedcompletely dominated by his air of command. 

"You will please come at once, Countess Strahni. There is no telling howsoon the police will be coming. "

And as Marishka did not move--

"You heard?"

"I will not go, " stammered Marishka. 

Goritz paused, examining her keenly, as though he had not quiteunderstood. 

"I have asked you quite courteously, Countess----"

"I will not go, " repeated Marishka. Her voice was ice-cold, like herbody, which seemed to be frozen into immobility. 

"I beg to remind you of your promise--to go with me----"

"I will not go, " she said again. 

"Then I must take you, " he said, striding toward her furiously, andreaching out a hand to seize her by the wrist. 

Then a strange thing happened. The man in armor, in the corner behindMarishka, strode clanking forth into the room, while a voicereverberated in the iron helmet. What it said no one understood. TheEffendi gazed at the moving thing in terror, and then with a shriek fleddown the stairs, Zubeydeh and her companion, _calling in loud tones uponAllah_, at his heels. Goritz glanced at the thing and then stoodirresolute a moment, as the man in the armor slowly raised an arm, forat the end of the arm Goritz saw a revolver pointed directly at him. 

"Hold up your hands, Captain Goritz, " rang the voice from the depths ofthe helmet. "Quickly, or I'll shoot. "

Goritz bit his lips. 

"Clever--Herr Renwick, " he said coolly in English. "You've taken thetrick. "

"Hold up your hands----"

But Goritz with a sudden leap had sprung behind Marishka. Renwick firedonce as he jumped, and missed. And now Goritz, shielding himself behindMarishka's body, drew his automatic and fired again and again, riddlingthe ancient armor like a sieve. Marishka struggled wildly in the arms ofthe German, and managed to draw the dagger concealed in her waist, buthe caught her wrist and held her in front of him, taking careful aim atthe man in the armor and firing deliberately. Renwick tottered forwardsilently and came crashing to the floor in the corner, where after amoment of struggle, he relaxed and lay motionless. 

Goritz caught Marishka around the waist and disarmed her. But this actof precaution was unnecessary, for after one fleeting glance at thetangled heap of iron in the corner, she sank a dead weight in his arms. 

CHAPTER XVIII

NUMBER 28

For a month the Landes Hospital had been greatly interested in themystery of patient Number 28. In spite of the imminence of war, and thepreparations which were being made to care for the wounded along theborder, the physicians, the nurses, and the other patients had allformed theories as to the man's history and the possible causes of hisinjuries. And during the long period in which he lay unconscious, hovering in the dim realm between life and death, not a day passed inwhich his temperature, respiration, and other symptoms were notdiscussed from one end of the hospital to the other. The Head Surgeon, Colonel Bohratt, inclined to the opinion that if the man continued for afew days longer without change he would recover. But the Head Nurseshook her head sagely. The wound in the head had been difficult, as theoperation was an unusual one, the wound in the shoulder was nothing, butthe one in the stomach! If the operation of Colonel Bohratt provedsuccessful, then a miracle had been performed. 

The interest in the case, both from the sentimental as well as theprofessional point of view, was so great that the man's bed had beencarefully wheeled from a ward where he had been taken from the operatingtable, into a private room, where every chance would be given him torecover. 

On the twenty-seventh of July, Fräulein Roth, the nurse on duty at thebedside of the man of mystery, noted a slight change in his breathing, and saw that he had opened his eyes, which were regarding her calmly, but with the puzzled expression of one who has come a great distanceinto a strange country. She knew then that what the Head Surgeon hadsaid was true, and that the man of mystery had turned the corner whichled away from the land of the Great Beyond. But being a prudent person, she gave no sign of her delight, merely moving softly closer to thebedside, and in German quietly asked him if he felt better. 

The man did not or could not reply at once, but she saw that his gazeslowly passed beyond her to the bare walls of the room and to the openwindow, beyond which were clouds, sunshine, and the distant drowsymurmur of the city. 

"You are feeling more comfortable?" she asked again, in German. 

"Yes, " he _muttered_. 

"You have been sick, " she whispered softly, smoothing his pillow. 

"Ah, yes, sick, " the man muttered, and closing his eyes, slept again. 

It was not long before the news of the awakening of Number 28 hadreached the nurses and attending physicians. Colonel Bohratt, greatlypleased at the correctness of his prophecy and the end of the period ofcoma, at once a tribute to his wisdom as well as to his professionalskill, came himself and viewed the patient, gave directions fortreatment and predicted speedy recovery. 

That night, the man of mystery awoke again, exchanged a few words withFräulein Roth as before, and again slept. And on the morrow, a sure signthat all was going well with him, he had gained so much strength that hemoved freely in his bed, and took more than the casual interest of thedesperately sick in his situation and surroundings. Fräulein Roth hadbeen given instructions to keep him quiet, but she smiled at him whenquite rationally he questioned her. 

"Is this a hospital?" he asked. 

"Yes--the Landes Hospital. "

"Where?"

"Sarajevo. "

"Ah, --Sarajevo. "

He remained silent for a long moment. 

"I have been here long?" he asked again. 

"A month. "

"A month! And the date?"

"The twenty-eighth of July----"

"Yes. I understand. "

Fräulein Roth wished him to be quiet, but after a long moment ofcontemplation of the ceiling, in which his brows puckered in a puzzledway, he spoke again. 

And when Fräulein Roth anxiously desired him to be quiet, she discoveredthat Number 28 had a will of his own and only smiled at her earnestness. 

"I am feeling quite strong, " he said weakly. "It will do me no harm totalk, for some things puzzle me. I was brought here. Won't you tell mehow?"

She debated with herself for a moment, but after an inspection of herpatient she decided to tell him the facts. 

"A peasant had discovered two men lying in a strip of woods near the roadto Gradina. At first he had thought that both were dead, but upon closerexamination he found that one of the men, although desperately wounded, still breathed, and notified the police, who summoned the ambulance. "

"I?" asked the sick man. 

She nodded. "You were brought here--to the Landes Hospital in a badcondition. The other man was dead. "

"The other man--dead?"

"Yes, " said the nurse, "with stab wounds in the back, and one in theheart. " She regarded her patient keenly a moment, and then went on. "There were no marks of identification upon either of you. You werewithout clothing. Following so closely upon the assassination of theArchduke Franz and his wife, the circumstances were suspicious, and thepolice of Sarajevo and the secret service officials have done all theycould to find some clew to the murderers. You see, " she concluded with asmile, "you are a man of mystery and all Sarajevo awaits your recovery. "

"Oh, I see. They are waiting for me to speak?"

Number 28 lay silent, regarding the ceiling intently, frowning a little. His mind worked slowly and Fräulein Roth saw that he found somedifficulty in mental concentration. 

"We will talk no more at present, " she said firmly. "If you are noworse--perhaps again tomorrow. "

But on the following day and the next the condition of the patient wasnot so favorable, for he lay in a drowsy condition and showed nointerest in anything. It seemed that the pallid fingers of Death werestill stretched over him. There were whispered consultations at thebedside, and a magistrate came to take a deposition, but the HeadSurgeon advised delay. He had a reputation at stake. 

The wisdom of his advice was soon proved, for at the end of three daysNumber 28 rallied, his fever subsided, and he smiled again at NurseRoth. But she had learned wisdom and refused to talk. 

Number 28 straightened in bed and ran his thin fingers through the beardwith which his face was now covered. He ate of his food with a relishand then eagerly questioned. 

"I am quite strong again, Fräulein. See--my hand does not even tremble. Will you not talk with me?"

"My orders are to keep you quiet. "

"I have been quiet long enough--a month!" he sighed. "The world does notstand still for a month. "

The nurse smiled. "I see that you are used to having your own way, " shesaid. 

"Is it not natural that I should wish to know what has happened in theworld? Tell me. The Archduke Franz was killed. Did they discover aplot?"

"A plot? Yes. The boy Prinzep was employed by the Serbians. "

"He confessed?"

"Not to that--but it is obvious. "

"And what has happened?"

She examined him intently, aware now of what she herself had longsuspected, that this patient was no ordinary kind of man. His German hada slight accent, but whether he came from central Europe or elsewhereshe could not decide. 

"Austria Hungary is on the eve of great events. A week or more agoAustria Hungary sent an ultimatum to the Serbian government, to which anunsatisfactory reply was received. The Austro-Hungarian minister hasleft Belgrade, and war has been declared upon Serbia. "

"War! and Russia?"

"Russia, France and Germany have mobilized. "

"And England?"

"Nothing is known of what England will do. But it is feared that she mayjoin the cause of Russia and France. "

Number 28 lay silent for a moment thinking deeply, and then--

"It has come at last. War. All of Europe----"

"It is frightful. There has already been fighting on the Serbian border. We are preparing here to receive the wounded. "

He remained silent a moment, his eyes sparkling as he thought of whatshe had told him and then quietly, "War!" he muttered. "I must get wellvery quickly, Nurse, I must----"

_She waited for him to go on, for, being a woman, _ curiosity as to hishistory obsessed her, but he said no more. And in spite of her interestin this man whom she had faithfully watched and served for more than amonth, some delicacy restrained the questions on her tongue. 

"You will not get well for a long while, Herr Twenty-Eight, if you donot keep quiet, " she said quickly. 

"You are very good to me, " he replied. "I shall do as you wish. "

Several days after this, the patient having gained strength rapidly, hewas permitted solid food. He slept much, and in his waking hours seemedto be thinking deeply. He was very obedient, as though concentrating allhis mind upon an effort toward speedy recovery, but he did not talk ofhimself. His strength now permitting more frequent conversation, thenurse brought him the news of the world outside, which included thedeclaration of war by Great Britain against Germany--and the certaintyof a declaration against Austria Hungary. 

"It is as I suspected, " he muttered. "England----"

Again her patient was silent, and Nurse Roth glanced at him quickly. English!

She did not speak her thought, for the import of her news had sent herpatient into one of his deep spells of concentration. No Englishman thatshe had ever met had spoken the German language so fluently. Butconcealing her interest and curiosity when he turned toward her again, she smiled at him brightly. 

"You are now getting much stronger, Herr Twenty-Eight, " she said. "TheHead Surgeon has given permission for your examination. "

"Examination?"

"A magistrate will come tomorrow to take your deposition. "

"I don't understand. "

"About all the facts connected with your injuries. "

"They have learned nothing?"

"A little. The man who was found with you has been identified. "

"Ah!"

"As Nicholas Szarvas, a Hungarian police officer----"

"Szarvas!"

"You knew him?"

The patient was silent again. She had come suddenly upon the stone wallwhich had balked all her efforts. Her hand was near him upon the bed. Hetook it and pressed it to his lips. 

"Do not think me ungrateful for all your kindnesses, Fräulein. Some dayperhaps I can repay you. But there are reasons why I cannot speak. "

She drew her hand away from him slowly. 

"But you must speak when the magistrate questions, " she said gently. 

"Perhaps!" And he was silent again. 

With his growing strength had come wariness. If England declared war, he, Hugh Renwick, at present unknown, would be interned, a prisoner; andall hope of finding Marishka and the German, Goritz, would be lost. Inthe first few days of his awakening, he had thought of sending forWarwick, the British Consul, and putting the matter entirely in hishands. But before he had had the strength to decide what it was best todo, had come the declarations of war, and he had determined to remainsilent and act upon his own initiative. Unless he had muttered somethingof his past in his fever, and this he doubted, or some sign of it wouldhave come from Fräulein Roth, there would he no means of identifying himas an Englishman, and when he recovered, they would let him go. As itwas, he was a man of mystery, and as such he intended to remain. He hadnoted the marks of interest in the face of the nurse, and in herquestions, and his gratitude to her was very genuine, but he was surenow that he was in no position to take chances. War being declared, Warwick would have been given his passports, and would have left thecountry. No one in Sarajevo knew the Englishman, Renwick--at least noone who would be likely to connect the man of mystery of the LandesHospital with the former secretary of the British Embassy in Vienna. 

As his mind had grown clearer, the wisdom of his decision became moreapparent. If a magistrate came, he would be obliged to see him, but heknew that his period of illness could cover a multitude of remembrances. 

The magistrate came with a clerk, and questioned with an air ofimportance. Renwick realized that if he refused to answer, he might makehimself an object of suspicion, and endanger the chances of his releaseupon recovery, and so, as he was not under oath, he invented skillfully. 

"What is your name?"

"Peter Langer. "

"What nationality?"

"Austrian, if you like. I am a citizen of the world. "

The magistrate examined him over his glasses. 

"The world is large. From what part of Austria did you come?"

"Vienna. "

"Your parents are Viennese?"

"They were in Vienna when I was young. "

"Were they born there?"

"I do not know. "

"It is necessary that you should. "

"I am sorry if it is necessary. I do not know. "

"What brought you to Sarajevo?"

"I am a wanderer. I wished to see the world. "

"A wish that has almost proved fatal. You have no business?"

"Merely the business of wandering. "

The magistrate frowned. 

"I beg that you will take this matter seriously, Herr Langer. "

"I do. It is not in the least amusing. "

The man consulted his notes for a moment. 

"Where were you on the night of June twenty-eight?"

"I have been ill for a month. Dates mean nothing to me. My memory isbad. "

"Ah! Well, then, where were you on the night of the assassination?"

"What assassination----?"

"The assassination of the Archduke, " replied the magistrate sternly. 

"In Sarajevo, I should say. "

"_Natürlich. _ But in what place?"

"In the street, perhaps--or in a house. I don't remember. "

"I beg that you make the effort to remember. "

"I cannot, " said Renwick after a pause. 

"You must. "

"My mind is clouded. "

The magistrate exchanged a glance with the nurse, who stood at the headof the bed, and spoke to her. "This man talks to you quite rationally?"

Fräulein Roth hesitated and then said: "Yes. But he has been very ill. Ishould suggest that you excuse him where possible. "

"H--m! This is a matter of great seriousness. A police officer has beenmurdered by a person or persons unknown. This man was found near hisbody, both of them left for dead. It is not possible that he can haveforgotten the circumstances--the fight, the shooting which preceded hisunconsciousness. " And then to Renwick--"You knew Nicholas Szarvas?"

"No. "

"I would remind you that this is the man who was found dead beside you. "

"I did not know him. "

"What are your recollections of the evening I have mentioned?"

"I have no recollections. "

"You said that you were in a house. "

"Or the street--I forget. "

"You remember having an altercation with someone?"

"In my dreams--yes. Many. "

"But before your dreams, when you were conscious?"

"None. "

"Szarvas was stabbed. Did you see him attacked?"

"I did not. "

"Have you any idea who shot you?"

"A man who was my enemy, I should say. "

"Ah--you had an enemy?"

"What man has not?"

"What was his name?"

"I don't remember. "

The magistrate got up frowning, and paced up and down the room, hishands behind his back. 

"I should advise you, Herr Langer, that it is my opinion that you arewillfully endeavoring to impede the steps of this investigation. I wouldremind you also that those who try to thwart the officers of the law inthe performance of their duty, are alike amenable to it. Yourreticence--I can call it by a less pleasant word--is aiding andabetting a criminal, who must be brought to justice. "

"It is not likely----" He paused. 

"What?"

"That I should wish to save a man who had tried to murder me. "

"But this is precisely what you are doing. "

Renwick smiled. 

"What would you? Have me invent a story for your record? I can say nomore than I remember. I remember nothing. "

The magistrate took off his glasses and rubbed them rigorously, as if byso doing he could clear his own mind as to what had best be done. Thenhe put them upon his nose and took up his hat and papers. It was certainthat the patient's brain was still far from strong. 

"I shall not pursue this investigation now, " he said to Nurse Roth. "Ishall wait a few days in which Herr Langer may have time to reflect. Heis still very weak. In the meanwhile, Herr Langer, I would tell you thatit would be wise for you to recover your memory. "

"A desire which I sincerely share, " said Renwick with a smile. 

"If not, " continued the magistrate with his most magisterial manner, "you will be detained, as a material witness, in Sarajevo. "

"I have no intention of leaving Sarajevo unless someone should happen topay my railroad fare, " replied Renwick wearily. 

The man left, followed by his clerk, and Nurse Roth closed the doorbehind them. When the sounds of their footsteps had faded away along thecorridor, she turned to the table where she rearranged some roses in avase. 

"You lie very ingeniously, Herr Twenty-eight, " she said with a smile. 

Renwick regarded her calmly. 

"It is not my nature, Nurse Roth. But a cracked skull doesn't improvethe brains beneath. "

She came over to him quickly, and stood beside the bed. 

"You have some reason for concealing your identity. I know that youremember what happened. But I will protect you as far as I can, upon onecondition. "

"And that?" he asked anxiously. 

"That you will give me your word of honor that it was not you who killedNicholas Szarvas. "

He caught her by the hand and smiled up at her with a look so genuinethat there was no question as to his sincerity. 

"I give it. I did not kill Nicholas Szarvas. "

"Thank you, " she said simply. "I believe you. "

[Illustration: "Thank you, " she said simply. "I believe you. "]

"I wish I could tell you, " he whispered earnestly, "for I know that youare my friend, but"--and he relinquished her hand--"but I _must_ keepsilent. "

She touched him gently upon the shoulder in token of understanding, andfrom that moment said no more. 

The days passed slowly, but it was evident to those who were interestedin the case that Number 28 gained strength very rapidly. His wounds hadhealed, and he was soon permitted to get up and sit in an armchair nearthe window, where he could look out over the minarets of the city belowthe hill. But to all except Nurse Roth, it seemed that the injury to hishead had done something to retard the recovery of his memory. He spokequite rationally to Colonel Bohratt upon matters regarding his physicalcondition, but sometimes even when the Head Surgeon was talking withhim, he relapsed into a state of mental apathy which caused that worthyman to remove his bandage and examine the wound in his head. After whichthe Colonel would leave the room with a puzzled expression. And inconsequence of this curious mental condition, it was thought wise todefer the visit of the officer of the law until the patient's mindshould show a change for the better. There was even a consultation uponthe advisability of another operation upon the head, but the patientshowed such encouraging marks of growing lucidity that the operation wasdeferred. 

It was a dangerous game that he was playing, and Renwick knew it, forthe time would come when he must tell who he was, or find a chance toescape from the hospital. Escape was his hope and each day as he gainednew strength, he thought of a hundred expedients by which it might beaccomplished. He knew that even now he was under surveillance, andvirtually a prisoner of the Austrian government, until he could givesome account of himself, and of the events of the night of thetwenty-eighth of June. And so he conserved his energies carefully, gaining courage and weight with each new day, playing the game of delayuntil he was assured of his strength and the moment was propitious. Thechief difficulty which confronted him was a means to procure clothing. He was allowed the privileges of the hospital, permitted to walk uponthe terrace, but he had no clothing except the sleeping suit of cottonand a wrapper-like affair which he wore when out of his room. Whetherhis restriction to this costume was by neglect or by design, he did notknow, for all the other convalescents whom he met out in the air worethe clothes in which they had come to the hospital. The fact that he hadbeen brought here unclothed was of little comfort to him, and he fearedto request a change of garments for this might excite suspicion. Therewas nothing for it but to wait, and when strength enough came, seize thefirst opportunity presented to slip quietly away. 

He had been studying his chances with a discriminating eye. His room wasupon the second floor, but there was a rain-spout which passed justbeside it, and given the strength of hand and wrist to accomplish thedescent, the matter would be simple. There was a row of shrubbery justbelow the terrace, which led to a path over the hills, where he might belost under cover of the night. But even at night he could not go intoSarajevo without clothing. For a while the idea of appealing to NurseRoth occurred to him, but he at last rejected it, aware that she hadalready done much that could not be repaid, and unwilling to subject herto the alternatives of refusal or acquiescence--one of which might behazardous to his own chances, the other surely fruitful ofunpleasantness to herself. He had no right to ask this of her. He wishedto incur no new obligations, for when the time came, he intended to go, and he could not repay her kindness with deceit. And so he waited, simulating weakness, exercising in secret, and gaining in strength forthe hopeless task before him. 

He had made no plans. What plans could he make when he had no means ofmaking inquiries? Goritz was gone with Marishka, --by this time perhapsfar beyond the German border, the girl a prisoner--or----? For a momenthe paused as the new thought came to him. What would be the status ofthe Countess Strahni since the outbreak of war? The conditions whichexisted before the pact of Konopisht were no more. Germany's ambitionsstultified--Austria forgiving--both nations involved in a greatundertaking the prosecution of which must make them careless of all lessvital issues! Had Goritz been recalled from this secret mission toanother more important? And if so, where was Marishka? Could she havebeen released? There was a chance of it, but it seemed a slender one. Goritz! Something--some deeply hidden instinct, some suspicion harboredperhaps in the long days and nights of his unconsciousness, some pang offear born of pain and unrest, advised him that, behind the secret dutywhich had first brought Goritz to Vienna, he was now playing a game ofhis own. The brief glimpse he had had of the man, short but fearfullysignificant, had made an unpleasant impression. He had seen the look inthe eyes of the German as he had asked Marishka to go with him from thehouse of the garden, a look courteous and considerate, that had in it, too, something more than mere admiration. If the man were in love withher! And what man of any vision, learning to know Marishka could helpcaring for her! Not love, surely! Not love from a man who shelteredhimself from danger by using her as a shield. He had been safe then. Renwick could not have fired then. And Goritz was clever enough to knowit. But the dastardliness of such a trick! There was a long score to paybetween Renwick and Goritz, a score the items of which had begun withthe attempts upon the Englishman's life in Vienna and Konopisht, theimprisonment of Marishka, and the shooting in Sarajevo which hadnothing to do with politics. They were enemies. Their countries wereenemies. It was written. 

Absorbed in these unpleasant meditations, Renwick sat upon the terraceof the hospital after supper, idly manicuring his nails with NurseRoth's scissors. As it grew dark, he got up, slowly pacing up and downthe length of the terrace. The moment was approaching when he would becalled in to go to his room, but he grudgingly relinquished the momentsin the soft evening air. It was curious how much latitude they gavehim--curious, also, that the magistrate, after his second fruitlessvisit a few days ago, had not returned. As Renwick had continued evasivethe magistrate had grown angry and at last had threatened him with thevisit of one who would make him speak. Who was this new inquisitor tobe? Someone in higher authority? Or perhaps some secret service agentwho had finally succeeded in getting some clews as to the murder of thecolossal Szarvas?

Of one thing Renwick was sure--that soon he must make a break forliberty. Tonight--now--into the dusk beyond the hills. He was not verystrong yet, but it might be----

"Herr Twenty-Eight, " said the voice of Nurse Roth at his elbow, "you areto go at once to your room for examination. "

"Thanks, Fräulein. I shall go. It is the magistrate?"

She nodded soberly. 

"The magistrate and another whom I have never seen. They are now in theoffice consulting the Head Surgeon. "

Renwick smiled at her as he whispered, "I am to be _grilled_?"

"I fear so. "

He shrugged. "The time for subterfuge is past. " And then, taking herhand again, "I shall go at once. But whatever happens I want you to knowthat I shall never forget what you have done for me. "

"It is nothing. Now go, please. "

He bowed and preceded her into the hallway. As they passed the officethe door was open and Renwick glanced in. The magistrate was there andanother man, talking to Colonel Bohratt, all of them unaware of thepatient in the darker hallway looking at them. Renwick started, and thengazed again at the third man leaning over the table facing him. Hisfigure seemed familiar, his bowing and gestures more so, and yet for asecond Renwick could not place him. And then the man smiled, showing agold tooth which caught the reflection of the electric light upon thetable. A gold tooth----

Nurse Roth was regarding Renwick who glanced at the open door behind himand then at Nurse Roth. The pause was momentous. Renwick quicklyrecovered his poise and went on a few steps. 

"They wish to see me--in the office?" he asked in a whisper. 

"In your room, please. I shall tell them that you are waiting. "

"Thanks, again, " said Renwick abruptly, with outstretched hand, "andgood-by. "

"Good-by?" she asked in alarm. 

He smiled over the shoulder as he went up the stairs. 

"I think I shall exchange the hospital--for the jail. "

He left her standing there looking up at him in wonder or pity, and thenturning the stairhead went on down the upper corridor. There were nursesconversing here, and a patient or two, so Renwick went slowly until hereached his room. But once within the door he acted with speed andresolution. First he turned the key in the lock and softly shot thebolt, then crossed the room quickly, his heart beating rapidly. He wasnot strong and his nerves already were warning him, but they did notfail him. He peered out of the window upon the terrace. It was not yetdark and there was a nurse below standing beside a man in a wheel chair. He could not go now for they would see him and surely give the alarm, and so he waited, going back to the door and listening for the sound ofapproaching male footsteps. As yet no sound. He peered down upon thehead of the luckless nurse, mutely imprecating. The moments wereprecious. Would they never go in? It was past the hour for loitering onthe terrace. For a moment the idiotic notion came to him to go out intothe corridor and call the attention of the nurse in charge of the floorto the infraction of rules, but he turned again to the window. The nursewas moving now, slowly pushing the wheel chair toward the door. It wasbarely a hundred feet away, but to Renwick it seemed an eternity beforethe pair vanished within. Then taking off his slippers he put them inthe pocket of his wrapper, and rolling it into a bundle, dropped itnoiselessly upon the terrace below. His nerves quivered as he satastride the window-sill but he set his jaw and lowered himself from thewindow, catching the iron gutter-pipe with bare fingers and toes. Thespout seemed to creak horribly, and for a moment he thought that it wasswaying outward with him. But the sensation was born of his ownweakness. The pipe held and slowly he descended, reaching the ground, his knuckles bruised and torn, but so far, safe. 

He paused for a moment to slip into his wrapper and then crossed theterrace quietly, reached the lawn and the shelter of the bushes below. 

CHAPTER XIX

DISGUISE

Long ago he had planned the direction in which he should go when thetime came for him to escape. And so without pausing to look behind himhe hurried down the hill in the shelter of the hedge until he reachedits end. A hundred yards away was a hillock. By going forward in a linewhich he had already marked he would have the partial protection ofrocks and bushes. He paused just a moment to be sure that no one wascoming after him. All was as before and the dark group of buildings, hishome for nearly two months, loomed in silent dignity behind him. ButRenwick knew that it would not be long before the whole countrysidewould be buzzing like a hornet's nest. In his enfeebled condition, hecould hardly hope to cope with his pursuers in the matter of speed andso as he went on across the stream at the base of the hill, he tried toplan something that would outwit them. The nearest outlying houses ofthe town were but a few hundred yards distant, but instead of taking theroad down the hill, he turned sharply to his left after crossing theroad and entered the Moslem cemetery, laid according to the custom in acypress grove. He now moved slowly and leaning against the bole of atree regained his breath while he listened for the expected sounds ofpursuit. The cemetery seemed to be deserted, but he decided to take nochances, so he found a tree with thick foliage, and climbed from onebough to another until he found a crotch of a limb where he disposedhimself as comfortably as possible to wait until the pursuit had passedhim by. 

His pulses were still pounding furiously from the sudden effort ofmuscles long unused, and his nerves were tingling strangely, but heclung to his perch until the period of weakness passed and then plannedwhat he had better do. Inside of an hour every policeman in Sarajevowould be warned by Herr Windt to look out for a man with a beard, wearing a sleeping suit and a blue woolen wrapper. The obvious thingtherefore was to avoid Sarajevo or else find a means to change hiscostume. But if he begged, borrowed, or stole an outfit of nativeclothing--what then? Where should he turn? He had no money, for that, ofcourse, had been taken by the ruffians who had carried his body into thewoods and stripped him of his clothing. To all intents and purposes hehad been born again--had come into the world anew, naked save for theunsightly flapping things in which he was wrapped. His English clotheswere at the inn in the Bistrick quarter where he had left them, but toseek them now meant immediate capture. And if he wore English clothes inthe streets of a town full of men in uniform he would be as conspicuousas though in sleeping suit and wrapper. A native costume was thething--and a fez which would hide the plaster on his head. But how toget it? He heard voices, and two men passed below him weaving in and outamong the trees; he blessed the inspiration which had bidden him climb. He would have known Windt. He was not one of them. They were men fromthe hospital, out of breath with running, and the phrases they exchangedgave Renwick comforting notion that they were already wearily impressedwith the hopelessness of their task. A while they waited, and then hesaw them go out on the further side of the copse as though glad to bewell away from so melancholy a spot. Indeed the gray turban-carvedtombstones were eloquent to Renwick and a newly made grave not far awaywas unpleasantly suggestive of the fate that had so nearly been his. Itwas starlight now, but dark, and the owls were already hootingmournfully as though the souls of those who lay in the sod beneath hadcome again to visit by night their last resting places. It was not themost cheerful spot for a man who had just come out of a bout with death, and Renwick had no mind to stay there. So when the men who had beensearching for him had gone their ways, he clambered stiffly down. Helingered by the newly made grave, obsessed by the rather morbid notionof digging up the estimable Moslem who reposed there and exchanging hisown hospital wrapper for the much to be desired native costume, butdesperate as was his need the idea was too unpleasant. He would rob, ifnecessary, but not the dead. 

As he wandered among the trees in the direction of the nearest lights, he felt a pair of scissors in the pocket of his wrapper--FräuleinRoth's. His fingers closed upon them now. A weapon? Better than that. Aplan had come to him which he proceeded immediately to put intopractice. Taking off his wrapper he seated himself upon a tombstone andbegan cutting it into pieces, shaping a short sleeveless jacket. He cutthe sleeves of the wrapper lengthwise and made a turban. 

Its skirt made him a belt with something left over. He puzzled forawhile over the remnant of cloth left to him, thinking of his legs, butat last discarded it as useless, and hid it among the bushes. Then, laboriously, he trimmed his mustache and beard. It was low work withoutlight or mirror, but he persevered until to the touch of his fingers themerest bristle remained, a stubble such as a man would have who had gonea few days without shaving. Then, satisfied that under cover of thedarkness he might pass in a crowd of people unnoticed, he slipped thescissors into the coat of his sleeping suit and sallied forth. 

At least he was rid of the flowing robe which would have made of him amarked man. Fortunately the night was hot and sultry, and so far hesuffered no inconveniences, but he knew that this disguise was only amakeshift and that by fair means or foul, he must come into thepossession of some sort of costume in which he could face the light ofday. In the road, he passed a farmer returning from the bazaar, and thecareless greeting of the man reassured him. A polyglot costumesurely--but this was a city of polyglots. The disguise would do--atleast for this night. But the appearance of Windt had seriously alarmedhim. It meant, if he was taken, that he would surely be interned, orworse, perhaps that he might be accused of complicity in the murder ofSzarvas, Windt's own man. In the back of his head a plan had beenforming, which meant if not active help in escaping from the city, atleast a short refuge from pursuit, and perhaps something more. He meantto go to the house where Marishka had been--and speak to the girl, Yeva. It was the only hope he had of a clew to Marishka's whereabouts--theonly hope of help in this city of enemies. He was quite sure that hewould not be a welcome visitor, for it was the old ruffian in theturban, of course, who had taken the clothing from Renwick's body andleft him for dead upon the hillside. The theory in the hospital had beenthat those who had carried Renwick into the woods had intended buryingthe bodies--for a spade had been found later near the place--but thatthe murderers had been frightened away before being able to carry outtheir plan. And lacking information upon the subject, Renwick had cometo the same conclusion. He might not be welcome at the house of the bluedoor, but he knew the old man's secret and decided to risk danger byplaying the game with an open hand. 

Instead of going into the city by the nearest way, which would have ledhim in a few moments into the European part of the town, he bore to theleft again, climbing the hill behind the Tekija mosque, until he reachedan eminence back of the fortress above the Golden Bastion, and thenslowly descended into the Turkish quarter of the town where the streetswere narrow and dark and the danger of detection minimized. He hadalready passed many people who had merely glanced at him and gone theirways, and the success of his disguise gave him confidence; but as heapproached the Sirocac Tor he was badly frightened, for on turning thecorner of a street he ran directly into the arms of a stout Bosnianpoliceman who was looking for him. The man swore at him in bad Germanand Renwick drew back against the wall, sure that the game was up, untilhe realized that the fellow was only cursing because he was almost, ifnot quite as much startled as Renwick. So the Englishman, regaining hiscomposure, bowed politely and would have gone on, but the policemanspoke. 

"Which way have you come?" he asked. 

"From the Kastele. "

"You have seen no bareheaded man with a beard, wearing a long bluecoat?"

"A long blue coat? There are none with long blue coats in the Kastele inthe month of August. "

"Pfui--! I do not wonder!" said the fat Bosnian, and hurried on. 

But the venture made Renwick more cautious, and he avoided thestreet-lights, moving under the shadows of walls and houses, at lastreaching the tortuous alleyway down which he had once come to inspectthe house with the _meshrebiya_ windows. Almost two months had passedsince he had stood in this spot, watching these same lighted windows, unaware of the success that had been almost within his grasp. Outwardlynothing was changed. The blue door faced him, and gathering courage, hecrossed the street and entered the garden. It was very dark under thetrees and he went quietly forward, stopping by the fountain to listenfor sounds within the house. He realized that it was growing late, andthat while the garden offered him a refuge from those who were seekinghim in the city, daylight would make his tenure precarious even here. Ifthe girl Yeva would only come down into the garden! He waited by thebench listening, and presently was rewarded by hearing a light ripplinglaugh from the room above the door. She was there--the girl--but notalone--with the old woman perhaps, or the man with the beard. Renwicklistened again and watched the window, but heard nothing more. Therewas nothing for it but to put on a bold front, so summoning his courage, he walked to the door of the house and loudly knocked. 

There was an exclamation, a sound of footsteps upon the stair, and atlast the bolt of the door was shot and the door opened. Zubeydeh stood, a lantern in her hand, scrutinizing him. 

He spoke in German at once. "I come upon an urgent matter, " he saidcoolly. "Upon a matter very important to the owner of this house----"

"Speak--what do you want?" she asked. 

"I bear a message. "

"The Effendi is not at home----"

"Ah--then Yeva may receive it. "

"Yeva! Who are you?"

He smiled. "For the present that need not matter. "

Zubeydeh blocked the door more formidably with her body. 

"No one enters this house in the Effendi's absence. "

"I do not desire to enter the house. I merely wish to talk with Yeva, here----"

"That is not possible. " The woman moved back and made a motion to closethe door, but Renwick took a pace forward and blocked her effort withhis foot. 

"Wait, " he said. 

Something in the tone of his voice arrested her, and the hand which heldthe door relaxed. She regarded Renwick with a new curiosity. Her eyesnarrowed as she peered into his face. She had seen someone who lookedlike this tall beggar, but where----?

"Who are you?" she asked again, this time with a note of anxiety, scarcely concealed. 

Renwick smiled, but he had not yet removed his foot from the sill of thedoor. 

"You do not remember me?"

"No--and yet----" She paused in bewilderment, and Renwick quicklyfollowed his advantage. 

"I am one who can save this house from a danger. "

"Speak!"

"I have but to speak yonder, " and he gestured eloquently toward the citybelow them, "and the danger will fall. " He leaned forward, whisperingtensely, "The secret police of the Austrian government wish to know moreabout the death of Nicholas Szarvas and----"

Zubeydeh dropped the handle of the door and seized Renwick's arm, whileher narrow eyes glittered terrified close to his own. 

"And you----?"

"It is merely that I did not die, " he said coolly. 

"You are----?"

"I am the man in the armor, Zubeydeh, " he said solemnly. 

She started back from him in affright, her hands before her eyes. 

"Allah!" she whispered, and then leaned forward again touching his armlightly, imploringly, while she looked past him into the dark recessesof the garden. 

"Then they are there--the police are coming----?"

He quickly reassured her. 

"No. I mean you no harm. Do you understand? I have said nothing--norshall I speak unless----" he paused significantly. 

"Unless----?"

"Unless you refuse to permit me to speak with Yeva. That is all. Listen, Zubeydeh; since that night I have been in the hospital. They would keepme here a prisoner. I have escaped--in this disguise. I make a bargainwith you. You help me--I will be silent. If you refuse, I shall tell thepolice. "

"What do you want?" she asked breathlessly. 

"A disguise, a weapon, and some money--not much. "

"Money! The Effendi has gone upon a journey. "

"A few _kroner_ only--enough to get me out of town. "

"And you will keep silent?"

"As the grave. Don't you understand? I wish to go away fromhere--quickly, and then you will not see me again. "

"How can I believe you?" she said suspiciously. 

"Bah! Don't be stupid! If I had desired to betray you, I should havetold the truth long ago. "

Zubeydeh hesitated. 

"You will go away?"

"Yes. I shall go----"

There was a sound upon the stairs behind Zubeydeh and Yeva thrustherself forward. 

"I was at the window above. I heard. Allah be praised! You are alive?"

"Yeva! You know anything--of _her_?"

"No, nothing, " sadly. And then as she examined him closely, "But youmust come into the house. I will do what you wish. "

The matter was now out of Zubeydeh's hands, for whatever her doubts, Yeva's swift confidence had swept them away. She stood aside andmotioned for him to go up the stairs. 

"You will not remain long?" she asked. 

"Only long enough to change my clothing--you will provide?"

"Yes. There are garments. "

"A fez, jacket, breeches, stout _opankas_. "

"It shall be as you desire. "

Renwick went up the stairs into the room where he and Goritz had met, recapitulating briefly in his mind the sequence of events which had ledto his own downfall. If he had only shot the man when he had stood therea fair mark, defenseless! It had not been the sporting thing, but if hehad known what was to follow, he would have done it nevertheless. Atleast he thought so now. The fateful armor had been restored to itsplace in the corner, and while he anxiously awaited Yeva's return heexamined it casually with the rather morbid interest which one mightdisplay in the inspection of one's coffin. It was dented upon the sideswith the marks of bullets which had glanced aside, but three neatlydrilled holes, two in the breastplate and one in the helmet, remindedhim again how narrow had been his escape from death. "Close shooting, that, " he muttered to himself. "Emptied clip and not one miss. "

Yeva, who had gone with Zubeydeh into the Harim, now returned(discreetly veiled) and with an air of restraint made a sign to theEnglishman to be seated while Zubeydeh brought refreshments. 

He heard Yeva speaking gently at his ear. 

"Allah is good. Excellency, they told me that you were dead--that theywould bury you. They took your body and that of the other man in a cartto the hills above the city. But someone came, and they were forced togo away. "

"You saw her go with him?"

"Yes. She had fainted. I helped to carry her down through the_selamlik_ to the street at the back of the house. Then an automobilecame, and they took her away. "

"There have been no inquiries here?"

"None. And you will say nothing?" she asked anxiously. 

"Not a word. Would you have me deliver myself into the hands of myenemies?"

"I shall help you, Excellency, if you will try to find her. "

"Yes. I shall try. I will follow, if you will provide me with clothing. "

"It shall be done. But first you must eat and drink and then we shallplan. "

Zubeydeh, now completely disarmed, brought cakes and sherbet, and whenRenwick had eaten and drunk, gave him cigarettes and the clothing, showing him into a room where he quickly divested himself of his rags ofwrapper and put on the garments which she had brought. They werecuriously familiar. His own disguise--that which he had bought in thebazaar and had worn when he had first come to this house. He felt in thepockets of his trousers but the money was gone. And when he was dressed, Zubeydeh colored his face with some liquid which she brought from thekitchen. 

The clock on the mantle indicated the hour of eleven when Renwickprepared to take his departure. It had been a market day in the Turkishquarter, and late at night the farmers would be returning to theirhomes. Aware of the difficulties which might lie in the way of hisleaving the city, Yeva proposed that Renwick should leave the Carsija inthe cart of a cousin of Zubeydeh's, a farmer who lived on the RomanjaPlain; and Renwick, quick to see the advantages of the plan, readilyagreed, for it was toward the Visegrader Gate, he had learned, that theautomobile of Captain Goritz had departed. 

As he left the lower door with Zubeydeh, who was to accompany him as faras the Carsija, Renwick caught Yeva by the hand. 

"I cannot thank you, girl. But some day I shall pay. You will remember. I promise. "

"It is nothing, " she said; and then with a laugh: "But if in Vienna orParis or London, you should see a silk dress of blue----"

"You shall have two of them--and two of pink----"

"Excellency----!" she cried, clapping her hand childishly. 

"And if I find her--jewels----!"

"It is too much----" she cried. And then eagerly, as though she fearedhe might misinterpret, "Still, I should like them----"

"You shall have them--some day. "

"I shall pray to Allah that you may find her. Go, Excellency. Go to herand tell her that I have done what I can. "

"Allah will bless you. "

"May Allah bless you both, " she sighed, "for it is all so verybeautiful. "

The last glimpse that Renwick had of her was from the gate of thegarden, where he turned to wave his hand as she stood, leaning wistfullyagainst the doorpost of the house, looking after him. 

The arrangements for his journey were readily made and the business ofthe night being concluded, in half an hour Renwick, passing again asStefan Thomasevics on his way to Rogatica to help in gathering theharvest, was seated beside Selim Ali, Zubeydeh's cousin, driving in acart through the silent Kastele. Renwick saw several Bosnian policeofficers in uniform, who inspected the empty vehicle, but merely glancedat the slouching figures on the seat. At the Visegrader Gate they weredetained and questioned, but Selim had a clever tongue and told astraight story which Renwick corroborated with nods and gestures. Itwould have been dangerous to risk his too fluent German on the officerof the guard. No, they had seen no bearded man in a blue coat. It hadbeen a hot day in the bazaar. One didn't like to think of blue coats onsuch a day. Even tonight it was still sultry, but soon the harvest timewould be here, and after that the snows. Would the Excellency like afine melon, for forty _hellers_--the only one left in all the day? No?Then we will give it to the Excellency for nothing. 

The officer grinned and let them pass, but he took the melon. It wasafter midnight for in the distance behind them they had heard the bellof the cathedral tolling the hour. Safely past all military barriers, Selim, who had had a long day, yawned and clambered into the tail of thecart to sleep, leaving the horse to its own devices. But sleep was notfor Renwick. His escape had been accomplished without much trouble, andgiven a little luck and some skill he thought he could manage to losehimself quickly in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But the magnitude of hisundertaking in finding Marishka was formidable. Most of Bosnia and allof Austria Hungary lay between Sarajevo and the German border--fivehundred miles of enemy's country to be traversed without other resourcesthan eighteen _kroner_ pieces and a pair of somewhat worn _opankas_! Andafter that--the heart of the enemy's country!

Eighteen _kroner_! His own, probably, filched from the pockets of theclothing he had worn when he had entered the house in search ofMarishka. His own clothing, the disguise he had bought in the bazaar. Then perhaps----! Feverishly he felt along the upper lining, where hehad pinned the larger sum of money he had taken from his purse when hehad changed from mufti at the inn over in the Bistrick quarter of thetown. They had found it? Something crinkled under the pressure of hisfingers, and a pin pricked his thumb. It was there--his money. They hadnot searched for it, thinking of course that the money they had found inthe pockets was all that he had possessed. He found the head of the pinand opened the lining, counting the notes--ten of them in all--of onehundred _kroners_ each. 

A thousand _kroners_! He could have shouted for glee. But caution cameto him in time. He looked around to find that Selim had awakened and wassitting up rubbing his eyes. 

CHAPTER XX

RENWICK QUESTIONS

Had the man observed him when he was counting his money? The hazard ofhis position made Renwick suspicious. Selim was a crafty rogue as hisconversation with the officer at the Visegrader Gate had shown, and oneof Zubeydeh's breed needed watching. But the man yawned and stretchedhis arms, then got up and looked about with so genuine an air ofdrowsiness and fatigue that Renwick concluded that he had been mistaken. How much or how little Selim had been told of Renwick's affair theEnglishman did not know. But the man had already done him a service andmight be in a position to help him further. So he decided upon anattitude of friendliness and gratitude which might perhaps be measuredby a few of his eighteen _kroners_ but no more. 

It was about three o'clock, when having met no adventures upon the way, they reached the farm of Selim Ali upon the border of the Romanja Plain. Twenty hours at a stretch, nine of which had been spent in the tensionof his escape, were more than Renwick's strength permitted, and he sankupon the straw pallet to which Selim assigned him, weary and shaken, andwith a hand which instinctively clutched the lining of his trouserswhere his money was pinned, he fell into a deep sleep, from which hedid not awaken until the sun was high in the heavens. 

He did not rise at once, but lay on his cot, gazing at the ceiling, hismind adjusting itself slowly to his situation. He felt for the money inthe lining of his trousers. It had not been touched. If Selim haddiscovered the notes in Renwick's possession he was either withoutdesign upon them or had concluded to postpone its consummation untilsome later hour. Where was the man? Renwick wanted to talk to him. Heheard the sound of a voice in another part of the house, and getting upwent outside and walked around to the rear of the building. A youngwoman in Turkish costume was washing some clothing in a tub by the door. 

Renwick greeted her with a bow and a smile, and asked for Selim. Shepointed toward a distant field, and then asked if he desired food. Renwick thanked her and replied that he would wait until Selim returned, and went back to bed. There, some moments later the woman brought himcoffee, bread, and excellent soup, which the Englishman devouredhungrily, not aware until the moment that it was precisely food herequired. When he had finished eating, he smoked a cigarette and plannedhis pilgrimage. 

He had but two known facts with regard to the flight of Captain Goritzwith his prisoner; first, the automobile had gone through the Kastele inthe direction of the Visegrader Gate, over the very road by whichRenwick had come with Selim; second, the object of Captain Goritz was toreach the German border as speedily as possible. 

The fact that Goritz had left town by this road to the north and eastindicated one of two things: that Goritz, seeking the more quietly toescape from the town, had chosen the road through the Kastele quarter, intending to make a détour over the mountains and reach the Bosna road, by which he would go straight through Hungary and Austria to hisdestination; the other inference was that Goritz had chosen the moreeasterly road to the north in order to avoid passing through Austria, seeking the shortest road into Silesia, through central Hungary andGalicia by way of Cracow. It seemed probable that Goritz had alreadyreached Germany, and yet even this was no assured fact. If Goritz hadchosen to return through Austria by the main traveled roads, by Bosna, by Agram, or by Budapest, there was scarcely a chance that he could haveeluded the agents of the watchful Windt. The plot against the life ofthe Archduke had consummated in his death. Marishka had failed, but withher failure had come a restitution of her complete rights as an Austriancitizen. Herr Windt, no longer seeking to restrain her actions, wouldwish to save her from the results of her own imprudences, redoubling hisefforts to come between Goritz and the German border. 

Renwick tried to think as Goritz would think. Why had Goritz come by thecircuitous road over the Romanja Plain? Surely not to go north by way ofSerbian territory. Goritz had a reason. The shortest road--the leasttraveled road, the road which avoided Brod, the main gateway intoBosnia, was the road by which he would pass through the rural districtsof eastern Hungary, proceeding all the while along the level country ofthe Danube or the Thiess, reaching Silesia--the long tail of the GermanEmpire which thrust out between Poland and Galicia. 

Renwick paced the room with quick strides. The theory hung together. Andgiven this to be the plan of Goritz, had he succeeded in carrying itout? Possibly. But Hungary was wide. It was five hundred miles at leastfrom Sarajevo to the Carpathians, and much may happen to an automobilein five hundred miles. Marishka, Yeva told him, had fainted. It wouldhave been inhuman for Goritz to have taken her such a distance without achance for rest or recuperation. Goritz! Every theory that Renwickdevised seemed to fall to the ground when he thought of him. Thecleverness of the man was amazing. And what lay behind his cleverness?What of decency or what of deviltry lay behind the mask that Renwick hadseen? The man had treated her with consideration--for Marishka had notcomplained of his attitude toward her--until there in the Turkish house, when he had seized her by the arm. .. . 

Deliberation had gained something--only a theory as yet, but if atheory, one which stood the acid of inspection from every angle. 

Renwick's task seemed hopeless, but that spirit of persistence, of whichMarishka had once spoken, was one of the dominating characteristics ofhis nature. Given a sound purpose, a worthy desire, he was not easilydismayed, and desperate as his chances of finding Marishka now seemed, it did not enter his head to give up and seek his way--as he mighteasily have done--to the Serbian border and so to safety. Marishka hadforgiven him! During the long days of his convalescence the memory oftheir brief joyous moments in the Turkish house had renewed andinvigorated him. He had heard her calling to him across thedistances--despairingly, but hoping against hope that the man she lovedwas still alive. It thrilled him to think that he could still come toher--if she would wait--come even from the grave and answer her call tohim--the call of one brave spirit to another, which needed no materialfact of physical utterance to make itself heard. He would find her--notsoon perhaps, but all in good time. Providence had not saved himmiraculously for failure, and it was written that he should succeed. Thegods would be with him now and arm him against disaster. He rejoiced tofind how strong he felt today. All the tremors had gone out of hisnerves, and he was ready to begin his journey whenever it should betime. But first he wanted to question Selim--Goritz had passed thishouse--there was a chance . .. 

Selim Ali returned from the fields at supper time, greeted Renwick withbluff heartiness, and together they sat at a substantial meal of_Jungfern-Braten_, over which Selim's wife Zaidee presided. In the lightof events, Renwick willingly reconstructed his estimate of Selim. Lastnight Renwick would have been suspicious of the angel Gabriel, but withthe courage of the sunlight had come confidence in himself, and faith inhis star. It seemed that Zubeydeh had told her cousin nothing ofRenwick's nationality or predicament, but that he was a friend who hadgotten into a trouble, and that the police of Sarajevo were looking forhim. Selim was to shelter him and speed him upon his way. Selim askedmany questions which Renwick answered as he chose, biding his own time. Yes, _he_, Stefan Thomasevics, had gotten into trouble in Sarajevo, allbecause of a woman (and this Renwick knew to be true), and desired toleave the country. He did not wish to go to the war and he would notfight against the Serbians who were not in the wrong. He, Thomasevics, wished to go north to Budapest where he would work in the factories andamass a fortune. Selim wagged his head wisely and laughed. 

"You must work long, my young friend, and spend nothing, " he said. "Come. You're a strong fellow--a little weak just now from smoking toomany cigarettes and staying up too late at night. But I will give youwork here upon my farm and pay you well. "

But Thomasevics shook his head. 

"Thank you. You are kind, but I have already made up my mind. "

Selim shrugged and lighted his long pipe. 

"As you will, but I have made you a good offer. "

"A good offer. Yes. Which I would accept were my mind not set upon othermatters. " He paused and then, "Selim, you are a good fellow. I will tellyou the truth. I would like to stay with you, but I am searching forsomething which may take me to the ends of the earth. "

"That is a long way, my friend. "

"Yes, a long way, when one doesn't know which way to go. "

"Ah, that is even longer. There are but two things which will take a manlike you so far as that--vengeance, or a woman. "

Renwick smiled. 

"I see that you are wise as well as clever. I go for both, Selim. "

"A woman? Young?"

"Yes. "

"Beautiful?"

"Yes. "

"And the vengeance----"

"That shall be beautiful also. "

Selim smoked his pipe solemnly and as Renwick hesitated, "Will it please you to tell me more?" he asked. 

Renwick deliberated. 

"Yes. I am groping in the dark. And the darkness begins at Sarajevo. Sheleft there in the night--with _him_. "

"Ah, a man! Of course. "

"They fled by the Visegrader Gate and they came upon this road, pastthis very house. "

Selim shrugged. 

"At night! It is a pity. I might have seen them but I sleep soundly. "

"There are no other houses for a long distance in either direction. Theymight have stopped here. "

"But they did not!" And as Renwick gave up despairingly, "You see, Iworked very hard all last week and slept like a dead man. "

"It was not last week, " said Renwick gloomily, "almost two monthsago----"

"Ah, as to that----" and Selim shrugged again. "One has no recollectionof things that happened before the Hegira. "

Of course it was hopeless. Renwick had only unraveled the thread to seehow far it would lead. Here it broke off, and so he relinquished it. Rather wearily he sank back into his chair and gazed out of the windowinto the sunset. 

Selim's wife entered with a tray to take away the dishes. She wore no_yashmak_, for Selim, though professing the Moslem faith, was somewhatlax in carrying out its articles. He did not believe in running a goodthing into the ground, he said. So Zaidee came and went as she chose. 

"I have been listening from the kitchen, " she said with a smile. "It isalways a woman that makes the trouble, _nicht wahr_?"

"Then how can Paradise be Paradise?" grunted Selim. 

"Thou wouldst get on poorly without us, just the same, " said Zaideedemurely. 

"But I should not go to the ends of the earth, like Stefan, here. "

"Thou! Thou dost not know the meaning of love. I wish I could help him. "

"It is impossible, " sneered Selim. 

"But it is interesting, " sighed Zaidee. "She went away with anotherman--that is cruel!"

"Perhaps Stefan is better off than he knows, " said Selim. 

"Selim, " said Zaidee with great solemnity, "thou art a pig!"

"Pig I am not. "

"Pig!" she repeated with more acerbity. 

Renwick was in no mind to take a part in their quarrel and was movingtoward the door of the adjoining room when a phrase caught his ear. 

"And thou art a magpie, Zaidee, always croaking. It will get us intotrouble, thy talking. I have but to set my foot outside the house andthy tongue wags like the clothing of a scarecrow. "

"I have done no harm, " she said angrily. 

"It is no affair of thine--they will come again asking questions. I haveno humor to talk with any of that accursed breed. "

"What harm can come--if we tell the truth----?"

"Bah--what do the police care about the truth?"

Renwick turned and reëntered the room. 

"The police!" he said quickly. 

"Zaidee talks too much. A month ago in my absence they came inquiring. "

"And what wouldst _thou_ have said?" cried Zaidee angrily. "To shelter asick woman is no crime----"

"I should have said nothing. "

"And what happened?" asked Renwick eagerly, now aware of the bone thatchance had thrown in the way of a starving man. 

"In the middle of the night which followed the day upon which theArchduke was assassinated----"

"And whose tongue is wagging now--thou magpie?" put in Zaideespitefully. 

"Be quiet----" said Selim. 

Renwick glared at the woman as though he would have liked to choke her, and she subsided. 

"An automobile stopped at my door. There were three people, an Austrianofficer, a lady who was sick, and a man who drove the car. They askedadmittance on account of the Excellency who was sick. I could notrefuse, for they said that they would pay me well. "

Selim paused, hunting in his pockets for a match to light his pipe, andRenwick, containing his patience with difficulty, stood, his handsclenched behind him, waiting. They had stopped here--at this very house. 

"And then----?" he asked calmly. 

"We put the Excellency to bed----"

"_I_ did, " said Zaidee. 

"Bah! What matter? They were bound upon a journey over the mountains toVlasenica, where the Excellency was taking his wife for the waters. "

"His wife, " mumbled Renwick. 

"They traveled at night to avoid the heat of midday, but the suddensickness of the Excellency made further travel impossible. "

"The officer Excellency lied----!" said Zaidee. 

"Be quiet, thou----!" roared Selim. 

"Let Zaidee speak. I am no policeman, " said Renwick. 

"What interest is it of yours?"

Renwick caught the man by the shoulders with both hands and glared athim. 

"Merely because this is the woman I seek. "

"An Excellency like--and you?"

"What I am does not matter. A hundred _kroner_ if you tell thetruth----"

"A hundred _kroner_----!"

His eyes searched Renwick eagerly, and then, "There is little I wouldnot tell for a hundred _kroner_, but----"

"I am not of the police, I tell you. This lady is an Austrian noblewomanin danger. "

"And the Austrian officer----"

"Is no Austrian, but an enemy of Austria----"

"A Serb----?"

"No. "

"Who are you?"

"What does that matter?"

Selim shrugged. "Nothing perhaps--still----"

"And if I tell you, you will keep silent?"

"A hundred _kroner_ will make me dumb. "

"I am an Englishman, " said Renwick after a moment. 

"Ah--a spy!"

"No. A prisoner who has escaped. "

"That is better. "

"Speak!"

And as the man still hesitated Renwick unpinned the notes in his pocketand tossed one of them upon the table, in front of him. Selim took iteagerly. 

"I am quite ready to believe anything you say----"

But Renwick seized his wrist in a strong grip. "You have not spokenyet. "

"I will speak, then, " said Zaidee. "Selim is a fool to hesitate. Inursed the Excellency for two nights and a day. I cooked her eggs andchicken and soup, but she would not eat. She was very much frightened. "

"The man--he treated her badly?"

"Oh, no. Very politely, and paid us for our service, but the Excellencywas frightened. I was kind to her, and she was grateful, but she spokenothing of where she was going. Perhaps she did not know. But it was notto take the waters. "

"You, Selim, " broke in Renwick, "you heard the men speaking? What didthey say?"

He shrugged. 

"How can I remember? They planned their journey with a map, but I had nointerest----"

"What map----?"

"A map--how should I know----"

"Of Hungary----"

"Hungary!" And then scratching his head, "Yes, it must have been ofHungary, for they spoke of Budapest----"

"And what else? The Danube--the Thiess?"

"I do not remember?"

"You must----!" Renwick's fingers closed again upon the hundred _kroner_note which Selim had put back on the table. 

"What good would it do if I lied to you?"

"Think, man, think! They made marks upon the map?"

"Marks? Oh, yes--marks. "

"Up and down, the way they were sitting?"

"Yes. I think so. By the beard of the Prophet! You can't expect a fellowto remember such things as this for two months. "

"Did they speak of mountains?"

"Mountains----!" Selim scratched his head again. "How should I know?"

"The Carpathians?"

"The Carpathians. Perhaps. Ah----"

Selim tapped his brow with a stubby forefinger. 

"There was a name they spoke many times. It was a strange name. "

"What?"

"I can't think. "

"Zaidee, you heard?" Renwick asked. 

"I was listening, but I could not understand. "

"Was it a city?"

"I do not know. "

"Was it Cracow? Kaschau? Agram? Was it Brünn?"

But they made no sign. 

"Think!" said Renwick. "At the top of the map--away from them--near theedge?"

Selim shrugged hopelessly. "I can't remember, " he said. 

Renwick despaired. 

"Was the map large?"

"Yes. I remember that. It covered this table----"

"Ah--then you can tell me how they stood?"

"Yes. I can tell you that. "

He got up and placed himself at the side of the table. "The Excellencywas here--the map spread out----"

"Did he lean to the left or to the right?"

"He leaned well forward with both elbows upon the table--straightforward--yes--almost across--a pencil in his hand--the other waspointing. The lamp was just there----" pointing to the left center ofthe table. 

"The lamp was on the map?"

"Yes--to keep it in position----"

"On the left-hand side?"

"Yes. "

"And they didn't move the lamp?"

"No. It remained there until they raised it to take the map away. "

"I understand. And they made marks up and down with a pencil?"

Selim shrugged. 

"It is what I think, merely. "

"And the name was----?"

"How can one be sure of a name? It is a wonder just now that I canremember my own. Had I known what was to happen----" And he shrugged anddropped wearily again into his chair. 

"And the police--? What has Zaidee said to the police?"

"Merely that the Excellencies were here--in this house. "

"The police are coming again?"

"I do not know. It would seem that they have forgotten. "

"And if they come, you will speak?"

"The hundred _kroner_ will make me dumb. "

"And Zaidee?"

"I will not speak. "

"Nothing of me, you understand. I am but Stefan Thomasevics----"

"It is understood. "

"And you remember nothing more?"

"Nothing. "

"You are sure. The Excellency left no message--no note----?"

"Nothing. "

Renwick pushed the hundred _kroner_ note toward Selim and straightened. 

"You have done me a service, Selim. They have gone to the east of theTatra----"

"Tatra!" suddenly shouted Selim triumphantly. "It is the name!"

"Are you sure?" asked Renwick excitedly. 

"Yes. Tatra--that is it. They spoke of it for half an hour. Eh--Zaidee?"

"Yes. It is the name. "

Renwick paced the floor with long steps. 

"Selim, " he said at last, "it is now dark. I must go at once. "

"Tomorrow. "

"Tonight. The stars are out. "

He moved to the door and peered out. 

"You will keep silent?" he asked. 

"Have I not promised?" said Selim. 

He caught them both by the hand. 

"Allah will bless you. "

"A hundred _kroner_--that is blessing enough for one day, StefanThomasevics, " he laughed. 

"Adieu!" said Renwick, and walked bravely off into the starlight. 

CHAPTER XXI

AN IMPERSONATION

At least he now had a goal--"the center of the map, near the top"--theTatra region by which Goritz had passed (if he had not been intercepted)into Galicia and so into Germany. Aside from the value of Selim'sinformation, one other fact stood out. The secret service men who hadvisited Selim a month ago had not returned. Did this mean that HerrWindt had already succeeded in closing the door of escape? The passesthrough the Carpathians could of course be easily guarded and closed, for there were few of them accessible to traffic by automobile. WasRenwick's goal, after all, to be there and not beyond? He had put in onesummer in the Tatra region with Captain Otway of the Embassy, and heknew the district well, --a country of mountain villages, feudal castles, and rugged roads. Otway had been interested in the military problems ofthe Austro-Hungarian empire, and Renwick remembered the importance ofthe Tatra as a natural barrier to Russian ambitions. The shortestautomobile road into Silesia lay to the _east_ of the Tatra range--andthe passes through the Carpathians at this point were few and wellknown. By process of elimination, Renwick had at last assured himselfthat his first theory was tenable, for Selim had confirmed it. A hundredconjectures flashed into the Englishman's mind as he trudged onward, tobe one by one dismissed and relegated to the limbo of uncertainty. Butassuming that Selim had told the truth, Renwick had found the trail, andwould follow wherever it might lead him, to its end. 

His idea of traveling afoot by night and of hiding by day, at least forthe first part of his journey, was born of the desire to leave nothingto chance. His own capture meant internment until the end of the war, orpossibly an exchange for some Austrian in England. But they should notcatch him! Concealed in his belt he wore the American revolver, andcarried some cartridges which Zubeydeh had restored to him. 

The weather fortunately had been fine, and the days and nights in theopen were rapidly restoring him to strength. The discomfort at the woundin his body which had bothered him for a few days had disappeared. Hewas well. And with health came hope, faith even, in the star of hisfortunes. It took him two weeks to reach Polishka, below which hecrossed the Save at night in a boat which he found moored to the bank, and daylight found him at a small village through which a railroad rannorth towards the plains of the Danube. Here he paused dead-tired forfood and rest. 

The innkeeper, who spoke German fairly well, swallowed Renwick's story, his taste somewhat stimulated by the sight of the ten-_kroner_ piecewhich the Englishman used in paying for his breakfast. 

But the time had now come for the execution of a bold plan which forsome days and nights Renwick had been turning over and over in his mind. It was a good plan, he thought, a brave plan which stood the test ofargument pro and con. The British Embassy in many of its investigationsduring times of peace, --investigations of a purely personal or financialnature, --had been in the habit of calling in the services of one CarlMoyer, an Austrian who ran a private inquiry bureau in Vienna. He was anable man, not directly connected with the secret service department ofthe Empire, but frequently brought into consultation upon mattersoutside the pale of politics. Renwick's interest in Moyer had beenlimited to the share they had both taken in some inquiries as to thestanding of a Russian nobleman who had approached the Ambassador with ascheme of a rather dubious character. But a physical resemblance toMoyer, which had been the subject of frequent jokes with Otway, had nowgiven Renwick a new and very vital interest in the personality of theman which had nothing to do with their business relations. Moyer wasthinner than Renwick, and not so tall, but their features were muchalike. When at first the idea of an impersonation had come to Renwick, he had rejected it as dangerous, but the notion obsessed him. The veryboldness of the project was in its favor. He could now move freely alongthe railroads and if one ignored the hazard of meeting the man himselfor someone who knew him intimately, he could pursue his object offollowing the trail of Captain Goritz with a brave front which woulddefy suspicion. True, he would have no papers and no credentials, butthis, too, was a part of the guise of a man who might be moving upon asecret mission. Carl Moyer, disguised as an Austrian of the laboringclass, moving from Bosnia to the Carpathians--what could be morenatural?

As Renwick ate his breakfast in the small inn at Otok, he came to asudden decision to put this bold plan into practice. And so, exhibitinganother ten-_kroner_ piece, he made known his wishes to the innkeeper. He was a Bosnian, he said, but in Hungary he did not wish to attractattention by wearing his native costume. In parts of Hungary there was afeeling that the Bosnians who lived near the Serbian border were notloyal to the Emperor and this, it had been said, might make it difficultfor him to obtain employment. His purse was not large but if his hostwould procure for him a suit of western clothing, a coat, a pair oftrousers, a shirt, a cravat, and a soft hat, he, Thomasevics, wouldoffer his Bosnian clothing in exchange and do what was fair in thematter of money. The train from Britzka did not go north for an hour. Would it be possible to find these things in so short a time? Theinnkeeper regarded the worn and mud-stained garments of his guest ratherdubiously, but the terms of the offer in the matter of money having beenmade clear, the transformation was accomplished without difficulty andRenwick boarded the train rather jubilant at the celerity and speed ofhis journey. By nightfall, with luck, he would be across the Danube andwell within the borders of Hungary, mingling in crowds where all traceof his identity would be lost. He spent most of his afternoon on thetrain trying to recall the mannerisms of the man Moyer, a trick ofgesture, a drawl and a shrug which he thought he could manage. CarlMoyer he now was, on a mission from Bosnia to the North, in which thebetter to disguise himself he was permitting his hair and beard to grow. 

Hut success had made him over-confident, for at the Bahnhof at Zomborwhere he had to change into a train for Budapest, something happenedwhich drove all thought from his head save that of escape from thepredicament into which his imprudence had plunged him. 

He was sitting upon a bench on the platform waiting for his train when aman approached and sat beside him. Renwick needed no second glance toreassure himself as to the fellow's identity. He was Spivak, Windt'sman, the fellow who had kept guard on the cabin at Konopisht. TheEnglishman feared to get up and walk away, for that might attractattention. So he sat, slouched carelessly, his hat pulled well down overhis eyes, awaiting what seemed to be the inevitable. Spivak--one ofWindt's men sent of course to Zombor, one of the important railwayjunctions, to watch all arrivals from the south. Renwick had been readywith his story when he debarked from the train but there had been acrowd and he had been in the last carriage. Renwick's mind workedrapidly, and to an imagination already prescient of disaster, the manseemed to be inspecting him. As Spivak's chin lifted, Renwick faced himsquarely. Their glances met--and passed. Renwick calmly took out acigarette and bending his head forward lighted it coolly, aware that theman was saying something in Hungarian. 

Renwick made a gesture of incomprehension, wondering meanwhile how hecould kill the man on the crowded platform without attractingobservation. 

"The train from the south was crowded today, " said Spivak in German. 

"Crowded? Yes. "

"Do you come from Brod or Britzka?"

"From Britzka, " said Renwick without hesitation, and then with thecourage of desperation--

"I have seen you before, " he went on, calmly puffing at his cigarette. 

"I have, I think, the same impression. "

"Your name is Spivak--of the Secret Service----"

"You----"

"My name is Carl Moyer. "

It was a gambler's chance that Renwick took. If Spivak intimately knewthe man--but he did not and the effrontery disarmed him. 

"You are Carl Moyer? I must have seen you, " he muttered. "I have been inVienna a little--with Herr Windt, but I am of the Hungarian branch. Youhave been in Sarajevo?"

"Yes, " said Renwick easily following out a wild plan that had come intohis mind. "I have been employed by the Baroness Racowitz to find theCountess Marishka Strahni. "

"Ah, I see. It has come to that!" And then, regarding his companion witha new interest, "When did you come from Sarajevo?"

"Last night. It is a strange case. "

"And you have found a lead?"

"Several----"

"You can do nothing against such a man as Goritz. "

"It is Goritz--yes--but I will find her if I have to go through Germanywith a harrow. "

"They have not gone to Germany, my friend. Every gate out of Hungary hasbeen closed to them since the assassination. "

Renwick smiled. The thing had worked. The spirit of the venture glowedin him--its very impudence fascinated. 

"Perhaps!" he replied. "Still, a man who could outwit NicholasSzarvas----"

Spivak caught him so suddenly by the arm that Renwick trembled. 

"You think he killed Szarvas----?" whispered Spivak eagerly. 

"If not himself, it was by his orders. And the Englishman--Renck----"

"Renwick. "

"I've found the evidence that Renck was lured to Sarajevo. He possesseda secret dangerous to Germany and so Goritz killed him. "

"And this Peter Langer--who escaped from the hospital----?" asked Spivakcynically. 

"The chauffeur of Goritz, left for dead in the fight with Szarvas andstripped of his clothing to hide all marks of identity. It is no wonderthat he wished to escape----" The Englishman broke off with a roughlaugh and rose. "But this won't do, I'm giving you all my thunder. HerrWindt does not relish my employment in this service, but since he hasaccomplished nothing you cannot blame my clients. I am on my way toGermany. The surest way to catch a fox is to smoke him out of his hole. "

Spivak took a few paces away, and then slowly returned. 

"What you say is interesting, Herr Moyer, and the theory hangs together, but you will waste your time in Germany. "

"Why?"

"Because Captain Goritz is still in Hungary. "

"What further reason have you for believing that he is here?"

Spivak smiled and hesitated a moment. And then, "You have talked freely. One good turn deserves another. I will tell you. We know that CaptainGoritz is still in Hungary because within the past week theWilhelmstrasse has sent urgent messages to Vienna inquiring for him. "

"Ah--that is interesting, " said Renwick slowly, trying to hide the throbof triumph in his throat. "Then you think----?"

"Merely that he is in hiding--with the lady, " said Spivak with a leer. "It is no new thing for a man to go in hiding with a lady. "

Renwick's laugh was admirably managed, for fury was in his heart. "Thisinformation is helpful, " he said. "You believe that it is true?"

"I am sure. Berlin is anxious because he has not returned. I do not knowwhat they suspect over there, but the situation is changed. The war hasmade a difference. We have no idea where he has gone. All that we knowis that it will be very difficult for him to get out. "

In the distance the train was rumbling up the track, and Renwick wasthankful. But he caught the fellow by the hand. 

"You are a good fellow, Spivak. If at any time you wish to leave thegovernment service and take a good place at a fair payment, you willcome to see me in Vienna. "

"Thanks, Herr Moyer. I shall remember. You are going on to Budapest?"

"Yes. And you?"

"I am detained here to watch for a Russian spy who is trying to getthrough to the Galician border. " He laughed. "You're sure you'renot----?"

"That's a good joke, Spivak, " he smiled. "A Russian! I'd have preciouslittle chance----" And then as the train rolled in--

"Don't forget--Ferdinand Strasse, Number 83----"

"I will not. Adieu!"

"Adieu, my friend. "

And with a final wave of the hand Renwick turned and slowly mounted intohis third class carriage. The plan had worked and the man, it seemed, had not the slightest suspicion. He was, as Renwick remembered fromKonopisht, not infallible, and the ease with which Renwick hadaccomplished his object and the remarkable nature of his newly acquiredinformation could only be explained by the fact that Spivak was seekingthe Russian and not himself, and by the boldness of his impersonation, which had immediately pierced the crust of Spivak's professionalreserve. All had gone well, but it seemed an age before the train drewout of the station. Renwick did not dare to look out of the window tolearn if the man were still there, and until the bell of the locomotiverang announcing the departure of the train, he was unpleasantly nervous, for fear that a suspicion might dawn in the man's mind which would leadhim to pursue the conversation. 

Renwick never learned whether Spivak's second thoughts had warned himthat all was not as it should be, for instead of taking any chances, theEnglishman got down from the train at the first stop and disappearedinto the darkness. 

It was with a feeling of elation mingled with apprehension that Renwickmade his way forward. Elation because of the new crumbs of information, apprehension because of the definite assurance that Goritz still heldMarishka a prisoner somewhere within the borders of Hungary. Definite itseemed, for Spivak had spoken with the utmost confidence of things withwhich he was intimately concerned. The trail narrowed. It seemed asthough Providence, aware of past impositions, was bent on making amendsto one who had suffered much from her disfavor. The sudden appearance ofSpivak, which had seemed to threaten disaster, had been turned by a boldstroke from calamity to good fortune. But Renwick determined to avoidfurther such encounters if possible. And so, resuming the mode ofprogress which had been so effective on the way to Tuzla, he walked atnight, and slept under cover by day, reaching a town upon the banks ofthe Danube, where he bought new clothing, a straw hat, a change oflinen, and a hand bag with which (representing himself as a grainmerchant of Ujvidek), he boldly boarded a steamer upon the river, reaching Budapest without further incident. 

It was not until he had passed the Quai and was safely in the KarolyKorut that Renwick breathed easily. He was now safe, finding his way tohis immediate destination, the house of a person connected with theEnglish Secret Service, into whose care he confidently entrustedhimself. 

CHAPTER XXII

THE NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK

Herr Koulas was by birth a Greek, by citizenship, an Austrian, and byoccupation, a chemist; but his real métier, concealed under a mostdocile and law abiding exterior, was secret inquiry in behalf of theBritish government into all matters pertaining to its interests, eithersocial, political, or military. He knew his Hungary from Odenburg toKronstadt, from the Save to the Carpathians, and Renwick, while somewhatdubious as to the wisdom of his visit under the circumstances, foundhimself received at this excellent man's home with a warmth of welcomewhich left no doubt in his own mind as to the unselfishness of his host. Even before the war Renwick and Constantine Koulas had met in secret, sothat if trouble came no plan should mar the man's impeccable characterin Austrian eyes. And Renwick would not have come to him now, had nothis own need been great. But Herr Koulas, having heard the tale of hisadventures and reassured as to the present danger of pursuit, gavewillingly of his hospitality and counsel, and when he learned thecharacter of Renwick's mission, volunteered to procure him a set ofpapers which would rob his pilgrimage to the north, at least, of itsmost obvious dangers. He was ready with information, too, and offered amind with a peculiar genius for the kind of problem that Renwickpresented. The fact that the great Prussian secret agent, Leo Goritz, was involved in the affair lent it an individuality which detractednothing from its other interest. Leo Goritz! Only last year there hadbeen a contest of wits between them, both under cover, and Koulas hadmanaged to get what he wanted, not, however, without narrowly escapingthe revelation of his own part in the investigation. Goritz was a cleverman and a dangerous one, young, brilliant, handsome, unscrupulous, whowore an armor of impenetrability which had not yet revealed a singleweak link. And yet, Herr Koulas reasoned, broodingly, that there must beone. A weak link! Where was the man without one? The messages from theWilhelmstrasse! Why had Goritz not returned to Berlin upon the outbreakof the war? What was keeping him in Hungary? He was in the Tatra region?Possibly. Which were the passes by which he might try to go? Uzoker, Dukla, or perhaps even Jablunka. The Russians were already battering atPrzemysl--Uzoker Pass was out of the question. Jablunka--that was nearerthe German border, but eagerly watched even in times of peace. Goritzwould not have dared to try to abduct the Countess Strahni by way ofJablunka! The railroad went through Jablunka, a narrow highway with nooutlet for many miles. It was not the kind of _cul-de-sac_ that Goritzwould have chosen. Dukla? Perhaps. A little farther to the east, ofcourse, but not yet menaced by the Russian advance. 

The thing was puzzling, but interesting--very. The abduction of a loyalcitizen of Austria--a lady of noble birth--a hurried flight byunfrequented roads and then an _impasse_! Had Herr Windt blocked theway? Was the lady ill? Or had something else detained them?

Renwick sat in the back room of the small laboratory, his arms folded, his brows tangled in thought, as Herr Koulas, puffing great clouds ofsmoke from his long pipe, thus analyzed the situation. 

"I have thought of all of these things, Herr Koulas, " Renwick muttered, "and my mind always comes back to the same point. If I know that Goritzhas come to this region, if I know that he has not gone out of it, Ialso know that he remains. I do not care _why_--my question is_where--where_?"

Koulas ran his long forefinger over the map upon the table. 

"It is the map Goritz might use--a road map of the government, " hegrumbled. 

"The center near the top--Poprad--he would get through there withdifficulty----"

Renwick had risen and paced the floor slowly. 

"I have not been through Dukla. It is accessible?"

"Yes. Svidnik to Przemysl. Rocks--a _schloss_ or two----" He turned. "Itwas there that the Baron Neudeck was killed--you remember--three yearsago?"

"I have forgotten--Neudeck--an Austrian?"

"A German--Neudeck was selling military plans to the Russians--Goritz!"

Koulas sprang to his feet triumphantly--"Goritz! It was Goritz whodiscovered him----"

Renwick was listening eagerly, and Koulas turned with a shrug. "Nothingmuch, my friend. And yet--a coincidence perhaps--Goritz, Neudeck, Dukla. Goritz--Strahni--'the center of the map--at the top. ' It might be worthtrying. "

"I shall try it. There is nothing else for me to do. The Pass is usedfor transport?"

"No. The line of communication is through Mezo Laborcz. "

"It will be risky----"

"Not unless you make it so. With luck you shall bear a letter to GeneralLechnitz (which you need never deliver) as a writer for a newspaper. "

"That can be managed?"

"I hope--I believe--I am confident. "

Renwick smiled. Herr Koulas was something of a humorist. 

"Tell me more of this Neudeck case, " asked the Englishman. 

"There is unfortunately little more to tell. Neudeck was a German baronwith military connections, not too rich and not above dishonesty. Goritztraced the plans to Schloss Szolnok, an ancient feudal stronghold whichan elder Baron Neudeck had bought----"

"In the Dukla?"

"--in the Dukla--where some Russian officers were invited for theshooting. They did not know how little they were to enjoy it----" Koulaschuckled and blew a cloud of smoke--"for Goritz shot Neudeck beforetheir very eyes, and took the plans back to Germany. This is secrethistory--a nine days' wonder--but it passed and with it a cleverscoundrel who well deserved what he got. "

"And since his death who lives in Schloss Szolnok?"

"I don't know. " He laughed again. "You jump very rapidly at conclusions, my friend. "

"Time passes. I must jump at something. I am going to DuklaPass--tomorrow if you will help me. "

"That goes without saying. For the present you shall go to bed and sleepsoundly. I would like to go with you, but alas--I am not so young as Iwas and I can best serve all your interests here. "

Renwick shook Koulas by the hand and took the bedroom candle that wasoffered him. 

"Good night, " he said. "I pray that no harm may come to you from thisimprudence of mine. "

"Do not worry, my friend. I am well hedged about with alibis. Goodnight. "

The next evening after dark Renwick, now Herr Max Schoff of the _WienerZeitung_, supplied with a pass which Herr Koulas by means of hisunderground machinery had managed to procure, took the night train forKaschau, which he reached in the early morning of the following day, going on later to Bartfeld, the terminus of the railroad, a small andancient town under the very shadow of the mountains. Here, it being latein the afternoon, he found the Hungaria, a hotel to which he had beendirected, where he made arrangements to stop for the night while heleisurely pursued his inquiries. 

Now at last, so very near his destination, he was curiously oppressedwith the futility of his pilgrimage. He had come far, braving the dangerof detection and death, for he had no illusions regarding the status ofan Englishman approaching the battle lines under the guise of anewspaper writer. If taken, it would be as a spy, and he would betreated as such. 

Herr Koulas had warned him not to be too sanguine, for the roads out ofHungary were many, and Dukla Pass, merely because of a bit of forgottensecret history, a possibility not to be neglected. Herr Koulas had alsowarned him that the methods in induction which had been open to him hadalso been open to the Austrian secret service men who, perhaps, hadalready taken measures to follow the same scent. And so it was that thegolden smile of Herr Windt still persisted in Renwick's dreams by night, and in his thoughts by day. If Spivak had told his story of his meetingwith the spurious Moyer, his conversation about Szarvas wouldimmediately identify him as Renwick the Englishman. But however near thetwo trails ran, Windt's men had not yet come up with him, and, untilthey did, Renwick knew that he must move boldly and quickly upon hisquest. And so at last resolution armed him anew. 

It was now approaching dusk, and he cast about for a person to whom hemight talk without arousing suspicion, and so he turned into an inn atthe corner of the street and ordering beer sat himself upon a benchalong the wall before a long wooden table. The few men who sat drinkingand smoking gave him a curious glance, and the proprietor of theestablishment, aware of a stranger, felt it to be his duty to learnsomething of his mission to this small town and of his identity. Thiswas what Renwick wanted, and as the man spoke in German, he told withbrief glibness his well rehearsed story, inviting his host to join himin a glass, over which they were presently chatting as thick as thieves. He was a newspaper writer, Renwick said, upon his way to the front, andshowed the letter to General Lechnitz. But he had never before been inthis part of the country and intended to see it, upon the way. It was aninteresting town, Bartfeld, a fine church too, St. Aegidius. Had hishost lived in Bartfeld a long time?

The man was a native, and very proud of his traditions, expandingvolubly in reply to Renwick's careless questions. His father andgrandfather had kept this very inn, and indeed for all he knew theirfathers' fathers. A quiet town, but interesting to those who were fondof historical associations. Renwick listened patiently, slowly drawingthe man nearer to the subject that was uppermost in his mind. It was ashort distance to Dukla Pass, a very picturesque spot, he had been told, one well worth a visit, was it not?

"Dukla Pass!" said the man. "A name well known in the annals of thecountry in the days of John Sobieski, long before the railroad wentthrough beyond; a wonderful spot with cliffs and ravines. I have beenthere often. In the season, before the war, one drove there--for theview. Now alas! what with the Cossacks running over Galicia, the peoplehad more serious things to think about. "

"It is easily reached?" asked Renwick. 

"By the road beyond the town--a short cut--a climb over the mountains, but not difficult at this time of the year. "

"There is a village there?"

"A few farmhouses merely, in the valley along the streams. The glory ofthe Dukla is its ruins. "

"Ah, of course, there are feudal castles----"

"Javorina, Jägerhorn, Szolnok----"

"Szolnok!" said Renwick with sudden interest. "I have heard that namebefore----"

He paused in a puzzled way. 

"It was the summer residence of Baron Neudeck----"

"Ah, then it is not a ruin?"

"Until three years ago he lived there--in the habitable part--whensomething terrible happened. No one about here is sure--but the placehas an evil name. "

"That is interesting. Why?"

"The facts have never been clearly explained. The story goes that BaronNeudeck was in the midst of entertaining guests--a hunting party ofgentlemen; that there was a night of revelry and of drinking. One of theservants, entering the dining-hall in the morning, found Baron Neudecklying dead upon the hearth with a bullet wound in his forehead. Theguests had disappeared--vanished as if the earth had swallowed them. "

"And the police?"

"The police came and went. It was very strange. Nothing further washeard of the matter. But no one about here will go within a mile of theplace after nightfall. "

"And the servants--what became of them?"

The man shrugged. "They did not come from around here. They wereGermans, who came with the Baron. If the police are satisfied, I am. "

The man shrugged and drained his glass. 

"The other castles are ruined, you say? Then it cannot be long beforeSzolnok will share their fate--since it is not occupied, " suggestedRenwick. 

"Perhaps, " said the man indifferently, rising with a view to closing theconversation. 

Renwick ordered another glass of beer, and sat looking out of the smallcasement window at the passers-by, thinking deeply. 

The inspiration of Herr Koulas had at least set him upon a scent whichstill held him true upon this trail. The information he had receivedmight mean much or little. German servants? Had Goritz used the servantsof Baron Neudeck in unraveling the secret of the stolen plans? Had theybeen implicated in the affair? Did he hold them his creatures by aknowledge of their share in the guilty transaction? Three years hadpassed since the killing of Neudeck. What had happened in the meanwhile?Had the title of the property passed to others? Had the Schloss beenoccupied since the Baron's death, or was it deserted? He evolved atheory rapidly, determining to test it at once. It would perhaps beimprudent to question further this innkeeper, a public character, and itseemed quite probable that he knew little more than had already beentold. A visit to the farmhouses in the valley would reveal something. Hewould go----

Renwick had been gazing out of the window, but his attention wassuddenly arrested by the figure of a man at the corner of the street, who stood, smoking a cigarette. There was nothing unusual in hisclothing or demeanor, but the thing which had startled Renwick intosudden alertness was the rather vague impression that somewhere he hadseen this man's face before. A vague impression, but definite in thesense that to Renwick the face had been associated with somethingunpleasant or disagreeable. But even as Renwick looked, the man tossedhis cigarette into the cobbles and turning on his heel walked up thestreet, passing out of Renwick's range of vision. The Englishman startedup from his unfinished glass with the notion of following, but a secondthought urged caution. It was still light outside, and if the stranger'smemory for faces were better than his own, a meeting face to face wouldmerely court unnecessary danger. So Renwick returned to his bench andmade a pretense of finishing his beer, awaiting in safety the darkness. Where had he seen this man before? He searched his mind with painfulthoroughness--wondering if the injury to his head had robbed his brainof some of its clearness. He had seen this man's face before--before hissickness--he was sure of that. Hadwiger, Lengelbach, Linder--one by onehe recalled the secret service men. The face of the stranger was that ofnone of these. Someone--a shadowy someone--out of darkness--or dreams. Could the idea have been born of some imaginary resemblance, somefancied recollection? The thing was elusive, and so he gave it up, awarethat if his brain had played him no trick, there was here anotherconfirmation of his hope that he was on the true scent. Were the threadsconverging?

The plan that he now had in mind was to go over the mountains afoot andmake some quiet inquiries among the farmhouses in the valley below thePass, in regard to Schloss Szolnok. And so as the light had grown dim, he got up and went forth into the street, pulling his soft hat well downover his eyes, and making his way toward the road which led to DuklaPass. He verified the innkeeper's direction by inquiry at the end of themain street, and as the night was clear, set forth briskly upon his walkover the mountain road, for the idea of spending the evening ininactivity was not to be thought of until all the facts regarding thisSchloss Szolnok were in his possession. 

A ruin--uninhabited? And with its crumbling, his own hope. .. . It was notime for despair. Had he not come miraculously from death and traveledsafely from one border of the enemy's country almost to the other, asthough led or driven by some secret impelling force--some inspiration, some hidden guidon or command? At each turn, at each danger, heremembered he had acted with swiftness and decision, and had at no timebeen at a loss. Fortune had favored him at each stage of his journey andhad directed his steps with rare assurance in this direction. Fortune ora will-o'-the-wisp? Or was Marishka calling to him? He had had theimpression of her nearness often--there in the hospital--and since, atSelim Ali's--upon the road. It seemed strange and a little mystifyingtoo, that he had never doubted that he would be able to find her. .. . Andnow--if not at Schloss Szolnok--elsewhere. 

As the darkness of the mountain road deepened, swift vision came to him. The possible danger of attack . .. Out of the gloom of shadowy rocks, hehad a vision of men who interposed, barring his way, a man in a capasking the time. Vienna--the night that he had left Marishka, when thethree men had attacked him! The face of the man in the cap, and thestranger of Bartfeld--they were the same!

He could have shouted aloud in the joy of the revelation. The man whohad attacked him in the streets of Vienna--this cigarette-smokingstranger in Bartfeld. A German? Who else? Perhaps the man who had shotat him--in Vienna--at the Konopisht railroad station, a minion ofGoritz. Then Goritz could not be far away. .. . 

Renwick strode down the mountain side toward the distant lights of thevalley, like a man in seven-league boots, searching eagerly meanwhilethe gloomy peaks above him to his left for signs of Schloss Szolnok. Hecould distinguish nothing amid the deep shadows of the mountain side. But the lights below beckoned warmly, and finding a road to his right atthe foot of the declivity, he went toward them rapidly, knocking boldlyat the door of the first house to which he came. 

An old man answered his summons, a tall old man with a long pipe in hishand, who inspected the visitor narrowly. 

"I have lost my way, " said Renwick with a smile, "and thought you mightlet me have a cup of milk and some bread, for which I will paygenerously. "

The man in the doorway waved his hand in assent, and Renwick followedhim into the house, where his host made a motion for him to be seated. Agirl and a woman sat by the table knitting, and an old crone sat in alarge chair by the fireplace, in which some embers still glowed. Renwickwas hungry, but not nearly so hungry as impatient for the crumbs ofinformation that these worthy people might possess, and so he invented astory while he ate which the girl, who spoke German more fluently thanthe old man, translated to her elders. The woman at the table spoke alittle German and shyly added her share to the rather desultoryconversation. Bartfa was not far, only a few miles over the mountain--ashort distance by wagon or horseback, but something of a distance forone who was weary and footsore. Herr Schoff had come all the way fromMezo Laborez--and afoot? A newspaper writer? That was a dangerousoccupation in times like these. 

Renwick, having finished his bread and milk, deftly directed theconversation to the possibilities of Dukla Pass from the Russian pointof view as a means of invasion of the Hungarian plain, and it was soonquite clear that this possibility had not been absent from their minds. Renwick praised the effectiveness of the Austrian army which he hadseen, and quickly reassured them. For Dukla Pass, as he had heard, wasbut a slit in the mountains, which the Austrians could easily defend. Afew guns upon the rocks, and a million Cossacks could not break through. 

It was encouraging, the man put in in his patois, for they had beengreatly disturbed by rumors among the country-folk and many soldiersalready had passed through. 

"It is a place of historical interest, " said Renwick easily, "a_Schloss_ or two perhaps. "

"Javorina--Jägerhorn, yes--but mere ruins, long ago the property of theRakoczi family. And Szolnok----" Here the man paused, glanced at thegirl and the woman, and they both made the sign of the cross with theirforefingers at their breasts. 

In the slight period of embarrassment which followed, Renwick regardedthem with a new interest. The old crone at the fireside, who had beenleaning forward with a hand cupped at her ear, caught the significanceof the gesture and solemnly imitated them. 

"Ah, I remember now, " said Renwick with an air of seriousness whichmatched their own. "Was it not at Szolnok that Baron Neudeck waskilled?"

The old man glanced at the others before speaking. 

"Yes. It was there, " he said quietly. 

"And the place is no longer occupied?" asked the Englishman. 

No one replied. 

"There is a mystery attached to Schloss Szolnok?" asked Renwick, lighting his pipe. 

"He asks if there is a mystery, " said the woman dully. And then followedas before the strange ceremony of the cross. 

"I am a stranger in these parts, " Renwick went on, "and no mischiefmaker. This story interests me. I should like to know----" He pausedagain as the old man leaned forward toward him, and laid his skinnyforefinger along Renwick's knee. 

"It is the abode of the devil, " he whispered, and then crossed himselfagain. 

"Ah--something mysterious----"

"It is not a matter which we talk about in this house. We are poor, hard-working people who fear God. But strange things are happening upyonder night after night. Here in the valley, we no longer go near byday--nor even look. "

"Ah, I see. Then the place has long been unoccupied?"

The old man was silent, but the woman, gathering confidence, took up thestory. 

"It was always a place of mystery--even in the days of Baron Neudeck, who was an evil man. The servants were strangers to our people and spokenot at all. They never came into the valley. "

"And they did not come for food--for milk, eggs, butter?"

"Szolnok farm was above the Schloss upon the mountain side. They hadwhat they needed. "

"Ah, I understand. And since the death of the Baron?"

"We do not know. We do not go there. Two years ago a young man fromthis village went there seeking a sheep which had gone astray. He nevercame back. And the sheep skin was found some days later at the foot ofthe precipice. And scarcely a month ago, a venturesome young man fromBartfa climbed the road to the castle in the dead of night on a wager. What he saw no one will ever know, for he came running down the road tohis companion stricken with terror, and has never spoken of the matterfrom that day to this. It was a ghost he saw, they say----"

"Or a devil, " put in the old man. 

"And by day? You see no one?"

"The Schloss is well within the gorge. I do not go to look, my friend. "

"Have there been no lights at night for three years?"

"None that I remember--until now. "

"Then it is only for a month or more that they have been seen?"

"Perhaps. I do not know. "

The man was growing reticent and his family followed his example. Thecharacter of the occupants of Szolnok was not a popular topic forconversation in Dukla Valley. But this man could help Renwick, and hedetermined to use him. And so as the woman bade him good night and wentupstairs, Renwick rose and went to the door, where the old man followedhim. 

"It is late, my friend, " he said, "and a weary walk for me to Bartfa. Iwill pay you well for a bed. "

"Willingly, if we but had the room----"

"Or a pallet of straw in your stable. I am not fastidious. "

"Ah, as to that, of course. It can be managed. " Renwick took out ahundred-_kroner_ note, and held it before the man's eyes. 

"If you will do as I ask I will give you this. "

"And what is that?"

"A place in your stable tonight--breakfast at three in the morning, andthe clothing you now stand in----"

"My clothing?"

"No questions asked, and silence. Do you agree?"

"But I do not understand. "

"It is not necessary that you should. I shall do you no harm. "

"A hundred _kroner_--it is a large sum----"

"Yours--if you do what I ask----" And he thrust the note into the oldman's fingers. 

This bound the bargain. 

CHAPTER XXIII

SCHLOSS SZOLNOK

The night and day which followed the terrible events in the house of theBeg of Rataj were like an evil dream to Marishka Strahni. She slept, sheawoke, always to be hurried on by her relentless captors, too ill tooffer resistance or any effort to delay them. Hugh Renwick was dead. Allthe other direful assurances as to her own fate were as nothing besidethat dreadful fact. And Goritz--the man who sat beside her--Hugh'smurderer! Fear--loathing--she seemed even too weak and ill for these, lying for the first part of their long journey, inert and helpless. Theman beside her watched her furtively from time to time, venturingattention and solicitude for her comfort, but she did not reply to hisquestions or even look at him. At the house of Selim Ali she recoveredsome of her strength, and again upon the following night, at a small innnot far from the Serbian border, she fell into a deep sleep ofexhaustion, from which she was aroused with difficulty. The machine wasstopped frequently, and its occupants were questioned, but in each caseCaptain Goritz produced papers from his pocket, which let them pass. They were now well within the borders of Hungary, and as the girl grewstronger, courage came, and with it the thought of escape. But in spiteof her apparent helplessness she was aware that her captors werewatching her carefully, permitting no conversation with anyone, lockingthe doors of the rooms in which she slept, at the houses where theystopped, and taking turns at keeping guard outside. But their veryprecautions gave her an appreciation of the risks that they ran. She wasa prisoner in her own country. All those she passed upon the road wereher friends. She had only to make her identity known, and the object ofher captors, to gain her freedom. She was somewhere in eastern Hungary, but just where she did not know. The chauffeur spoke the languagefluently, and Marishka's ignorance of it made her task more difficult. But one night at an inn in a small village, she found a girl who spokeGerman, and in a moment when the attention of her guards was relaxed, she managed to make the girl understand, promising her a sum of money ifshe would summon the police of the town, to whom Marishka would tell herstory. The girl agreed, and in the early morning just as the machinecame around to the door Goritz found himself confronted by two men inuniform. 

Marishka, who had been waiting, trembling, in her room above, camerunning down the stairs and threw herself upon their mercy, telling herstory and begging their intercession. 

But even as she spoke she realized that the very wildness of hernarrative was against its verity in the minds of these rustic policemen. 

"It is an extraordinary tale, " said the elder man, "and one which ofcourse must be investigated--an abduction!"

"If you will permit me, " said Goritz smiling calmly. "This lady is mywife. I am taking her to the north for the baths. As you observe, sheis the subject of delusions----"

"It is not true, " cried Marishka despairingly. "I beseech you tolisten--to investigate----"

"I regret, " said Goritz, with a glance at his watch, "that I have notime to delay. I am Lieutenant von Arnstorf of the Fifteenth Army Corps, bearing a safe conduct from General von Hoetzendorf, which all policeofficers of the Empire are constrained to respect. Read for yourself. "

And he handed them the magic paper which already had done him suchservice. The men read it through with respect and not a little awe, bestowing at the last a pitying glance upon Marishka, which too wellindicated their delicacy in interfering in the affairs of one in suchauthority. 

"And you will not summon the mayor? What I tell is the truth. In thename of the Holy Virgin, I swear it. "

One of the men crossed himself and turned away. Goritz had already laidhis fingers firmly upon her arm and guided her toward the machine. 

"Come, Anna, " he said in a sober, soothing tone, "all will be well--allwill be well. "

And so Marishka, with one last despairing glance in the direction of thetwo officers, permitted herself to be handed into the machine by CaptainGoritz who, before the automobile departed, handed a piece of money tothe girl who had done Marishka this service. The last glimpse thatMarishka had of the police officers showed them standing side by side, their fingers at their caps. Her case was hopeless. She had no friend, it seemed, in all Hungary, and she abandoned herself to the depths ofher despair. How could she have expected to cope with such a man asthis?

Goritz said nothing to her of warning or of reproach, but in the sameafternoon, after drinking a cup of coffee which he urged upon her, shebecame drowsy and slept. 

She awoke in a large room with walls of panelled wood, and a groinedceiling. She lay upon a huge bed, raised high above the floor, over thehead of which was a faded yellow silken hanging. Her surroundingspuzzled her, but she seemed to have no desire to learn the meaning of itall, lying as one barely alive, gazing half conscious toward the narrowGothic window near by, through which she had a glimpse of mountains andblue sky. But the sunlight which fell in patches upon the Turkey rugdazzled her aching eyes, and she closed them painfully. She feltwretchedly ill. Her throat was parched, and her body was so weak thateven to move her hand had been an effort. She slept again, woke andslept again, aware now, even in her stupor, of someone moving near herin the room. At last with all the will-power left at her command, sheopened wide her eyes and raised herself upon an elbow. It was night, butlamps upon two tables shed a generous glow. 

As she moved, a figure that had sat near the foot of the bed, rose andcame toward her. It was a very old woman with a wrinkled face and theinturned lips of the toothless. But her face was kindly, and her voicewhen she spoke had in it a note of commiseration. 

"The Excellency is feeling stronger?" she asked. 

"I--I do not know, " said Marishka painfully struggling to make her lipsenunciate. "I--I still feel ill. What is this place?"

"Schloss Szolnok, Excellency, in the Carpathians. " She laid her roughhand over Marishka's. "You have some fever. I will get medicine. "

"A--a glass of water----"

"At once. " The woman moved away into the shadows and Marishka tried tofocus her eyes upon the objects in the room--large chests of drawers, and tables, a cheval glass, a _prie-dieu_, a carved escritoire withormolu mountings, a French dressing table, portraits let into thepanelling, massive oaken chairs, well upholstered--a room of somegrandeur. Schloss Szolnok? What mattered it where she was? Death atSchloss Szolnok could be no worse than death elsewhere. Weaknessoverpowered her, and she sank back into her pillow, aware of herthrobbing temples and a terrible pain that racked her breast. Death. Hugh, too. He was calling to her. She would come. Hugh! With his nameupon her lips she sank again into unconsciousness. 

For weeks, the very weeks that Hugh Renwick lay in the Landes Hospital, Marishka lay upon the tall bed in the great room at Schloss Szolnok, struggling slowly back to life from the clutches of pneumonia. There wasa doctor brought from Mezo Laborcz, who stayed in the castle for a weekuntil the danger point had passed, and then came every few days untilthe patient was well upon the road to recovery. Marishka did not learnof this until much later when, convalescent, she sat by the window, looking out over the sunlit mountains beyond the gorge, and then inwonder and something of disappointment that Goritz had not permitted herto die. And when the old woman, who bore the name of Ena, related thatthe Herr Hauptmann had himself driven the automobile which brought thedoctor in the dead of night to Szolnok, the wonder grew. Marishka hadlearned to think of Goritz as one interested only in her death orimprisonment, and after Sarajevo she had even believed that her lifewhile in his keeping had hung by a hair. He had killed Hugh, brought herinto this far country against her will, had even drugged her that hemight avoid a repetition of her attempt at escape. And now he wassparing no pains to bring her back to health, daily sending her messagesof good will and good wishes, with flowers from the garden in thecourtyard, which, as Ena had reported, he had plucked with his own hand. It was monstrous!

A few mornings ago he had written her a note saying that he awaited herpleasure, craving the indulgence of a visit at the earliest moment thatshe should care to see him. Marishka, much to Ena's chagrin, had sent noreply. The very thought of kindness from such a man as Goritz--akindness which was to pay for Hugh's death and her favor, made a mockeryof all the beauties of giving--a mockery, too, of her acceptance ofthem, whether tacitly or otherwise. A man who could kill withoutscruple, a woman-baiter, courteous that he might be cruel, tolerant thathe might torment! By torture of her spirit and of her body he hadbrought her near death that he might gain the flavor of saving her fromit. 

He was of a breed of being with which her experience was unfamiliar. Thenote of sentiment in his notes, while it amazed, bewildered andfrightened her a little. She was completely in the man's power. What wasSchloss Szolnok? Who was its owner? Ena would not talk; she hadreceived instructions. Before her windows was spread a wonderful vistaof mountains and ravines, which changed hourly in color, from theopalescent tints of the dawn, through the garish spectrum of daylight tothe deep purple shadows of the sunset, to the crepuscular opalescenceagain. Under any other conditions, she would have been content to sitand muse alone with her grief--and Hugh. He was constantly present inher thoughts. It was as though his spirit hovered near. She seemed tohear him speak, to feel the touch of his hand upon her brow, soothingher anguish, praying her to wait and be patient. Sometimes theimpression of his presence beside her was so poignant that she startedup from her chair and looked around the vast room, as though expectinghim to appear in the spirit beside her. And then realizing that theillusions were born of her weakness, she would sink back exhausted, andresume her gaze upon the restful distance. 

Ena, her nurse, was very kind to her, leaving nothing undone for hercomfort, sitting most of the while beside her, and prattling of her ownyouth and the Fatherland. And so, sure of the woman's growing interestand affection, she slowly revealed the story of Konopisht Garden, hershare in it, and the events that had followed. Marishka could see thatthe woman was greatly impressed by the story which lost no convictionfrom the pallid lips which told it. And of her own volition, that night, Ena promised the girl to reveal no word of her confidences, and gaveunreservedly the outward signs of her friendship for the tender creaturecommitted to her care. She had believed that the kindness of the HerrHauptmann had meant the beginnings of a romance. But she understood, and aware of the sadness of the sick woman's thoughts, did what shecould to delay a meeting which she knew must be painful. 

In reply to Marishka's questions, now, she was less reticent, and toldof the long years at Schloss Szolnok under the Barons Neudeck, fatherand son, of the coming of Herr Hauptmann Goritz, and of the threat whichhad hung over them for three years since the dreadful night when heryoung master had been killed. There had been no heirs to the estate andno one knew to whom the half-ruined Schloss belonged, but each monthmoney had arrived from Germany, and so she and Wilhelm Strohmeyer, herman, and two other servants under orders from Germany, had remained. Shehad lived here almost all her life. The people in the village a mileaway were the nearest human folk, and Baron Neudeck had not endearedhimself to them, for once he had beaten a farmer who had questioned theExcellency's right to shoot upon his land. And so the country peoplepassed aside and did not venture up the mountain road which indeed hadbecome overgrown with verdure. And for their part the servants werecontented to stay alone. It was very quiet, but as good a place to diein as any other. 

Marishka listened calmly, trying to weave the complete story and CaptainGoritz's part in it. Whether Schloss Szolnok was or was not the propertyof the German government--and it seemed probable that it would have beenconfiscated upon the discovery of Baron Neudeck's treachery--the factwas clear that Goritz was now its occupant and master. She had not daredto wonder what was still in store for her at the hands of CaptainGoritz, and had lived from day to day in the hope that something mighthappen which would end her imprisonment and martyrdom. She heard nothingfrom the outside, and Ena, who had long ago given up the world, was inno position to inform her. 

But as she gained her strength, Marishka knew that she could not longerdeny herself to Captain Goritz. The mirror showed her that her face, while thin and wan, was still comely. Wisdom warned her that howevermuch she loathed the man, every hope of liberty hung upon his favor. Andso she gained courage to look about her and to plan some means ofoutwitting him or some mode of escape from durance. The latteralternative seemed hopeless, for it seemed that the castle was builtupon a lonely crag, its heavy walls, which dated from feudal times, imbedded in the solid rock. From her bedroom window, below thebuttressed stone, were precipitous cliffs which fell sheer and straightto the rocky bed of the stream which rushed through the ravine twohundred meters below. But there would be other modes of egress, and so, feeling that her strength was now equal to the task, she determined togo forth and test the cordon which constrained her. One morning, therefore, she called Ena's attention to her pallid face and suggestedthe sunlight of the garden as a means to restoration. The woman wasdelighted, and attired in a costume of soft white silk crepe, which shehad fashioned in her convalescence from some posthumous finery that Enahad discovered, Marishka walked forth of her room down a stone stairwayinto the great hall of the castle; and so into the ancient courtyardwhere the flower garden was. She had expected Captain Goritz to joinher, and in this surmise she was not mistaken, for she had culled anarmful of blossoms which she sent to her room by Ena when the Germanappeared. She heard his voice behind her, even before she had summonedcourage for the interview. 

"My compliments upon your appearance, Countess, " he said soberly. "Ihope that you find yourself well upon the road to recovery. "

"Thanks, " she replied in a stifled tone. "I am feeling much stronger. "

"It has been a very pitiful experience for you--one which has caused memany qualms of conscience, " he muttered, "but I have tried to atone andwould beg you to believe that all my happiness for the future dependsupon your forgiveness. "

"I can--never forgive--never----" said Marishka, her throat closingpainfully. "I hoped to die, " she sighed, "but even that you denied me. "

"I have only done my duty--my duty, Countess--a sweeter duty than thatwhich urged me to Vienna--to undo the wrong that I have done you, tobring again the roses into your cheeks. "

She waved her hand in deprecation. "For your courtesy, for the kindnessof your servants, I thank you. But for what you are yourself--only theGod that made you can understand--can forgive--that. "

He straightened a moment and then slowly leaned against the wall besideher, his chin cupped in his hand. 

"You are cruel----"

"I am truthful. Anything else from me to you would be beneath mywomanhood. I would kill you if I had the strength or if I dared. " Shegave a bitter laugh. "It is at least something, that we understand eachother. "

He paused a long moment before replying. 

And then, "_Do_ we understand each other? I hope that you will permit meto speak a few words in extenuation of a person you have never known--ofLeo Goritz, the man. "

"A man who makes war upon a woman--who uses violence to compelobedience----"

"A woman--but an enemy to my country. Between my duty to Germany and myown inclinations, I had no choice. I was an instrument of the State, pitiless, exact and exacting. You have spoken the truth. So shall I. Hadmy duty to Germany required it of me, I should have killed you with myown hand--even if you had been my sister. "

She gazed at him with alien eyes. 

"It is monstrous! I would to God you had. "

He bowed. 

"That is merely my official conception of my obligation to theFatherland, " he said quietly. 

She still gazed at him unbelieving, but he met her glance squarely. 

"You need not believe me unless you choose, but I speak the truth. Myorders were to bring you safely into Germany, or to--to eliminate you. Perhaps you will understand now my difficulties in keeping youunscathed. "

"My death would have relieved you of that responsibility. It would havebeen so easy to have let me die----"

"I could not!" He bent his head over his folded arms. "I could not, " herepeated. And then, after a silence, "Countess Strahni, I beg that youwill consider that I have succeeded so far in saving you from personaldanger. "

"And yet you used me as a shield to save yourself from the bullets ofthe man you killed----" She broke off, laughing bitterly. 

"He would not fire. I knew it. He was a fool to give me the chance. Itook it. There was nothing else----"

"It was murder. And you----"

She glanced at him once and then turning away, hid her head in her arm. "O God!" she whispered, as though to herself. "How I loathe you!"

Though the words were not even meant for him to hear, he did not missthem. 

"That is your privilege, " he said after a moment, "and mine--to--toadore you, " he said in deep accents. 

Slowly she lowered her hands and gazed at him with eyes that though theylooked, seemed to see not. 

"You--_you_--! You care for _me_!" She dropped her hands to her sides, and then with a voice that sought steadiness in its contempt, "Whatobject has the Fatherland to gain by this new hypocrisy, Herr Goritz?"

He stood stock still, making no effort to approach her. 

"I think you do me some injustice, " he said. 

"Injustice!" she said coldly. "_I_ do _you_ injustice? I think youforget. "

"If you will permit--it is only fair at least that you should listen. Even if what I say does not interest you. "

She waved a hand in a gesture of deprecation--but he went on rapidly inspite of her protest, with an air of pride, which somehow robbed theconfession of its sincerity. 

"Your words have been cruel, Countess, but the cruelest were those inwhich you attribute the highest motive of my life to the baseness ofhypocrisy. I have done many wrongs, broken many oaths, sinned manysins--in the interests of my country--the service of which has been theonly aim of my existence. I have been entrusted by the Emperor himselfwith missions which would have tested the courage of any man, and I havenot failed. That is my pride--the glory of my manhood, for the means ofaccomplishment no matter how unworthy, are unimportant compared with thegreat mission of the Germanic race in the betterment of humanity. "

"I fail to see, Herr Hauptmann, how----"

He commanded her silence with an abrupt gesture. 

"If you will be pleased to bear with me a little longer. _Bitte. _ Ishall not be very long. I merely wanted you to understand how my wholelife has been devoted to the great uses of the State, with the mostunselfish motives. I have been not a human sentient being, but a highlyspecialized physical organism to which any wish, any emotion, unless ofservice to the state, was forbidden. Charity, kindness, altruism, allthe gentler emotions--I foreswore them. I relinquished friendship. Ibecame a pariah, an outcast, save to those few beings from whom I tookmy orders, and to them I was merely the piece of machinery which alwaysaccomplished its tasks. I have had no happiness, no friendships, noaffection, but I am the most famous secret agent in Germany. A somberpicture, is it not?"

He paused and shrugged expressively. And then his voice lowered a note. "Perhaps you will believe me when I say that my whole existence is aliving lie. Ah, yes, you think that. It is a lie, Countess, because nohuman being can defy the living God that is within him. He cannotforever quell the aspirations of the spirit. The spark is always alight. Sometimes it glows and fades, but sometimes a worthy motive sets it onfire. It is that spark which has survived in me, Countess Strahni, inspite of my efforts--my desires even--to deny its existence. Yourillness----"

"Herr Hauptmann, I beg of you----"

"No. You cannot deny me. I nursed you, there--brought you back to life. Ah, you did not know. I brought a doctor at the hazard of the discoveryof my hiding place. Charity came, love----"

"Herr Hauptmann, I forbid you, " whispered Marishka chokingly, wonderingnow why she had listened to him for so long. "I must go--go to my room. "

Goritz straightened and stood aside. 

"You need not fear me, Countess, " he said. "You see?" he added quickly. "I do not touch you. "

Marishka moved a few paces away and then turned to look at him. He stooderect, smiling at her, his cap in his hand. 

"I--I must go to my room, Herr Hauptmann, " she murmured haltingly. "I--Iam yet--far from strong. "

"I am sorry. I pray that you will feel stronger in the morning. Adieu!"

"Adieu----" she murmured, and hurried through the stone portal, aware ofthe gaze of those dark, slightly oblique eyes which had puzzled, thenfascinated--then frightened her. 

CHAPTER XXIV

PRISONER AND CAPTIVE

It was with mingled feelings that Marishka found the sanctuary of hersleeping room. Her abhorrence of Goritz as the murderer of Hugh Renwickwas uppermost in her breast, her fear of him as her captor of scarcelyless import, but his tumultuous plea for her forgiveness and his strangeavowal had given her food for thought. Such a rapid _volte-face_ wasbeyond credence. This man had watched by her bedside, nursed her duringthe week that she had lain unconscious. Her cheeks burned hot at thethought of the situation, and quickly she questioned Ena who at lastreluctantly admitted the truth. Herr Hauptmann Goritz had sat manynights by the bedside while she, Ena, had slept so as to be fresh forthe day to follow. He had commanded her silence, and Ena had obeyed. Shehoped that the Excellency would understand. 

Marishka nodded and sent her from the room, for she wanted to be alonewith her thoughts. He had watched by her sickbed, carrying out theorders of the doctor while she had lain unconscious--Goritz, the mastercraftsman of duplicity--Goritz, the insensible! What did it mean? Hadthe man spoken the truth? Was he--? Love to such a man as Goritz! It wasimpossible. 

He had always been courteous and considerate, but there was a new notein his voice which rang strangely. Another lie--another hypocrisy? Andyet the very frankness of his admission with regard to her safety for amoment disarmed her. He would have killed her--"eliminated" her--had thenecessities of his duty demanded it of him. And yet he had confessed hislove for her. What was the meaning of the paradox? Had he something togain by her favor? Had a change taken place in their situation? A chancephrase had revealed the fact that there was now a danger of therevelation of this hiding place. They had been pursued--what had balkedhim in the continuance of their flight into Germany? Meditation onlyserved to enhance the mystery, and she emerged from an hour of thoughtover the scene in the courtyard with no very clear idea of what thefuture had in store for her, sure only of one thing--that she must nothang importance upon the words of this man, who had already provedhimself a deadly enemy to her happiness. He had hired assassins to killHugh, and when they had failed, had accomplished his purpose by a vileexpedient. 

Love! She knew what love was. She closed her eyes and buried her face inher arms in wordless, silent grief for the man to whom she had given allthat was best and noblest of her--Hugh! But she could not weep. Itseemed as though, long since, the fountains of her misery were dry. Fora long while she crouched in the window, motionless, and when at lastshe raised her head and gazed out down the shimmering vista of thegorge, it was with a look of new resolution and intelligence. She mustescape. Every iota of cleverness must be given to find a way out ofSchloss Szolnok. What if, in spite of all, the things that Leo Goritzhad confessed were true! She doubted it and yet--if he loved her--! Herewas a woman's revenge, to bait, to charm, to spurn; and then to outwithim! A test of the sincerity of his professions, and of her own feminineart--a dangerous game which she had once before thought of playing, until his cruelty had atrophied all impulse. 

But now! If he really cared--her power would grow with the venture, herown safety the pledge of his purity--a dangerous game, indeed, herealone upon this crag in the mountains, but if he were sincere, she wasarmed with a flaming sword to defend--to destroy! If--? She would nottrust him, but she would fight him with the weapons she had. Her lipsclosed in a thin line, and a glint as of polished metal came into hereyes as the scene in the house of the Beg of Rataj shut out the lovelylandscape before her. To destroy--to fan the spark to flame that shemight extinguish it; to corrode the spirit with the biting acid ofcontempt; to envenom the soul--newly born, perhaps--to the sweeter usesof beneficence, and then escape! If he cared!

And if he did not care--if, as she really believed, he lied to gain anend. .. . 

This was the thought of him that obsessed her. A liar, always. Why notnow? Men of his kind were unusual to women of hers, but even in themidst of his confession--as near self-abasement as a man of his typecould come, the note of egotism rang clear above the gracefulphrases--too graceful to be anything but manufactured in that clearinventive brain of his. 

She paced the floor, thinking deeply, and at last stopped by the windowand sought again the counsel of the eternal hills. After a while sheturned again into the room and peered into a mirror, seeking in herface the answer to the riddle. It was pale, resolute, but it was notugly. 

She planned her campaign with the calm forethought of a general whopicks out his own battlefield, disposing his forces to the bestadvantage, for attack or for repulse, for victory, or defeat. She mustmask her approach, conceal her intentions, and develop slowly the realstrength of her position. There was much that she wished to learn as toSchloss Szolnok, and its security from those who sought to interceptthem, much in regard to the plans of her captor for the future, but sheknew that she must act with caution and skill, if she hoped to escape. 

Goritz had previously expressed a wish that when she grew strong enoughto leave her bedroom, she would join him at dinner, which she heard wasserved in one end of the great Hall, but she decided that the firstskirmish should take place in a situation of her own choosing. And soafter dusk, the moon coming out, she went again upon the terrace whereshe leaned upon the wall of the bastion and looked down with an air ofself-sought seclusion, upon the mists of the valley. 

Goritz was not long in joining her. She heard his footsteps as heapproached but did not give any sign or acknowledgment of his presence. 

"May I talk with you, Countess Strahni?" he asked easily. 

Her shrug, under her cloak, was hardly perceptible. 

"Since you have already done so it seems that my own wishes do notmatter, " she said coolly. 

"I have no wish to intrude. "

Marishka laughed. "I can go in----" She drew her wrap more closelyabout her throat and straightened. 

"I hope that you will not do that, " he said. 

"Is there anything you wished to speak to me about--? Thatis--er--anything of importance?"

Goritz looked past her toward the profile of the distant mountain, andsmiled. 

"I thought that you might be interested to learn something of my reasonsfor stopping here. "

"The insect in the web of the spider has little emotion left forcuriosity. "

"The spider! I have always admired your courage, Countess. "

"I can die but once. "

"Perhaps you may care to know that you are not in the slightest dangerof death. "

"Thanks, " she said coolly. "Your kindness is overwhelming. Or ismy--'elimination' no longer essential?"

The more flippant her tone, the more somber Goritz became. 

"My purposes, Countess Strahni, I think, you no longer have any reasonto doubt. You are quite safe at Schloss Szolnok----"

"So is the insect in the web--from all other insects but the spider. "She turned away. "You cannot blame me, Herr Hauptmann, if I judge of thefuture by the past. "

"I would waste words to make further explanations which are so littleunderstood, but there are matters of interest to you. "

"Ah. "

"You have been ill. Many things have happened. You would like to hear?"

"I am listening. "

"It is the trifles of the world which make or prevent its greatestdisasters. The man with the lantern at the bridgehead at Brod did notknow that he held the destiny of Europe in his hand. And yet, this isthe truth. Had he permitted us to pass unquestioned we should havereached Sarajevo in time to prevent the greatest cataclysm of all theages. "

Marishka turned toward him, her interest now fully aroused. 

"What do you mean?"

"War, Countess Strahni--the most bloody--terrible--in the history of theworld--the event that I have striven all my life to prevent. All ofEurope is ablaze. Millions of men are marching--battles have alreadybeen fought----"

"Horrible? I cannot believe----"

"It is the truth. It followed swiftly upon the assassination atSarajevo----"

"Serbia!"

"Serbia first--then Russia--Germany--Belgium--France--England, too----"

"You are speaking the truth?"

"I swear it. "

"And Austria?"

"Germany and Austria--against a ring of enemies bent on exterminatingus----"

"England--?"

And while with eager ears she listened, he told her the history of thelong weeks, now growing into months, in which she had been hidden fromthe world--including the defeat of the Austrians by the Serbians alongthe Drina, and the advance of the Russians in East Prussia and Galicia. 

She heard him through until the end, questioning eagerly, then aware ofthe dreadful significance of his news, forgetting for the moment her ownanimosities, her own questionable position in the greater peril of hercountry--and his. His country and hers at war against the world!

"Russia has won victories against Austria--in Galicia?" she urged. 

"Yes--the Cossacks already are approaching Lemberg----"

"Lemberg!"

"They are less than two hundred kilometers from us at the presentmoment. "

"And will they come--here?"

"I hope not, " he said with a slow smile. "But Schloss Szolnok is hardlyequipped to resist a siege of modern ordnance. "

"And you--why are you here?"

The ingenuousness of her impetuous question seemed to amuse him. 

"I?" he said. "I am here because--well, because you--because I had noother place to go. "

"Will you explain?"

"I see no reason why I should not. I chose the place as a temporaryrefuge from pursuit. Your illness marred my plans. The war continues tomar them. "

"How?"

He smiled. 

"The insect _has_ curiosity, then? Schloss Szolnok has proved safe. Ihave no desire to take unnecessary risks. "

"You were pursued?"

He nodded. "Yes. And I managed to get away--here, but the other end ofthis pass is now strongly guarded. I could have gone through when Ifirst came, but you were very ill. You would probably have died if I hadgone on. Now it is too late. You see, " he said with a shrug, "I am quitecheerful about it. "

She turned and examined him with an air of timidity. 

"You mean that--that to save my life you--you have sacrificed all hopeof winning through to Germany?"

"With you, yes--for the present, " he smiled. 

She turned away and leaned upon the wall. 

"I--I think that I--I have done you some injustice, Herr Hauptmann, " shemurmured with an effort. 

"Thank you. "

"But I cannot understand. The papers which passed you throughHungary--signed by General Von Hoetzendorf----"

"Unfortunately are of no further service. An order for my arrest hasbeen issued in Vienna. "

"Your arrest? For taking me?"

"For many things----" And he shrugged. 

"What do you propose to do?"

"Remain here for the present, " he said slowly. "It is doubtful if anyonewould think of seeking us here. The Schloss has an evil name along thecountryside. None of the peasants dares to come within a league of theplace. "

"And I--?" she asked. 

"It seems, Countess Strahni, " he said slowly, smiling at her, "that ourpositions are now reversed--you the captor--I the prisoner. And yet, asyou see, " with a shrug, "I am making no effort to escape. You have ledcaptivity captive. "

His phrases were too well spoken, and the look in his eyes disturbedher. 

"You--you wish me to understand that I am free to go----"

"Hardly that, " he interrupted with a short laugh. "Only this morning yousaid that you would kill me if you dared. I do not relish the notion ofbeing delivered into the hands of the police. "

"You think that I would do that?" she questioned. 

"Wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. I----"

"I am sure of it. I am no longer under any illusions with regard to yoursentiments toward myself. This morning I uncovered my heart to you--andyou plunged a dagger into it. It was too much--beyond my deserts. I amno man for a woman to spit upon, Countess Strahni. You are still aprisoner--as completely under my power as though you and I were the lastpeople left upon the earth. "

His tone was mild, but there was a depth of meaning under it. 

"I--I can scarcely be unaware of it, " she murmured. "What are you goingto do with me?"

"For the present we shall stay here--until an opportunity presents----"

"For escape?"

"I could go alone tonight--and reach Germany--without you. That is notmy purpose. "

"Then you propose to take me with you?"

"When the coast is clear--yes. "

"And if the coast should not be clear?"

"I shall remain. "

The situation was as she had supposed, but his motive--the real motive!She drew the wrap more closely around her throat and turned away fromhim again. To escape from him! That was the only thing she could thinkof now. Upon the road, his attitude of firm consideration, his coolinsistence upon compliance with his wishes, had not been nearly soominous as the personal note which he had injected into their relations. He frightened her now. But to escape? She was watched, she was sure, forin the afternoon, while the drawbridge was lowered, she had made out thefigure of a man on guard at the end of the causeway. But while herconversation with Goritz dismayed her, she studied him keenly, trying toread him by what he did not say. 

She smiled at him impudently. 

"And suppose I attempted to escape?" she asked. 

"You would fail. There is but one exit from Szolnok--the drawbridge--andthat is continually guarded. "

"You have ordered your men to shoot me?"

"No--but you will not pass. "

"I see. Your contrition does not go as far as that. "

"Not beyond the walls of Schloss Szolnok, " he said coolly. 

"And you ask me to believe in the integrity of your motives? What wasthe use, Herr Hauptmann? I could understand duplicity to me in theperformance of a duty, but to practice your machine-made emotions uponmy simplicity--! I could hardly forgive you that. "

He kept himself well in hand and even smiled again. 

"You wrong me, Countess Strahni. I have spoken the truth. "

"You cannot deny me the privilege of doubting you, " she replied. 

"What further proof would you have me give you that I am honest in mylove for you?"

She pointed past the drawbridge along the causeway toward the valleybelow. 

"Permit me to go--there--alone--tonight. "

He laughed quietly. 

"Alone? I do not know what danger may lurk in the valley. The fact thatI wish to keep you here--is a better proof of my tenderness. "

She turned away from him and leaned upon the wall. But to him at leastshe did not show fear. 

"We cannot remain here indefinitely, " she said coolly. 

"Are you not comfortable? Is not everything provided for you? It hasbeen my pride to make your convalescence agreeable in all ways, " hesaid, leaning a little nearer to her. "I have tried to atone for thediscomforts of your journey. Was it not my solicitude for your healthwhich balked my own plans? You have questioned the truth of myprofessions, but you cannot deny the evidences of your safety. "

Marishka was thinking quickly. Much as she abhorred the man, sherealized that, if she were to have any chance of success she must meethim with weapons stronger than his own. And so she turned to him with asmile which concealed her growing terror. 

"Herr Hauptmann, I do not wish you to think that I am ungrateful for themany indulgences that you have shown me. Your position has been adifficult one. But from the beginning we have been enemies----"

"Before the outbreak of the war--but allies now----"

"Not if you persist in your plan to carry me to Germany. "

He asked her permission to smoke, and when she had granted it he went oncoolly. 

"Perhaps something may happen to prevent the execution of my plan, " hesaid. 

"What?" she stammered. 

He searched her face eagerly for a moment. 

"You may be sure, Countess Strahni, " he said in a half-whisper, "that itis very painful to me that you should think of me as an enemy. Enemy Iam not. It is my duty to take you to Germany, but it is very painful tome to do anything which makes you unhappy. Here, safe from detection, Iam still doing my duty. And in remaining here you, too, are safe. Willyou not try to be contented--to endure my society just for a littlewhile? I want to show you that I can be as other men----"

She laughed to hide her fears. 

"All men are alike where a woman is concerned--"

"Will you try? I will be your slave--your servant. Within the castle youmay come and go as you please. No one shall approach you without yourpermission. You see, I am not an exacting jailer. All I ask is the hopeof your friendship, a glimpse of your returning smile, and suchcompanionship as you care to give me. It is not much. Do I not deserveit? _Bitte_, think a little. "

Marishka gasped and fought the impulse to run from him, for his face wasvery near her shoulder, his voice very close to her ear. 

"I--I think that--we may be friends, " she murmured. 

"Will you give me your hand, Countess Strahni?"

She extended it slowly and he bowed over it, pressing it to his lips. 

She found her excuse in a cough, a vestige of her illness which shesummoned to her rescue. 

"It--it is getting late, Herr Hauptmann, " she said. "I must be going in. The night air----"

"By all means. " He accompanied her to the portal of the hall and thenshe left him. 

That night Marishka did not sleep, and the next day, pleading fatigue, remained in her bedroom, trying to muster up the courage to go forth andmeet Goritz at this tragic game of his own choosing. That she hadstirred some sort of an emotion in the man was not to be doubted. Sheread it in his eyes, in the touch of his fingers, and in the resonanttones of his voice, but she read too, the sense of his power, theconfidence of his egotism to which all things were possible. And much asshe wished to believe the testimony of his flashes of tenderness, thehazard of her position stared her in the face. But she knew that withsuch a man she must play a game of subtlety and courage. And so sheresolved to meet him frequently, testing every feminine device to winhim to her service which would obliterate all things but her own wishes, and present at last an opportunity for her escape. 

In the week that followed she walked out with him across the causewayinto the mountain road, visiting Szolnok farm and climbing the hillsadjacent to the castle, but she saw no one except the German farmers, and it seemed indeed as though the gorge was taboo to all human beings. Goritz made love to her, of course, but she laughed him off, gaining anew confidence as the days of their companionship increased. Slowly, with infinite patience, with infinite self-control, she established arelationship which baffled him, a foil for each of his moods, a parryfor each attack. With a smile on her lips which masked the lie, she toldhim that Hugh Renwick had been nothing to her. 

And Goritz told her of the women he had met in the performance of hisduty from London to Constantinople, women of the secret service ofEngland, France, Russia, who had set their wits to match his. Some ofthem were ugly and clever, some were stupid and beautiful, but they hadall been dangerous. He had passed them by. No woman in the world that hehad ever known had had the nobility of spirit, the courage, theself-abnegation of the Countess Strahni. 

It was in these moods of adulation and self-revelation that Marishkafound him most difficult. But she managed to keep him at arm's length bythe mere insistence of her spirituality which accepted his friendshipupon its face value, telling him that she forgave the past, and vaguelysuggesting hope for the future. With that he had to be content, thoughat times he was dangerously near rebellion. She promised him many thingsbut denied him her lips, hoping day by day for the rescue which camenot, and praying night after night that the God who watched over herwould forgive her for her duplicity and for the hatred of him that wasin her heart. 

But there came a day when the walks beyond the causeway ceased, and fromthe window of her bedroom she learned the reason. Far, far below her inthe valley along the road which wound through the Pass, she saw thefigures of marching men. Austrian soldiers! What did their presencemean? They were going toward the other end of the pass--thousands ofthem. Had the Russians crossed Galicia? That night there were no lightsin the side of the castle toward the gorge save the candle in her room, which was screened by heavy hangings. And when at dinner she questionedGoritz he gave her the briefest of replies. The Cossacks were coming?Perhaps, but they would not take Dukla Pass. He warned her not to showher figure at the castle windows or above the wall of the rampart, andshe obeyed. 

For several days Goritz disappeared, and she gained a breathing space tothink over her position. She ventured out many times into the courtyardin the hope of finding an opportunity to elude her guard, but each timeshe approached the drawbridge she saw the chauffeur Karl seated in theshadow of the wall, smoking his pipe. And so she knew that any attemptto pass him would be impossible. 

At the end of the fourth day, Captain Goritz joined her at the suppertable. He had now discarded his Austrian uniform and wore a rough suitof working clothes, similar to the peasant costume which Ena's husbandwore. He greeted her gladly, but she asked him no questions as to hisabsence, upon her guard as she always was against the unknown quality inthe man, which held her in constant anxiety. But after he had eaten, thecloud which had hung over him seemed to pass, and he leaned forward, smiling at her across the table. 

"You have been obedient?" he asked. 

"What else is left for me?" she smiled. "I have wondered where youwere. "

"Ah, " he laughed, "you missed me? That is good. You wondered what wouldhappen to you if I did not come back. " He laughed as he lighted hiscigarette. "I am not so easily to be lost, I assure you. I have beenthrough Dukla Pass. "

"Many soldiers have gone through the pass today--many this morning--manymore this afternoon. "

"Yes, I saw them. "

"And the Russians?"

He was silent for a while, and then spoke very quietly. "They arecoming. "

She made no sound and seemed to be frozen into immobility by the importof the information. 

"The Austrians have fortified the other end of the Pass, but it is saidthat the Russians are in great numbers, sweeping everything beforethem----"

"Przemysl--! Lemberg--!"

"Lemberg has fallen. The fate of Przemysl hangs in the balance. " Heshrugged. "Tomorrow, perhaps, may see the Cossacks at Dukla Pass. "

"And then----"

"I do not wish to alarm you, " he said gently. "Six hundred years havepassed over Schloss Szolnok, and it still stands. I am not going to runaway. "

"But you can do nothing--against so many. "

"They will not bother us, I think. The Austrians, you see, have passedus by. They are taking all their artillery to Javorina and Jägerhorn andmounting them upon the old emplacements of the ruins. The defense willbe made there where the gorge is narrower. "

"But if they should come--here--the Cossacks--!" she whisperedfearfully. 

He laughed easily. "Ah, Countess, I am not a half-bad jailer, afterall?"

"The Cossacks!" she repeated. 

"They shall not come here. "

"What can you do?"

"The place is impregnable--sheer cliffs upon all sides--the causeway twohundred meters long. I could pick them off one by one from the top ofthe keep. With the drawbridge up, we are as safe as though we were inVienna. "

"But their artillery?"

"They will not think us worth their while. In the armory there are sixrepeating hunting rifles and four shotguns, ammunition plentiful----" Hebroke off and, rising, came over and stood beside her. "But we will notthink of unpleasant possibilities. It has been so long since I have seenyou--too long. "

She let him take her hand and press it to his lips, but tonight thatcondescension did not seem to be enough. He fell to one knee beside herand would have put his arm about her waist if she had not risen andstruggled away from him. 

"You forget, Herr Hauptmann, the dependence of my position here--alonewith you. Whatever our personal relations, a delicacy for my feelingsmust warn you----"

"Marishka!" he broke in. "What does a man who loves as I do, care forthe conventions of the sham world you and I have left so far behind. Iadore you. And you flout me. "

"For shame! Would you care for me if I were a woman without delicacy ordignity? I beg of you----"

But he had held her by the hand and would not release her. 

"I adore you--and you flout me--that is all that I know. Yourindifference maddens me. Perhaps I am not as other men, and must not bejudged by other standards than my own which are sufficient for myself asthey should be sufficient for you. You know that I--I worship you--thatby staying here I have forgotten my duty to my country at a time when Iam most needed. Does that mean nothing to you? Can you be callous to alove like mine which lives only in your happiness and hangs upon yourpleasure? I worship you, Marishka. Just one kiss, to tell me that youcare for me a little. I will be content----"

She struggled in his grasp, her fear of him lending her more strength. Her lips--? Hugh's! Never--never--as God witnessed. 

"One kiss, Marishka----"

She struggled free and struck him with her clenched fist furiously, fullin the face, and then ran to the window, as he released her, breathinghard, trembling, but full of defiance. The suddenness of the affair andits culmination had driven them both dumb, Marishka with terror, Goritzwith chagrin at his mistake and anger at her temerity. He touched hisface with the fingers of one hand and stared at her with eyes thatburned with black fire in the pallor of his face. 

"You have struck me, " he muttered. And then, with a shrug, "That was nota love tap, Countess Strahni. "

She could not speak for very terror of the consequences of theencounter, but stood watching him narrowly, one hand upon thewindow-ledge beside her. 

"Well, " he asked presently, "are you dumb?"

"You--you insulted me, " she gasped. 

"Whatever I have done, you have repaid me, " he muttered. 

She glanced out of the window into the black void beneath. 

"I--I am not afraid to die, Herr Goritz, " she said. 

He caught the meaning of her glance and her poise by the window-ledge, and their significance sobered him instantly. He drew back from her twoor three paces and leaned heavily against an oaken chair. 

"Am I so repellent to you as that?" he whispered. 

"My lips--are mine, " she said proudly. "I give them willingly or not atall. "

His gaze flickered and fell before the high resolve that he read in herface. And her courage enthralled him. 

"_Herr Gott!_" he muttered, "you have never been so beautiful as now, Marishka!"

She did not reply or move, but only watched him steadily. 

He paced the floor stiffly, his hands behind him, struggling for hisself-control. And the better instinct in him, the part of him that hadmade life possible for Marishka at Schloss Szolnok, was slowlytriumphant. 

"A kiss means much or little, " he said quietly at last. "To me, theconsecration of a love which has leaped the bounds of mere platitude. Awoman of your training perhaps cannot grasp the honesty of myunconvention. I have meant you no harm. But that you should havemisunderstood--!"

"One thing only I understand--that you have violated the hospitality ofSchloss Szolnok. "

"I beg of you----"

"It is true. Was your kindness, your courtesy, your consideration, butthe means to this end? I can never believe in you again. "

"Do you mean that?"

"I do----"

"It is a pity. "

"It is the truth. Fear and affection cannot survive together. "

"Fear?"

"I can never trust you again. Let me go--I beg that you will excuse me. "

He bowed. "If that is your wish----" and turned and walked to the windowopposite, while Marishka found her way up the stairs and so to her roomwhere she lay upon her bed fully dressed, in a high state of nervousexcitement. 

CHAPTER XXV

THE RIFT IN THE ROCK

Hugh Renwick in his borrowed plumage, strode forth before dawn, andreaching a spot where the valley narrowed into the gorge and marked thegrim outline of Schloss Szolnok against the lightening East, slowlyclimbed the rugged slope of the mountain on his left which faced it. Hemeant to spend the morning in a study of the approaches to the castle, and if possible devise some means by which he could inspect itunobserved at closer range. Daylight found him perched in a crevice ofrock among some trees, through the leaves of which he could clearly seethe distant mass of stone which rose in solitary dignity, an islandabove the mists of the valley, a grim relic of an age when such asituation meant isolation and impregnability. 

Indeed, it scarcely seemed less impregnable now, for upon two sides atleast, the cliffs rose sheer from the gorge until they were joined bythe heavy buttresses which tapered gracefully until they joined thewalls of the crenelated towers and bastions. In the center of the massof buildings rose the square solid mass of the keep, with its crenelatedroof and small windows commanding every portion of the space enclosedwithin the gray walls. He marked the dim lines of a road which ascendedfrom the valley upon the further mountain, now scarcely visible becauseof the vegetation which grew luxuriantly on the hillsides, and hestudied this approach to the castle most attentively--the straight reachof wall, built to span a branch of the gorge beyond, perhaps two hundredfeet deep and six hundred wide. This was the main entrance to thecastle, a narrow causeway, that terminated at the gate where he marked adrawbridge now raised, which hung by chains to the heavy walls above. 

The only means of access? Perhaps, and if the gate were guarded, impassable by night as well as day. But Renwick was not sure that therewas no other means of ingress. To the left of the keep, and on a levelwith the top of the long curtain of wall, the building fell away inruins, for portions of old bastions were missing, and there was a breachin the northern wall, which had tumbled outward over the precipice intothe ravine below. 

As daylight came Renwick watched the windows and ramparts intently. There was no sign of life, but remembering that here there was no needfor early rising, he waited patiently, gazing steadily through theleaves across the valley. At last his patience was rewarded, for from abuilding in the courtyard near the central mass, he made out a thin paleblue line which ascended straight into the sky. Smoke! Breakfast wascooking. His heart gave a leap. There were no devils in SchlossSzolnok--but Goritz! In a short while, still watching intently, he saw afigure pass from the gate toward the main buildings, where itdisappeared. Renwick would have given the remainder of hishundred-_kroner_ notes for a good pair of field glasses, by which itmight have been possible to distinguish the identity of any figure thatcould be seen. But he realized that he had accomplished the object ofhis visit, for the raised drawbridge indicated that whoever occupied thecastle, seclusion was important to him. Deciding that he knew enough towarrant closer investigation, Renwick moved slowly along the mountainside into the gorge, under the cover of rocks and undergrowth, slowlydescending toward the road, with the idea of crossing the stream andclimbing the rugged cliff beyond, from which he could gain a nearer viewof the northern and ruined end of the castle. 

But after an hour of careful progress, as he reached a projection ofrock which hung over the road below, he crouched, suddenly listening. For he heard the sound of voices, a rumble of wheels, and the creakingand clanking of heavy metallic objects. The sounds came nearer, swellingin proportion, now clearly distinguishable; and so lying flat upon hisstomach, he parted the bushes at the edge of the rock and peered over. There was a cloud of dust and the clatter of iron-shod boots against theflints of the road, and in a moment he made out long ranks of soldiers, marching rapidly to the northward into the Pass. Renwick knew that thenorthern end of the Pass was already strongly guarded, for his host hadtold him that many soldiers had gone through during the weeks before;but the sight of these hurrying men, the shrouded guns which lumberedamidst them, and the long line of motor trucks and wagons whichfollowed, gave Renwick a notion that events of military importancewere pending in the Galician plain beyond. He tried to form someidea of the number of men that passed. A regiment--two, three, four--artillery--three batteries at least. For an hour or more theypassed, and then at last, silence and solitude. 

Although adequately disguised, Renwick was in no position to be stoppedand searched, for if he wore no marks of identification, his automatic, and the money pinned in his trousers lining, would have made him anobject of suspicion, the more so in a country where soldiers were movingin so precarious a military situation. 

And so he descended slowly, hiding in a copse at the base of the rockswhere he waited for a while listening, and then peered cautiously out. Then matching his footsteps to those of the soldiers, he crossed theroad obliquely and plunged through the bushes down over the rocks to thebed of the Dukla, where he waited and listened again, crossing thestream at last by a fallen tree and reaching the protection of theundergrowth upon the farther bank. 

Though he had been able to learn little in Budapest of the militarysituation, even from Herr Koulos, the sight of Austrian soldiersmarching toward the northern end of the Pass assured him that theRussians must have won important victories in Galicia, thus placing allthe passes of the Carpathians in jeopardy. But whatever his interest inconjectures regarding the possibility of victory or defeat, his ownbusiness was too urgent to admit of other issues, and so he made his wayforward cautiously through the underbrush, which in places was almostimpenetrable. Four-footed things, startled by this unusual invasion oftheir hunting ground, started up almost beside him and fled--rabbits, squirrels, a wolf, and a brown bear, which rocked upon its four legsdubiously for a moment, and then lumbered comically away. Thesecreatures and the pathless woods advised him that however frequented themountain road below, the inhabitants hereabout were not in the habit oftraversing the wooded mountain sides. Moving forward slowly he climbedthe hills in the general direction of the castle, the sunlit bastions ofwhich suddenly appeared through the foliage above him and to the right. 

He moved more warily now, for if Goritz were in hiding within SchlossSzolnok, he would of course take pains that every avenue of approachshould be watched. But a careful inspection of the crag upon which thecastle was perched, and from this new angle, led Renwick to theconclusion that Goritz might be so sure of its inaccessibility from thenorth that no guard at the ruined end would be thought necessary. Atfirst glance, indeed, Renwick was inclined to that opinion himself, forthe rocks, though fissured and scarred as though by the blasts ofwinter, though not so high, were scarcely less precipitous than upon thesouthern side. At his very feet, perhaps already buried for years in theloam and moss, were the huge blocks of stone which had fallen from thenorthern towers and rolled down the steep slope of the naturalcounterscarp which the conformation of the mountain provided. 

Renwick scrutinized the beetling wall of rock above the incline with adubious eye, seeking a possible path or succession of footholds by meansof which he might make his way to the breach in the stone rampart above. The task seemed hopeless, but he knew that the most formidabledifficulties are often solved by the simplest devices, and so he studiedthe wall patiently, his gaze suddenly focusing upon a fissure in thecliff, a little to his right, which went upward at an angle, its apexpassing a projection of the rock which extended for a hundred feet ormore to the southward. Above that precarious platform, the cliff wassplintered and torn as though the agencies which had devastated the wallabove had wreaked their vengeance here too. But there were finger holdsand footholds, a desperate climb even in the daylight to a member of anAlpine club. But Renwick from his ambush studied the face of that rockfoot by foot, and at last decided that when night came, thepossibilities of entrance having been denied him elsewhere, he wouldmake the effort. 

He did not know what he would find among the ruins above, theirconnection with the habitable part of the castle having probably beenwalled up by Baron Neudeck, and granting that Renwick succeeded inmaking his way to the top, his chances of reaching the main buildingsmight be slim indeed. And suppose after all this effort, that Marishkawere not here--that Goritz had gone on--!

But how could he have gone on? Surely not by a road guarded by an armyat its other end. And it was only last night that he had seen Goritz'sfellow assassin and hireling. Marishka was within, and Renwick had notpermitted a doubt of it to enter his mind since yesterday. 

But to make certain of the matter he decided upon further investigation, retracing his steps for some hundred yards down the declivity, makingsure of his landmarks as he went, until he reached the lower level ofthe valley, where crossing a brook he began climbing the steeper slopeof the northern mountain. Here a greater degree of caution was required, for the rock upon which the Schloss was built was close to the northernslope and it was over the eastern reaches of the northern crags thatthe road passed which led to the causeway. To make his investigationmore difficult of accomplishment, most of the mountain side was inbright sunlight while the castle was in shadow. And so, it being now themiddle of the afternoon, he decided to move slowly at first, find asecluded spot and eat of the bread and cheese which was to be both hisbreakfast and supper. 

From his position, well up among the rocks, he had a view of thetree-tops of the valley below with a glimpse of the road a shortdistance from the spot where he had crossed it in the morning. Theruined end of the castle he commanded, too, from a new angle. He was nowabove the level of the crag and made out among the twisted mass of stonethe vestiges of what had once been a chapel, and a watchtower. There wasan arch which seemed to lead into a vaulted structure, but from hisposition he could not see within it. 

Renwick's eyes were good and they searched the valley below himceaselessly. He thought he heard a rumble as of thunder in the distance, but as the sky was clear he knew that he must have been mistaken, butafter a while along the road below him more soldiers passed, ridingrapidly and silently--into the deeper shadows of the gorge. Theirclattering wagons followed, and this, Renwick decided, was the cause ofthe distant sound that he had heard. Once or twice he thought that hesaw motion among the undergrowth at some distance below him, but decidedthat he had been mistaken. Again--nearer and to his right. There was nodoubt of it now. Renwick crawled deeper into his place of concealmentand peered out. 

Some one was climbing up over the rocks below him, mounting slowly alittle farther up the gorge. He heard the crackling of twigs and thesound of voices in a subdued murmur. There were two of them. Venturinghis head beyond the leaves he got a glimpse through the trunks of thepine-trees--a tall man and a shorter, stouter one. They were more than ahundred yards away and moving up the mountain side away from him, but toRenwick's mind, fixed only upon the men he sought and those who soughthimself, the figures, though wearing rough clothing like his own, seemedstrangely like those of Herr Windt and Spivak. Of course he might havebeen mistaken, for within two miles of this spot at least two hundredpeople lived, but the profusion of game in the valley confirmed thereport of his host of last night that the peasants who lived in thevicinity of Dukla were not in the habit of venturing into the Pass. Andif not peasants and not the men he had imagined them to be, who werethey and what were they doing here? He lay quietly, listening for thesound of their footsteps which seemed to pass toward the castle abovehim and at last died away in the distance. 

Windt here? It seemed incredible that he had traced Renwick so quickly. Or was it as Herr Koulos had said, that the same sources of informationwhich had been open to Renwick had been open to Herr Windt also? Was heseeking Goritz or Renwick or both, trusting to the relations betweenRenwick and Marishka to bring all trails to this converging point? Ifthe strangers among the rocks above him were Windt and Spivak, he wasindeed in danger of detection and capture, and the fate of an Englishmantaken armed in a region where Austrian troops were massing wasunpleasant to contemplate. And yet Renwick decided that before he madethe rash attempt to mount the cliff he must further investigate. And sohe lay silent until nightfall when with drawn automatic he emerged fromhis hiding place and quietly made his way along the mountain side. Hesearched the undergrowth eagerly, as a man only can when his lifedepends upon the keenness of his senses, and without mishap reached apoint opposite the castle where he commanded both the courtyard and themass of buildings around the central tower. The distance across thenarrow gorge at this side of the castle was perhaps two or three hundredyards, and Renwick from the shelter of a bush could see the windowsquite distinctly. As the night grew dark two lights appeared--both, henoted, upon the side of the buildings toward where he sat--lights whichcould not be visible from the deeper, wider valley upon the other sideor from the road below. He saw figures moving--the small bent figure ofa woman in the building upon the left which seemed to be the kitchen, aman in the courtyard near the gate which Renwick had seen from the otherside. The room upon the right near the keep, seemed to be the Hall, forthe windows were longer than any others and denoted a high ceilingwithin. There was a light here too, and Renwick watched the windows, hisheart beating high with hope. In his anxiety to see who was within theapartment he forgot the strangers upon the mountain side, the danger ofhis position, the hazardous feat before him--all but the hope thatMarishka was here. 

He had almost given up hope of seeing her when she appeared. He knew herinstantly, though he could not easily distinguish her features. She satin a chair at a table, conversing with some one whom he could not see. A pang of jealousy shot through him. Goritz--!

What if believing him dead Marishka had learned to tolerate the Germanagent, even to the point of friendship. There they were, sitting face toface at table, as they had done for two months or more. What were theirrelations? Prisoner and captive? And which was which? How could he haveblamed Marishka, --Renwick, a dead man?

He knew that she had grieved, that she must have hated the man who haddone him to death--perhaps still hated him as Renwick did. He peered atthe fragment of Marishka's white dress, the only part of her that wasvisible to him, and upbraided himself for his unworthy thoughts of her. 

And when the dead came to life what would she say to him?

Hedged about with difficulties and dangers as he was, the sight of thegirl so near him and yet so inaccessible was maddening. Now that he haddiscovered her, every impulse urged him to the feat of scaling the wall. And yet, as though fascinated, he still sat, his gaze fixed on the bitof white drapery which was a part of Marishka. He tried to imagine whatGoritz was saying to her, for he seemed to know that Goritz was hercompanion, seemed to hear the murmur of their voices. He waited long andthen the white drapery vanished, reappeared, and Marishka's figure stoodin the window, leaning with one hand upon the casement, in silhouetteagainst the light. And now quite distinctly against the velvety softbackground of the breathless night the sound of her voice, refined bythe distance between them, but fearful in its tone and significance. 

"_I--I am not afraid to die, Herr Goritz_, " it said. 

Renwick started to his feet as though suddenly awaking from a dreadfuldream into a still more dreadful reality. Marishka still stood in thewindow motionless, but the words that she had spoken seemed to beringing endlessly down the silent gorge and in his brain, which wassuddenly empty of all but its echoes. He wanted to shout to her a cry ofencouragement--and hope, but he remained silent, grimly watching andlistening. 

Marishka said something else and then turned into the room, whilethrough another window he saw the dark figure of Goritz pass away fromher toward the outward wall. Of Marishka he saw no more, but atintervals he saw Goritz pacing to and fro. .. . 

How much longer Renwick watched he did not know, but after a while hefound himself stumbling along the face of the mountain, descending bythe way that he had come, Marishka's words singing their message throughand through him. It was as though the words had been meant for himinstead of Goritz, that Renwick even in death should know of her dangerand come to her aid. He was coming now, not as an avenging spirit, butin the flesh, armed with righteous wrath and a fearful lust forvengeance. He understood what the message meant. Hers was not a cry ofdespair but of defiance. .. . What had happened? He had not seen. 

"I am not afraid to die. " Nor was Renwick--but to live were better--tolive at least for tonight. Fury gave him desperation, but for the taskbefore him he needed coolness, too. And realizing that haste might sendhim hurtling to the bottom of the gorge, he moved more cautiously, stepping down with infinite pains until he reached the brook, which hecrossed carefully, and then moved back up the declivity toward thecastle. 

The night was clear, starlit but moonless, and the cliff as he reachedit looked down upon him with majestic and sullen disdain. The ages hadpassed over and left it scarred and seared but still defiant andinaccessible. Renwick paused a moment to be sure of his ground and thenboldly crawled up over the chaos of tumbled bowlders and broken masonry, until he reached the wall of solid rock, where he stopped again toregain his breath and examine the fissure that he had studied earlier inthe day. It was a cleft in the rock, the result of some subterraneanupheaval which had caused the whole crag to settle into its base; afissure, originally a mere crack which had been widened and deepened bythe erosion of time. Upon closer inspection, it was larger than it hadappeared from below, perhaps ten feet in width at the outside, andtapering gradually as it rose. 

He entered and ran his fingers along its sides, penetrating to its fulldepth until there was just room enough in which to wedge his bent body. Then rising cautiously, seated, so to speak, upon the incline whichseemed to be about thirty degrees from the vertical, he dug theiron-shod toes of his peasant's boots into the roughnesses of the wallbefore him and rose, pushing with elbows and arms where the wall was toosmooth for a foothold. It was hard work, and at the end of ten minutes, perspiring profusely, and leg and arm weary, he stopped upon aprojecting ledge, where he found a perfect balance for his entire body, and relaxed. But he had gained fifty feet. 

Above him was the long streak of pallid light shimmering against thegloom of the rock like the blade of a naked sword, with its point farabove him among the stars. For a full five minutes he rested, and thenwent upward again, feeling with his finger ends while he braced hisbody, taking advantage of every foothold before and behind. At one spotthe fissure widened dangerously, but he struggled inward; at another itwent almost straight upward, requiring sheer strength of fingers; but atlast he found another ledge and braced himself with his feet for anotherrest. He did not dare to look downward now, for fear of dizziness, buthe knew that he had already come high. The sword blade was shorter, curved now more like a scimitar at its tip, which showed that the anglewas greater. 

But what if before he reached the rocky platform, the cleft should growtoo narrow to admit the passage of his body? It was too late now tothink of any such impediment. He struggled upward again, slipping backat times, clawing like a cat, with toes and fingers, fighting for hisbreath, but always mounting higher, his gaze upward toward a star in theheavens near the point of the scimitar. Would he ever reach the top?Bits of the rock crumbled, broke off and flew out into space, and oncehe slipped and slid outward, only saving himself from destruction by theaid of a jutting piece of jagged rock which caught in his clothing. Adesperate venture--but successful, for with one final effort, withfingers torn, and knees and elbows bruised and bleeding, he hauledhimself up to the level of the flat projection of rock upon which hedragged himself, exhausted and breathless, but so far, safe. 

He lay there for a long time, flat on his back, his eyes dimmed witheffort, his gaze on the stars, which now seemed to blink in a friendlyway upon his venture. To succeed so far--failure was now impossible. Fearfully he peered over the edge of the cliff upon the velvetytree-tops of the valley below. Three hundred feet, four perhaps, andbeyond to the left where the crag fell down to the very bed of the Duklaitself, black void--vacancy. 

Above him still was the hazardous climb up the broken face of the rocks, but he did not fear it. His nerves were iron now. There were rootsgrowing here, and small bushes, stunted trees, growing in theinterstices of the rocks, and he climbed steadily, always lookingupward, toward the breach in the wall now so very near, fifty feet, forty--and then the wall seemed to hang over him smooth and bare. So hehung there by a sturdy branch, one foot clinging, and studied thesurface, descending a few feet carefully and then rising again to theleft in a fissure, swinging himself along a narrow ledge where themasonry of the bastion joined the rock. Over this he climbed, findingsolid footing at last, and then rest and a breathing space within thebroken walls. 

He lay behind a pile of rocks which had fallen from the walls of thewatchtower, recovering his breath again, and the strength of hisfingers, every bone of which was crying out in protest. He peered overinto the depths below, trying to measure the distance he had come--threehundred feet--perhaps more. Could he find a rope of that length withinthe castle--? After a while he straightened in the shadow of the walland peered cautiously up at the dark bulk of the keep and the tower, beyond the ruined chapel, searching its roofs and window for a sign oflife. Silence. The ruin was deserted. For half an hour he watched andwaited, and then sure that there was no chance that he had beenobserved, rose to his feet and moved forward stealthily into the shadowsof the chapel. The roof had long since fallen in and been removed, butRenwick stumbled over a dusty tomb, toward the fragment of altar withthe reredos still showing traces of sculpture, partially protected by afragment of roof over the apse which had been spared by the wind andstorm. To the right of the altar was a Gothic door, which had at onetime led into the building adjoining, but upon investigation he foundthat it had been built in with solid blocks of stone. The other arch ofthe vaulted structure outside which he had noted from the mountain sidewas also filled by a wall. So far as Renwick could see, the ruined partof Schloss Szolnok was isolated, with no mode of egress from thehabitable part. 

Renwick had screened his movements as far as possible from view of thewindows in the keep and other buildings, and now discovered that thelowest one was at least fifteen feet above the level of this rampart;and so before planning any action, he investigated the guardhouse, afallen ruin upon the north bastion. He seemed to make out the forms ofwhat had once been the stone treads of a circular stair in a tumbledmass. At first the appearance of the place discouraged him, for itseemed too far away from the main mass of buildings to furnish anycommunication with them, but as he peered among the fallen masonry hethought he detected a darker spot in the obscurity, and bending forwardwas aware of a heavy smell, as of mold and dampness. Upon investigationhe discovered an irregular hole under the mass of stone, a little widerthan his body. 

He dared not strike a match for fear the glow of it might be observedfrom one of the windows of the keep, but testing the balance of theheavy stone steps, he decided to investigate, and so lowering his legsinto the dark aperture he let himself hang from his waist and found thathis toes encountered solidity. He tested his footing with his weight, and then let go, descending into the hole, which seemed to be astairway, leading from the tower into the bowels of the rock. With atouch of fingers upon the efflorescent walls he moved cautiously down, step by step, sure now that this was the ancient corridor by which themen-at-arms passed from the guardhouse to the other rampart. Sixty-twosteps down he counted, and then he reached a level, where he paused amoment to look at the vague blotch of gray which was the starlight. Evenwith eyes that had now grown accustomed to the darkness he could seenothing, and so deeming himself safe from observation, he struck amatch, which struggled a moment against the foul air and then went out. But in the brief moment of partial illumination, Renwick made out acorridor extending straight before him, slightly downward. He followedit cautiously his hands stretched out, his toes feeling for pitfalls, and at last came to a rough wall. 

Was this the end--a wall which shut off communication with the ruins?Emptiness to the right. He turned and followed the wall blindly, downits tortuous way, aware of a difficulty in breathing, and a throbbing athis temples down which the moisture was pouring profusely. In a whilewhich seemed hours, the rough wall stopped, and his fingers encountereda wooden upright--a doorway--open. And testing the stone floor carefullyhe passed through it, the echoes of footfalls advising him that he wasin a larger space. He peered in all directions, seeking a sign of lightwithin, for it seemed that the air had now grown fresher, but he sawnothing, and so striking a third match which burned more brightly, heheld it over his head for a moment and looked about him. 

It was a kind of crypt in a good state of preservation, octagonal inshape, about twelve feet high, and the ceiling was supported by archeswhich sprang from dwarf columns of stone at the angles. From the centerof the ceiling by a heavy chain hung an ancient iron lamp which stillcontained the remnants of a candle. There was a heavy wooden table atone side, and two heavy chairs, but Renwick's gaze passed these quicklyto a partition of rough boards in one of the walls opposite, and thenhis match burnt his fingers and expired. 

CHAPTER XXVI

THE DEATH GRIP

He stood in the middle of the stone floor, matchbox in hand, trying todecide what he must do next. As nearly as he could judge by hisobservations during the afternoon, and the direction of the steps andpassageways, the vault was somewhere under the main group of buildings, the keep or one end of the Hall, two or three stories below the level ofthe chapel floor. Part of the corridor through which he had passed washewn from the solid rock, and part was built of masonry. The woodenpartition opposite him was obviously the beginning of the used part ofthe castle, but admitting that he could pass it, in which directionwould it lead him? He feared to strike another match, for beyond thedoor perhaps someone might be moving. It was now, as nearly as Renwickcould judge, about one o'clock in the morning. He crossed the cryptcarefully and found the partition, feeling its surface, which was madeof rough boards loosely nailed together. He put his eye to one of thecracks and peering in, could see nothing; but a current of warmer airwhich came through the slits, slightly aromatic in odor, warned him thatthe space beyond was surely connected with the habitable part of thecastle--a wine cellar perhaps, or a storage room. He debated for amoment whether it was wise to use another light and then at last decidedto take the risk, and as matches were scarce, found the ancient candlein the iron lamp, which after sputtering feebly for a moment, consentedto burn. By its aid he examined the dust upon the floor of the crypt, which showed the imprint of no footsteps but his own; then the walls ofthe crypt, discovering immediately another door which his eyes hadmissed in the earlier glow of the match, --a narrow door open to theleft, of thick wood, with heavy iron hinges, the flanges of which formedthe braces of the door itself. He blew out the candle and put it intohis pocket. Peering through the keyhole and seeing nothing, he liftedthe latch and tried to open it. 

His efforts proved that it had been unused for many years, for thehinges had sagged, and some of its weight rested upon the stone floor. But with an effort, he managed to move it an inch or so. Another effortswung it clear of its stone sill, and at last he managed to open it wideenough to admit the passage of his body. But with this last attempt therusty hinges rasped horribly; and so he waited in silence, listeningfearfully for any sounds in front or behind him which might indicatealertness above. 

Another passage lay before him, a narrower one, which soon developed astraight flight of narrow stairs leading upwards. He stood for a momentstaring, for the gloom above him seemed to lighten. He sat upon thelower step and took off his heavy boots, then crept up the stairsnoiselessly, reaching a landing dimly lighted by a small slit of awindow which looked out upon the night. Pausing here, he was enableddefinitely to establish his position within the castle walls. Below himwas the narrower gorge, opposite him the cliff upon which he hadcrouched this afternoon. He was beneath one end of the Hall, and fromall indications, in an ancient secret passageway, the existence of whichfrom its condition had for years been forgotten. At the landing therewas a heavy wooden door upon his left. This he examined as minutely aspossible by the dim light of the loophole, peering through the keyhole, from which exuded a faint odor of gasoline. It must be here that Goritzkept the car. The platform was near the level of the rampart, then. Renwick did not pause here long for he saw that the stairs turned andmounted again in the opposite direction. 

Renwick felt for his automatic, and leaving his shoes on the landing bythe window, again climbed into the darkness. Another landing--and beforehis eyes, now sensitive to the slightest lessening of the gloom, a thinthread of light crossed the narrow passage, terminating at his right inan illuminated spot upon the wall. It did not emanate as he had at firstsupposed, from a keyhole, but from a crevice between two stones, wherethe joints had turned to powder. He peered through eagerly, but hisrange of vision was small, covering merely a section of paneledwoodwork, a mullioned window, and a chair or two. He held his breath andlistened, for he fancied he heard the sound of footsteps. Yes, therethey were again, the slowly moving footsteps of a man pacing to andfro--and then the footsteps halted suddenly and a voice spoke. It wasthat of Leo Goritz. 

"Are you sure that you saw them?"

"There is no mistake. My eyes are good. "

"Did they remain long?"

"For twenty minutes or so, but they saw that the thing was impossibleand went away. "

"The situation becomes interesting, " said Goritz. 

"Rather too risky, I should say, " put in the other. "If the HerrHauptmann had only taken my advice last week----"

"I never take advice. But you may have been mistaken. I can scarcelybelieve that Herr Windt had the skill to trace us here--unless----"

"But it was he. I was peering through the slit in the postern, nottwenty feet away. I could have killed him easily. "

"But twenty feet is a long distance when two hundred feet yawn beneath. Let him come. We have food enough for a siege--ah, there it is again!"

There was a significant silence between the two men, but Renwicklistened the more keenly, for he heard the deep rumble, as of thunder, which had perplexed him in the afternoon--a reverberation, repeated andcontinued, which seemed to make the very flags beneath him tremble. Butsince he could hear and feel it within these solid walls, much nearerand louder, he realized now that it meant the roar of artillery--thedefiant blasts of the Austrian guns at the end of the Pass, or thetriumphant salvos of the Russians. And the voice of Goritz confirmedhim. 

"The thing has come rather sooner than I expected, " he growled. "_Donnerwetter!_ Why couldn't the Russians have put off the attack for aweek!"

"And if they win the Pass----"

"Perhaps it is just as well for us if they do. Herr Windt may neglect usin the general scramble for safety. "

"He is not of that sort, Herr Hauptmann. "

"Then let him come. Twenty feet is a long jump even for the legs of theWindt. "

Goritz laughed at his joke and then yawned sleepily. 

"You may go now, Karl. Is Strohmeyer at the gate?"

"Yes, Herr Hauptmann. "

"You are sure that he will not go to sleep?"

"I think not. "

"The signal is one stroke of the postern bell. He understands?"

"Yes, Herr Hauptmann. Any other orders?"

"None except these. That he is on no account to fire unless attacked. But this fact is to be understood. No man is to pass into SchlossSzolnok tonight. "

"_Zu befehl_, Herr Hauptmann. "

The chauffeur, Karl, passed across Renwick's range of vision and thesteps of Goritz resumed their pacing of the floor--more slowly now. TheEnglishman had been kneeling, scarcely daring to breathe, and now hewondered what he had better do next. Taking infinite pains to make nosound he investigated the wall of the Hall with his finger tips. Therewas a door here, a secret door, he thought, hidden from the interior ofthe Hall in the paneling of the wainscoting. Did Goritz know of itsexistence? The floor of the crypt, it was true, had shown no sign offootsteps, and the door below, Renwick was sure, had not been opened formany years. But if Goritz knew of this passage, there was a chance ofhis entering and finding him. Renwick dared not strike matches now, anddetermined to go on until he had mastered all the architectural detailsof the passage, and then devise some plan to reach Marishka. Balked inother directions he could return to this secret door into the Hall, andawaiting the departure of Goritz, force an entrance and trust to luck. 

But there might be some other and less dangerous means of reachingMarishka. Even if he entered the Hall, he would have no idea which wayto turn. Better to follow the passage to the upper floors, if it werepossible, and enter above, thus creating a diversion which might add tothe advantage of his surprise. But did the passage mount higher? Orwas--? His advancing toes touched something solid. Bending forward, hefound steps, and immediately began mounting them on all fours. 

The sleeping-rooms, he had supposed, were on the two upper floors of thekeep and in the buttressed building toward the south which was a part ofit. This was the direction in which he was going now. He reached anotherlanding, as nearly as he could judge by the steps he had taken, almostover the crypt, three levels below. This was the keep, then, upon hisleft. With pulse beating rapidly he felt for and found a woodenupright--another door. He paused and listened. There was no sound norany light upon the other side. So he went on slowly until at a distanceabove him he saw the starlight coming through another loophole, thecounterpart of that below the Hall, and mounted noiselessly, peering outupon the wider valley to the south. He had therefore traversed thecastle from one side to the other, and was now near the top of thebuttressed wing of the keep. 

Breathing in deep gasps the keen night air, Renwick waited, listening, and now heard again from outside the thunderous reverberations of thebattle at the head of the Pass. He had been so intent upon his missionthat he had forgotten it! But now the furious character of theengagement was obvious. It was far distant, perhaps four or five milesaway, and yet the wild heavens were aglow with strange flashing fires, the reflections of the bombs and star-shells which paled the ineffectuallights of the firmament. Battle! Schloss Szolnok, too, should seebattle--his own with Goritz! But Renwick would take no chances thistime. 

The heavy reverberations rose and died away, but a fainter spatter ofsounds continued, the deadly counter-melody of machine-gun and riflefire which went on without intermission. Far below the Schloss, in thedirection of the road along the Dukla, he heard the clatter oftransport, and the calls of men. 

All of this Renwick's mind assimilated in his moment of rest andrecuperation, but beside the loophole, clearly defined by the flashes inthe heavens, his searching glances made out the uprights of anotherdoor. Here, perhaps----He bent forward, listening at its cracks, andthen knelt, searching for a latch or keyhole. Nothing. But as he turnedhis back to the loophole, shutting out the starlight, he imagined thathe saw something white upon the stone flagging. He leaned forward topick it up and found that his fingers were softly illuminated. The spotwas the reflection of a dim light within the room. He put his face closeto the floor and found the aperture, a small hole of irregular shape inthe baseboard of the door. A candle. Someone, then, was within? He puthis ear to the chink and listened. A muffled sound, faint, butagonizingly definite--a woman's sobs! Renwick straightened and thenlistened again. Silence. Perhaps he had been mistaken. No. There it wasagain--fainter now. He ran his fingers softly along the edges of thewoodwork, seeking a latch, a handle, but could find none. If there werea secret spring, it was so deftly hidden that he could not discover it. But in the brief moments of his search he had decided that he must enterthis room at all costs. And so rising to his feet, he gave up trying tofind the secret of admittance and slowly put his weight against thewoodwork. It made no sound nor yielded to his pressure. He tried itagain with the same results. Then despairing, and desperate, he struck amatch and ran it quickly along the jambs. The hinges were concealed, buthe found signs of them at the right. To the left, then--another match--ahandle, a knob--where? And then just as the third match went out hefound it--a flat, iron lever which moved around a swivel, cunningly letinto the woodwork. He caught it quickly in his fingers, twisted it down, and then, automatic in hand, he pushed upon the door which opened andswung inward upon its hinges. 

Renwick waited for a moment in the doorway, pistol in hand, blinking atthe candle upon the table, like a cat emerging from a cellar, searchingthe vast room for its occupant. A huge room with wainscoted walls, withheavy hangings at the windows, massive furniture, a high canopiedbed----

He took a few quick steps forward into the room, for a figure clothed insoft white had started up from the bed and was staring at him withstartled eyes--Marishka!

Renwick was hatless, tattered, covered with dust, his face streaked withgrime and sweat, and the short beard that he wore still furthertransformed him. But it seemed that a look of recognition struggledwith the terror in her eyes. 

"You, Hugh--again!" she whispered. 

A pang shot through him at the pitiful sound of her voice and at thewords. Had her sufferings----

"Your spirit. It has--has been--with me often, Hugh. " She went ondreamily. 

"Marishka!" he whispered, crossing to her swiftly. "It is I--Hugh. It isno dream, no vision. Awake!"

She brushed an arm across her eyes like one arousing from a deep sleep, and then straightened suddenly and still uncertainly. But he caught herby the arm and brought her face close to his own so that she might see. 

"I didn't die, dear. I am here in the flesh--to protect--to take youaway from this place. "

"Then I--I have not dreamed?"

"Not now?"

She clasped his wrists, his shoulders, his face with her hands to assureherself of the truth, and he took her in his arms and kissed hertenderly. 

"Marishka!" he murmured again. And then she seemed to grow heavy in hisarms, repeating his name breathlessly. 

He was frightened for a moment for her head drooped away from him. Shelooked so piteously thin and white, and her hands were ice cold. 

"Marishka!" he pleaded. "Marishka. "

Her eyes opened again and her smile reassured him. 

"Forgive me, Hugh. The joy is almost more than I can bear. "

"You are safe now, " he whispered. "Safe!" And he clasped her close, holding her there in a breathless moment oblivious to their danger. 

Then while she still wondered, Renwick suddenly released her, movingquickly to the door by which he had entered, and after examining themechanism carefully, quietly closed it. Then he turned to Marishka andquestioned, while still seated upon the bed, she regarded him withbewildered eyes. 

"What men are there at Schloss Szolnok, Marishka?" he asked quickly. 

"Goritz--the chauffeur--and Ena's husband, " she answered slowly, with aneffort. 

"Strohmeyer?"

"Yes. The two men--at the farm--are not here--at night. "

"Ah, I see----" And then, "That other door, " he whispered tensely. "Isit locked?"

"Yes. I--I locked it tonight. "

"You feared?"

"Hugh--until tonight----"

She stopped and shuddered, until he came to her and held her for amoment in his arms. 

"He will not frighten you again, " he muttered between set lips. 

"Thank God, " she whispered, now starting up as though with the firstrealization of their position. 

"Have you any plan of what you will do?"

"Yes. Goritz is still below in the Hall. I have a plan, but I can donothing until he goes to bed. Where is his room?"

"In the keep, along the passageway outside. "

"I see, " thoughtfully; and then, "Do you know where I can find arope--several ropes, stout ones?"

"I do not know. There is a storeroom. "

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, I think so. "

"And you can find it--in the dark?"

"I think so. "

"Is there any way of telling when Goritz goes to bed?"

"I hear his steps sometimes in the corridor outside. "

He went noiselessly over to the door, listened a moment and thenreturned. 

"No sounds. There isn't much sleep for anyone here tonight. The noiseand the knowledge that Herr Windt is somewhere near----"

"Herr Windt!"

"He has followed us here. I think he found a trace of me atBartfeld--the village beyond the mountain, " he whispered. 

"But we might go down through the castle and the courtyard--if we couldpass the man at the drawbridge. Does it make a noise when it islowered?"

"Oh, yes, Hugh--a dreadful noise. "

"That's awkward. " He crossed to the door into the wainscoting andlistened there, then at the other door into the corridor, and returnedto her. 

"For the present, at least, we're safe. "

He caught her in his arms and held her silently. Her arms clinging tohim, she raised her head and found his lips. 

"Belovèd, " she whispered, "how did you----"

"I followed you here--on a mere fragment of a clew--but it was enough. "

"But he shot you----"

"I was well cared for--in a hospital. "

"You were wounded--dangerously?"

"Yes, but I don't die easily. I'm quite well again. "

"Are you sure?"

He laughed. "Could I be here, else? Your cliffs are steep----"

"You climbed----?"

"Yes, up a fissure and through the ruins. I saw you--there in thewindow--from across the gorge. I heard you call, Marishka----"

"Call----?"

"That you were not afraid to die. "

"But I _was_ afraid, Hugh--it was so far--so dark below. " She shuddered. 

He pressed her closer to him. "Has he--has Goritz----"

"Until tonight, Hugh--he has not been unkind, " she said slowly. "I wassick; he nursed me. But I've feared him--I fear him still----"

He felt her body trembling against his own, and reassured her gently, pausing a moment to listen tensely for sounds at either door. Andthen----

"Don't worry, dearest. He cannot harm you. I was not spared from deathfor nothing. "

"I am not frightened now, but tonight has been horrible--the noise--myterror of I know not what. It has been like the end of the world to me. "

"The beginning of our world, yours and mine, " he said confidently. 

She straightened, drew away from him and put a hand before her eyesagain. "Even yet I cannot believe. " She looked up at him with a widegaze that still held in it something of the reflection of the long daysof helplessness and misery--something more deeply spiritual than he hadever seen. "Hugh, dear, " she went on softly, "you will think it strange, but I--I have heard you calling to me--speaking to me, like a livingpresence here in this room. Not as you are now, belovèd, butpaler. .. . I thought that you were dead. .. . And so when you came--at thedoor--I thought--I must have dreamed----"

"You were frightened, dear. "

"Yes--terribly frightened, Hugh, " she confessed, "by _him_--and by thefiring. It seemed at times as though the castle were rocking under me. Listen!"

A terrific cannonading began again--louder, more continuous than anythat had gone before. 

"Yes--they are fighting for the end of the Pass, " he muttered; "theRussians----"

"And will they----?"

"God knows. I pray----" he paused and scanned her face anxiously. 

"What, Hugh?"

"That the Russians may win. "

She started away from him, her eyes widely inquiring. 

"Why?"

He smiled slowly. 

"It's simple enough. Because if I am taken by the Austrians I shall beshot as a spy. "

"You--a spy!"

"No, not really, " he said soberly. "But I'm an Englishman, an enemy ofAustria armed and in disguise. That is enough----"

"They--my people would shoot you!" She whispered, horror-stricken. 

"I have no illusions about my fate--if taken----"

"But you have come here--to help me----"

"Unfortunately that does not change matters. "

He put her gently aside and went for a while and listened at the doors, and then came back to her. 

"Silence. But we will wait a little longer, " he whispered. 

Marishka caught him by the shoulders and looked up into his eyes. 

"Hugh, what you have said frightens me. You mean that you--that we areenemies--you and I--because our nations are at war----!"

She drew away and held him at arm's length while she scrutinized him inthe light of the guttering candle. 

"You--my enemy, Hugh? I--yours?" A wan smile came proudly to her lips. "If I am your enemy, belovèd, then love and loyalty have perished fromthe earth. And you, who have risen from the grave to come to me----!"

"Sh----, dear, " he whispered. "You must know the truth. Whateverhappens--here in the castle, the Austrian troops are all around us. HerrWindt, too. There is no escape for me unless the Russians come through. That is why I hope----"

Marishka put her arms around his shoulders quickly and kissed him on thelips. 

"Then I, too, pray that they may come through, " she whispered fervently. 

"Marishka! I do not ask you to give up your allegiance----"

"No, Hugh. I give without asking. Belovèd, I want you to understand, "she said solemnly. "Those that are your enemies are my enemies. Youwould have died for me--and I, can I do less for you?"

"Sh----, Marishka, " he murmured, "there is no death----"

"Death can be no worse for me than the horrible utter loneliness withoutyou; but whatever comes, I am yours, Hugh--in life--in death. I owe noallegiance, no fealty, but to you, and I have kept the faith, Hugh, evenhere. I can have no country that you may not share, no compatriots thatare not yours also. My kingdom is in your heart, belovèd, there to livewhile you will have it so. "

"Marishka!" He caught her in his arms and held her long in his embrace, and she clung close to him, her lips on his in this final test of theirplighted troth. About them the thunder of battle, ever approachingnearer; the rumble and din of groaning wagons on the road below; thehoarse cries of men; the whine and sputter of laboring motors trying topass in the narrow road--confusion, disorder, chaos; but now they heardnothing. For them the earth stood still. Nations might totter and crash, but their Empire was in each other. .. . 

Renwick raised his head at last. "Marishka, " he whispered, "it is timethat we made a move. " He released her suddenly, listened at the doors, and then moved to the table beside her. 

"First, we had better put out the light--then perhaps we can see ifthere is anyone outside. "

Marishka snuffed the candle, and they went to a window overlooking thecourtyard, drew the hangings and peered out. The din in the valley belowthem was increasing, a hurrying of wagons, horses and guns in the narrowroad. Were more Austrian reinforcements coming up? It seemed so. Fromthe mountains beyond, the rattle of small-arm fire had risen to a steadyroar, but the detonations of heavy ordnance were less frequent. 

"The Austrians--may be winning, " he said calmly. 

She pressed his hand. "I am sorry, " she said bravely. 

But there was a world of meaning for Renwick in the way she whisperedit. 

"Your people shall be my people, " she murmured again. "And your God, myGod. "

He could only return her pressure in silence. 

He would have been little happy if he could have said how much. 

Together they peered through the slip of the silken hanging to therampart below. Flashes of reflections from the end of the Pass playedlike sheet lightning, and in the fitful illuminations they could see thefigure of the old man, Strohmeyer, reclining in the shadow by thepostern gate. The drawbridge was still raised, and beyond it they couldsee in the flashes, the length of the causeway stretching out into thedarkness of the mountainside beyond. Strohmeyer did not move. It almostseemed as though he were asleep. 

"What makes you think that Herr Windt is here?" asked Marishka suddenly. 

"I saw him with Spivak yonder, " and he pointed to the north beyond thegorge. 

Marishka was silent, her eyes eagerly searching the shadows. Her handwas trembling a little with the excitement of their situation, but hervoice was firm as she whispered:

"Perhaps tonight my eyes are uncertain, Hugh. But do you not seesomething moving in the shadow of the wall?"

"Where?"

"Of the causeway--there, beyond the chain of the drawbridge----"

He peered eagerly in the direction she indicated. 

"A shadow----?" he questioned. "I can't--no--yes--it moves--there!"

"Yes--another and still another. And they are carrying something. "

Renwick watched again for a tense moment. 

"Windt--and his men, " he said with conviction. "They are going to try tospan the abyss. "

"Strohmeyer----"

Here at least was a community of interest with Goritz. "They will wintheir way across, unless he wakes, " said Renwick tensely. 

"What is it that they are carrying?"

"Timbers--see! There are at least four men to each. They are puttingthem in the shadow of the wall. Will the man never wake up?"

"What can we do?" she whispered desperately. "I could call out to him. "

"No----" he said, "I don't want to arouse Goritz yet. Ah! They haveslunk away again to get more timbers, I think. "

"And if they should succeed----?"

"They must not. One man could hold the place indefinitely from theprotection of the gate. If the man would only wake!"

But Strohmeyer slept on. 

"And Goritz?" she said anxiously. "Surely tonight he cannot besleeping. "

"Perhaps he is so sure of himself--yes--in the passage below Iheard--there was to be a signal--one stroke of the postern bell----"

"But if the man sleeps----"

"If they come again--no matter what happens, we must warn him, " hedecided. 

"Sh----"

Renwick felt his arm seized suddenly by Marishka's icy fingers andturned, following her wild gaze into the room behind them listening. Theanxieties of the night had made Marishka's senses keen. "The door!" shewhispered. "The secret door by which you came!"

Renwick listened. In a brief lull in the commotion outside, he heard aslight sound, near and startlingly distinct like that of a rat in apartition. Then in the blackness of the room, a gray streak appeared, slowly widening. The door into the secret passage had opened, and thestarlight from the loophole beyond now showed a dusky silhouette. Renwick felt Marishka's arm clutch his in terror, as Goritz noiselesslystepped forward into the room. Renwick had instinctively drawn thehanging behind him, and he and Marishka were in deep shadow while everymove that Goritz made was clearly defined. First he took a pace towardthe bed, then paused and turning struck a match and searched for thecandle. 

He was in shirt sleeves. Renwick had drawn his automatic and could haveshot him easily. But murder, in cold blood--even when his life andMarishka's depended upon it! Renwick could not. He saw Goritz turn fromthe lighted candle and stare toward the empty bed and then quicklysearch the shadows of the room. It was a long moment before he saw theblaze of the candle beside him reflected in Renwick's eyes which peereddown the barrel of his automatic. 

"What nonsense is this--Marishka----?" he began. 

But Renwick's voice cut the darkness like a steel blade. 

"Don't move--Goritz. Hands up--high!"

"Who----?"

"Hands up, I say----" And as he slowly obeyed, "Now turn toward thebed----"

Goritz was now staring at Renwick as though he had seen a ghost, but heknew better than to take his hands down. 

"You----" he muttered. "You're----"

"I'm Renwick, " said the Englishman crisply. "Now do as I tell youor----"

He paused uncertainly, for at that moment, behind him through the windowcame the deep boom of a bell. 

"The drawbridge!" cried Marishka. 

"Ah!" came from Goritz's throat as with an incredibly swift movement hesmothered the candle. Renwick fired twice and then threw Marishka to oneside, but there was a crash of the door in the wainscoting, and thensilence. 

"He has gone!" cried Marishka somewhere in the darkness. 

"Wait!" shouted Renwick. Some instinct warned him of the trick, and hesprang aside just as Goritz darted at the spot where he had been. Hefelt the rush of the man's body and turned, but did not dare to fire, for fear of hitting Marishka, so he ran forward toward the window andpresently they met, body to body, clutching in primitive combat. Theman's hand went at his throat, but he wrenched it away again--again. Hisarms went around the waist of his adversary low down, in the attempt toraise him and bear him to the ground. Goritz was now striking furiouslyat his head, and by this token Renwick knew that the man was unarmed. Renwick's furious rush brought them with a thud against the wall, wherethey fell, oversetting a table to the floor. Amid the broken furniturethey struggled, in the pitch blackness, with their bare hands, forRenwick's weapon had been knocked from his fingers. In the rebound fromthe wall Renwick fell beneath, Goritz with one hand upon his throat witha grip which was slowly tightening, but Renwick managed to tear it awayand release himself, striking furiously at the man's face. Goritz wasyoung and strong, and Renwick's struggle up the cliff had taken awaysome of his staying power, but he fought on blindly in the darkness;grimly, like the bulldog that holds and ever tightens his jaws, nomatter what the punishment he suffers. The bulldog against the wolf. Goritz was agile, and his arms were strong and wiry. He struck and tore, but Renwick's arms were cracking his ribs, squeezing the breath from hisbody. He struggled with an effort to one knee, and in the change ofposition managed to get the fingers of one hand around Renwick's throatagain. They rolled over and over upon the floor, first one uppermost andthen the other, but the fingers on the Englishman's throat were strong. Fires flashed before Renwick's eyes and the blood seemed to be burstingfrom his temples. 

His grip was relaxing. .. . He felt his strength going. Then with hisremaining consciousness he was aware of a warm moisture upon one of hiswrists. Blood! Goritz had been struck by one of his bullets. With adesperate effort, he let go one arm and struck. The man's grip relaxedand he tore it away, gasping greedily for breath. 

Marishka in terror had at first slunk into a corner, listening to thefearful sounds of the combat--following it with her ears from one partof the room to another. What must she do? Gathering courage, she passedthe foot of the bed, and grasping for the table found the match box andmanaged to light the candle. 

They were upon the floor near one of the windows over the valley, lockedin a deadly grip, breathing in terrible gasps. She must do something tohelp--something--for as the glow fell upon them they seemed to struggleupward against the wall by the window, upon the sill. She could not makeout which was which--but instinctively she seemed to realize theirdeadly purpose--death for one or both on the rocks below! The hanging atthe window came crashing down and enveloped them, but they did not know. They were drunk with the lust of killing--mad!

Out of the confusion she saw Goritz rise smiling, straining with hisarms, hauling Renwick over the sill. Death! Hers, too, then! With a cryof despair she reached them, clinging with her arms around Renwick'swaist. 

Goritz opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came forth. He might havestruck her down but he did not. Instead he rose with one foot upon thesill in one supreme effort to throw Renwick over, but the Englishman, already half out of the window, got his right arm loose, and swingingwith all the strength left to him, launched a terrible blow at hisadversary. It struck him on the point of the chin. Goritz staggered, lost his balance, toppled for a moment in the air, his grip on theEnglishman's collar, which tore loose as he fell--out--into the blackabyss. .. . 

Renwick sprawled half across the wide sill, but Marishka clungdesperately, dragging him in--to safety. He toppled in upon the floorand lay motionless while Marishka hovered over him. 

"Hugh----!" she cried. "Hugh!"

Renwick struggled up slowly, trying to speak, but his chest heavedconvulsively, and he could only gasp meaninglessly. 

"All--right, " he managed to utter after a moment. 

She got water and he drank of it. 

"You're hurt--you're covered with blood. "

"No, no----" he gasped, "winded. "

"But the blood!"

"His. I had shot him--through the body. "

Marishka peered toward the window and shuddered. 

"His face--Hugh--I can't forget. "

Renwick struggled painfully to his feet. 

"Nor I. He almost did for me. If it hadn't been for you----"

"You'd have followed him, Hugh!" And then almost inaudibly, "HolyVirgin!" she whispered. 

Renwick moved his limbs to be sure that they were sound. 

"Close thing, that, " he muttered. "Beastly close. "

CHAPTER XXVII

BESIEGED

So desperate had been the struggle that they had forgotten the peril ofthe drawbridge. Shots had already been fired in the courtyard but theyhad not heard them. Now, as an awed silence fell upon them, at thepassing of Goritz and at their relief from immediate danger, they weresuddenly aware of the sounds of commotion outside near at hand, thesharp crack of small arms, the cries of men and the booming of thepostern bell--calling Goritz--who would never come!

Renwick staggered to the window over the courtyard, Marishka's hand inhis, and peered out. Somewhere a great fire was burning, for overheadthe sky was copper-colored with its reflections, and below they sawdimly two figures crouching in the shadow of the postern gate. As theylooked, three men emerged from the wall of the causeway, carrying atimber with which they approached the abyss, but as they neared the edgea flash darted from the postern and the foremost man fell. The others, with a rush, tried to cast an end of the heavy plank across theintervening space, but it fell short and went crashing down into thevoid below. 

"They may be able to hold out for a time, " whispered Renwick, "longenough to let us get away--come, Marishka--the ropes!"

He took the candle, and she opened the door into the corridor which ledto the keep. Outside they met the old woman Ena, who was crouched uponthe floor by a window, wringing her hands, half dead with fear. But shestarted up at the sight of Renwick, who led the way, and then looked inastonishment at Marishka. 

"Who----?" she gasped, and paused. 

"A friend, Ena, " said Marishka. "Do not fear. "

But she still regarded Renwick in terror, for his appearance, disheveled, torn and bloody, was not one to inspire confidence. 

"The Herr Hauptmann----!"

"He is dead, " said Marishka quietly. 

"Dead! _Herr Gott!_" And she shrank back into her corner, her head inher hands. 

But there was no time to delay. Renwick hurried Marishka down the stonestairway to the Hall, whence they descended to a lower floor to thestoreroom. 

It was filled with a conglomeration of dusty odds and ends, boxes, barrels, bottles innumerable, the relics of the hospitality of BaronNeudeck, but at first they could see no sign of what they were seeking. Above them shots sounded intermittently, and the roar of the distantbattle never ceased. Renwick searched feverishly while Marishka held thecandle above his head, overturning the dusty objects, and at last with acry of triumph found what they sought, a coil of heavy rope in a farcorner. He dragged it forth and examined it carefully. It was heavy andlong. Was it long enough? There was no way of telling except bymeasuring in yard lengths, and no time to risk that. 

There had been a long interval of silence on the rampart above. HadWindt succeeded in winning his way across?

He raised the coil of rope from his shoulder with an effort and took thecandle from Marishka's hand, moving toward an arch to their left, seeking a direct way to the boarded door into the crypt. It should be inthis direction--yes, the wine cellar--here it was--the boardedpartition. Marishka took the candle from his hand again while heexamined the fastenings--nails somewhat rusted, which would not resistleverage. He found a piece of plank which he inserted in the edge of thedoor and managed to pry it open a little, and then bracing a footagainst the stone wall, made an opening wide enough to admit them. 

So far, so well. They were within the crypt, but while Marishka waited, Renwick pulled the partition back into place to hide their mode ofretreat if the gate above were taken. Then moving rapidly along thetunnel they reached the steps which led to the watchtower, where Renwicksnuffed the candle; and they climbed, emerging at last among the ruinswith their precious rope. If they could get down they would crawlthrough the bushes and undergrowth, making their way before daylight tothe house of the peasant who had sheltered him last night. Another sumof money would secure their immunity--at least for the present. 

To the northward, the sky was vividly aglow with the reflection of theflames of a burning house--fired perhaps by the shells of the Russians, which still seemed to be bursting not far away. And now their acridfumes were poisoning the clean night-wind from the north. Below them inthe valley they still heard the sounds of passing transport, and thehoarse calls of men. The battle for the head of the Pass wasdesperate--but with such reënforcements, the Austrians would hold it. The crackle of small arms after a slight lull rose in intensity to acontinuous roar. And while Renwick was making the end of his rope fastaround a huge granite block, there was a tremendous explosion whichseemed to tear the bloody sky to tatters. 

"A magazine or a mine, " muttered Renwick. 

She smiled at him bravely, and resumed her watch of the windows of thecastle. Here in the open, hidden from the courtyard beyond the bulk ofthe buildings, they could hear nothing of what was passing at thedrawbridge gate. The silence seemed ominous. Had Windt's men succeededin bridging the gap? As yet there were no signs of light in the castlewindows, except the lurid reflections of the northern sky. But in anyevent there was no time to spare. Renwick tied a large knot and a loopin the end of the rope and then carefully lowered it over the northernwall, measuring its length by his arms, as it went over. Fifty yards, sixty, seventy, eighty--when it stretched taut. Eighty yards! Sick withanxiety, he crawled upon his stomach to the edge of the precipice andpeered over into the abyss. 

The rope swung like a giant pendulum from side to side. By the luminousheavens he could just see the loop at its end--at least seventy feetfrom the counterscarp. Seventy feet--or fifty or even twenty-five--forMarishka sure death among the welter of jagged rocks below!

Slowly he rose and faced her. She read the truth in his dejection. 

"The rope is too short, " he muttered. 

She caught him by the hand. 

"I can climb down by----"

"No, no, " he said in sudden horror, "it is not to be thought of. You, atleast, are safe. "

"But you----?"

"Perhaps something may happen. We can at least hide in the wall. Theymay not find us. Come. "

He descended into the hole among the broken masonry and lowered Marishkagently beside him, and there for a moment upon the stairs he held her inhis arms while they listened again for noise of pursuit along the darkpassage. Silence. 

She drew his head down until their lips met. 

"Your fate, Hugh--whatever it is--shall be mine. "

He smiled in the darkness. A love like this was worth fighting for. "Weshall win--somehow, " he whispered, "we must!"

Together slowly they retraced their steps to the crypt, where theylighted the candle and listened again, and now, faintly above, theyheard the sound of a shot. 

"They have not won through yet, Marishka, " he said. "My cause isGoritz's now. We must hold the gate. "

"I am not afraid, " she said. "We can still fight. "

He looked at her pale face in admiration, for the fire of resolutionglowed in her eyes. 

"Yes, " he muttered grimly, "we can still fight. " And then, "Are thereany weapons here?"

"In the armory--come!" And she led the way up the stair. But as theysearched the Hall, Ena hobbled down the stone stairway from above, shrieking, and threw herself at their feet. They could not make outwhat she said, but Renwick rushed to the door and peered out toward thepostern. Upon the flagging, a figure lay motionless, and the other manwas nowhere to be seen. But worse than that, as though aware of theiradvantage, in the causeway beyond, several men were advancing, bearinganother timber. Renwick's eye appraised the situation hurriedly and heplanned quickly, for delay would be fatal. As he reloaded the clip ofhis automatic he ordered quickly. 

"Marishka, I have a plan. There are two joists at the foot of thestair--not very heavy. You and Ena must bring them up here. Then getwhat loaded weapons you can. Bring them here, too. Lose no time. I willreturn. "

And leaving her, he dashed out of the door, and running to the rightgained the protection of the rampart, behind which he crawled toward thegate. Where was the other man, the chauffeur, Karl?

In a moment he learned. For as Renwick approached, the men upon theother side succeeded in spanning the abyss, and one of them rushed over. When the man was halfway across, a shot rang out from the gate and theman on the board swayed and fell. Another followed and another shot rangout, but the man still came on. 

Renwick, running forward, shouted a word of encouragement. He saw theman Karl rise from his concealment and meet the fellow just as hereached the gate, striking him a blow which made him lose his balanceand fall. Then he swung the end of the timber free and it fell into thegorge as he sprang back to safety, but before he reached the protectionof the gate, several flashes darted from the causeway and the chauffeurstaggered and dropped forward upon his face just as Renwick reached him. 

"Your orders, Herr Hauptmann, " he gasped. "But they're too many--mycartridges--are gone----" He turned with a groan, and for the first timesaw Renwick's face. "You----" he muttered. "You're not----?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. Are you badly hurt?"

"_Donnerweiter!_ Yes--through the breast--I'm done for. "

But Renwick stepped past him and found a loophole through which he couldwatch what was passing upon the other side of the abyss. 

The last disaster had robbed the besiegers of some of their enthusiasm, for they had withdrawn to the other end of the causeway where they wereholding council. Searching the shadows of the wall for signs of anyothers concealed near at hand, Renwick took the chance of leaving thegate unguarded, and in the shadow of the wall rushed back to the Hall. There he found Marishka with the two joists, waiting for him. 

"They've withdrawn, " he said, "but they'll be coming on again in amoment. We are alone, dear, to defend the gate. Can you help?"

She was deathly pale, but she smiled at him bravely. He picked up thetwo joists and carried them outside while she followed him, listening. 

"You on one side of the gate, I on the other. If they succeed inthrowing a timber across, we must push it off. In this way neither of usneed expose ourselves. "

"I understand--and there are rifles and shotguns. "

"Good! Can you load them?"

"Strohmeyer loaded them while Karl kept the gate, but Ena was afraid totake them out. "

"Then bring them. You're quite safe if you keep below the wall of therampart. Now go, dear--and God bless you!"

He reached the gate before Windt's men returned to the attack, and putone of his new weapons of defense upon each side of it. But he feared toleave the gate again and crouched, waiting. Below in the valley thecommotion had increased and the sounds of firing went on unceasingly. Itseemed indeed, as Marishka had said, that the end of the world had come. Beside him, the man Karl was breathing with difficulty. From his post atthe loophole, Renwick heard him mutter, and as the road was still clear, he listened. 

"You're Renwick--the Englishman?" he whispered hoarsely. 

"I am. "

"And Herr Hauptmann Goritz?"

"He is dead, " replied Renwick. 

"_Ach--danke_, " said the man. "It is well then--you too--soon----"

He nodded forward, toppled sideways and lay still. 

The situation was desperate, and yet as Renwick thought calmly, hegained courage. With Marishka upon one side and him on the other armedwith the joists, it would be difficult for the attackers to get alodgment for their bridges, for the stone outside the gate was quitesmooth, and little effort would be required to push their timbers down. Both Strohmeyer and Karl had lost their lives by exposing themselvesunnecessarily. But with the two joists, both sides of the gate could becommanded. In a moment, creeping under the protection of the wall, Marishka joined him, bringing two rifles. 

"Are they coming?" she asked. 

"Not yet. But they will soon. "

He explained his plan more fully, then bade her go back for anotherrifle, ammunition; and return in the protection of the opposite wall tothe post opposite. 

"They can do nothing unless they bring artillery, " he said confidently. "Don't expose yourself or look out, but if a plank comes over, push itdown. "

She smiled and slipped away into the darkness, and Renwick returned tohis loophole. The sky above was getting lighter, and a glance up themountain side to his left showed it already in clear profile against thelightening east, which announced the coming of the dawn. And with thedawn--light. Was this what the attackers were waiting for?

He saw the gray figure of Marishka creep along the opposite wall, and ina moment she was there, not ten feet away at her post, crouched insafety and waiting. 

"On no account look through the loophole, " he ordered. "As the lightgrows, there will be men to shoot at them. Keep under cover. Understand?"

She only laughed hysterically. 

In a moment, as the light grew, he warned her that they were comingagain. 

"Keep in, " he cried. "Don't try to look at the end of the----"

The warning came just in time, for a fusillade of bullets swept the gateand they heard the sounds of many men's voices as they came on the run. Another fusillade which sent dust and fragments of stone flying allabout them! Then a timber crashed across, but before it settled intoplace the two joists had pushed it off the smooth landing. At the sametime another volley was fired which would have surely found a mark ifRenwick had exposed himself, but Marishka matched her action toRenwick's, crouching low, safe from observation, pole in hand, eagerlywatching her half of the gate. 

Another timber--which fell harmlessly and crashed down into the gorge, and another volley--alike harmless to the defenders. High hopes rose inRenwick. They could do nothing. Opposite him Marishka, forgetting allher fears, had caught the contagion of successful resistance andcrouched, her jaws set, eyes sparkling, her slender hands grasping therough timber, undaunted and resolute. 

"Keep under cover----" he shouted, as another timber came across. 

This one was better cast and lodged squarely upon the stone lintel. Theyboth shoved at its end, but a man's weight already upon it made theirtask difficult. 

"It is on my side. Push, Marishka!"

He aimed his automatic past the edge of the gatepost and shot theman--an Austrian soldier--just as he sprang for the landing. He fellupon the stone, hung to the timber a moment, and fell. Renwick sprangfurther out and emptied his clip at the next man, who gave a cry anddropped. Renwick felt a stinging blow on his left arm, but beforeanother man began to cross Marishka managed to shove the timber clearand it fell into the abyss below. 

They were safe for the moment. He looked at Marishka in the gatheringlight. She was pale as death, but she did not show fear. 

"All right?" he asked anxiously. 

"Yes--yes, " she gasped, "and you?"

"Never better. "

His arm burned like a live coal, but the madness of battle was in hisblood and he did not care--so long as Marishka did not know of hisinjury. The firing had ceased for the moment, as he crawled up andpeered through the loophole. 

"We've beaten them, Marishka, " he cried triumphantly. "They've goneback--I see no timbers. They're doing something. I can see quite plainlynow--fastening a handkerchief to the muzzle of a rifle. " And as she roseto look, "Don't expose yourself. It may be a trick. For God's sake keepdown. "

He picked up the magazine rifle beside him and thrust it through theloophole, covering the two men who were advancing to the brink of theabyss. In the pale light he marked the figure of Windt quite clearly. The other man wore the uniform of an officer of Austrian infantry. Andnow he heard the voice of the officer raised in parley. 

"Schloss Szolnok--a truce!"

For reply Renwick thrust the muzzle of his rifle further through theloophole. 

"In the name of the Emperor of Austria, I command you to deliver HerrHauptmann Leo Goritz. "

Renwick laughed madly. 

"I regret that that is impossible. "

"I beg that you will listen to reason. Austrian troops are all aboutyou. You cannot resist by daylight. If you will deliver the person ofHerr Hauptmann Goritz and Countess Strahni, we will leave you in peace. "

Renwick paused. Far below in the valley to his right, a new sound brokethe stillness of the early morning--rifle-fire close at hand, rapidvolleys, and then a scattering of shots which echoed with a newsignificance up the mountain side. He peered through one of thecrenelations of the rampart beside him and could just see through themorning mists the moving mass of rushing men, --horses--guns in madconfusion. 

"Well, what is your reply?" came the voice of the Austrian officer. 

Renwick laughed again. 

"Why should you leave us in peace if you can take the drawbridge?" heshouted. 

"Hauptmann Goritz is wanted on the charge of murder. I give you thischance. Will you take it?"

"I regret that it is impossible, " replied Renwick. 

"Why?"

"Because Herr Hauptmann Goritz is dead. "

"Dead? What assurances can I have that this is the truth?"

"You have only to look at the foot of the cliff below. "

The two men consulted for a moment and then Herr Windt's voice washeard. "Is Countess Strahni there?"

"Yes--and quite safe. "

"And who are you?"

"My name is Hugh Renwick, Herr Windt----"

"Renwick--the Englishman----" he heard him gasp. 

"Precisely. And if you're going to take this gate, you'd better be in ahurry about it--for the Russians are approaching. "

"Then you refuse?"

"Positively. "

The Austrian officer saluted, and the two men marched up the causeway. Marishka, on the other side of the gate, had started up and wasregarding him anxiously. 

"What you say, Hugh--it can't be that----"

"It's true, dear, " he almost shouted. "The Russians. They're comingbelow there in the valley. I have just seen. The Austrians are in fullretreat. The army has been retreating all night, and we thought therewere reënforcements. If we can hold out a short while longer, we will besafe. Are you frightened?"

"No. Will they come again, you think?"

"Yes. They'll hardly give up so easily. But keep down, Marishka, further--in the corner. You can see as well. Ah! I wasn't mistaken. Herethey come!"

Into the squad of Austrian soldiers advancing Renwick emptied themagazine of his repeating rifle, and took up the other. Two men fell andthe remainder paused, only to be brought on by the Austrian officer wholed them, sword in hand. Renwick could have shot him easily, but he heldhis fire and as the mass of men came on he saw them raise their riflesto their shoulders. 

"Keep down!" he shouted to Marishka, "they're going to----"

Dust and mortar flew from the ancient gate and behind in the castle, windows crashed. 

"You are safe?" he shouted. 

"Yes, " her voice replied. 

"Now watch the gateway. "

A plank came over, but profiting by their earlier experience, theyshoved it off before it came to rest. Another, a longer one, andanother, both of which found lodgment squarely between the gate posts. Renwick sprang to the loophole; but the volley that followed spatteredharmlessly around him. 

He was a good shot with a rifle, and aimed deliberately, dropping thefirst man that put his foot on the hazardous bridge. Gasping with herexertions Marishka pushed the shorter timber over, but the longer onejammed hopelessly against the gate post. 

"Hugh, " she cried, "we are lost. "

But a strange thing happened then. For as the second man approached thebridge and had even put one foot upon it, a shrill call rang out at theother end of the causeway. 

"The retreat!" the officer shouted. "To the rear----"

The look of relief upon the face of the brave fellow who was venturingdeath upon the precarious timber was reflected in Renwick's own heart, for he spared the man who, with a startled glance over his shoulder, presently caught up with the rapidly vanishing Windt. Renwick rushed outand lifting the dangerous timber hurled it down into the gorge. 

Then he caught Marishka by the waist and lifted her. 

"We're safe, dear--they've gone----" he cried. 

She turned one look up at him and then, slowly closing her eyes, sankback helpless in his arms. 

"Marishka! It has been too much----"

The blood flowed from a slight cut upon her cheek where she had beenstruck by a piece of flying stone, but he saw that it was not deep. Helaid her gently upon the flagging, and ran to the Hall for water. Therehe found Ena, crouched in a corner, more dead than alive. But hecommanded her to come and bring water and brandy, and she obeyed. 

Marishka had only fainted and the brandy soon restored her. 

"They've gone?" she asked of him. 

"Yes, dear. We're quite safe. Listen. The Russians are driving them downthe valley. "

He washed the wound in her cheek tenderly. 

"It will not scar you, Marishka, " he smiled. "But if it does--anhonorable scar such as no woman of Austria wears. "

She touched it with her fingers and smiled. 

"I did not even know----"

And then she saw the blood at his shoulder. 

"You're hurt?"

"Only a scratch. It's nothing. "

But weak as she was she tore away the sleeve of his shirt, and made himbathe and bind it with linen from her skirt. 

"Will the Russians come here, you think?" she asked. 

He smiled. 

"If they don't come to us, " he said soberly, "we will go to them. "

She smiled. 

"'And your people shall be my people . .. '" she murmured softly. 

 * * * * *

Galenski, Colonel of Russian cavalry, sat on his horse on a slighteminence beside the road which descended from Dukla Pass into the valleybeyond, watching through a pair of field glasses the ramparts of anancient castle perched upon a crag. 

Beside him his regiment streamed down the hill at a hand gallop, itsgray coats flapping, as it spread out fanwise in the meadow below, itslances lightly poised in pursuit of the fleeing Austrians. As a companycaptain passed he called out a name, and the officer, with a word to hislieutenant, galloped up and saluted. 

"Is not that Schloss Szolnok, Captain Kotchukoff?"

"Yes, sir. You remember--the affair of Baron Neudeck. "

"Of course. I have been watching it, as we came down the road. Fightinghas been going on there for an hour or more. "

"Fighting?"

"Yes. I don't understand. The Austrians were attacking it. I am certainfor I clearly made out the kepi of the infantry. "

"That is strange. "

"Is it possible that some of our advance posts could have occupied it?"

"I should say that that was impossible. "

"We must investigate. Detach your company from the command and bringyour men up the road yonder. I will join you. "

Captain Kotchukoff saluted, wheeled his horse and galloped at full speeddown the road into the meadow, while Colonel Galenski trotted slowlydown the hill until he found a ford in the stream, and then slowly rodeup the hill beyond. 

"It is very strange, " he muttered. 

As he reached the road above, the company of Captain Kotchukoff cameriding up, but he gave the command to walk their horses, and slowly, Colonel and Captain riding in front, they approached the end of the longcauseway which led to the castle. That he had not been mistaken in hisobservations was clearly to be seen, for several men lay either dead orseverely wounded in the middle of the walled road. As they neared thedrawbridge three more prostrate figures were seen, one of them hangingalmost on the lip of the abyss. 

The drawbridge was raised and beyond the gate another form lay beyondthe threshold. But as yet he saw no sign of life. Colonel Galenskireined in his horse sharply, raised his hand, and behind him his captainshouted the loud order to halt. 

At the sound a man suddenly appeared in the gate, and beside him a verybeautiful young woman. Colonel Galenski was a good officer, but thefact, though of no military importance, was quite clearly to be noted--avery beautiful woman. The man beside the girl was tall, and bore himselfwell. But he was covered with grime and dust and his clothing was tornand streaked with blood. One sleeve of his shirt was missing, and hisbare arm was bandaged just below the arm-pit with a bloodstained cloth. And as he looked, the man smiled and saluted. 

Colonel Galenski returned the salute, and spoke in German. 

"You will lower the drawbridge if you please. I wish to enter. "

The man disappeared for a moment, the girl beside him, and presently, with a loud clatter of rusty chains which made necessary some excellentfeats of horsemanship by the men of the company behind him, thedrawbridge crashed down, and Colonel Galenski rode forward through thegate, followed by the company of horsemen, who wheeled by fours intoline and halted in the courtyard. 

Colonel Galenski dismounted, neglecting no detail of the signs ofcombat, the bullet-scarred flagging, the broken rock, the timbers, thetwo figures lying in the shadow of the wall of the gate. 

"From below, with my glasses, I saw the Austrians attacking yourdrawbridge, " he said. "There were many of them along the road. Your menhave well defended the position. Where are they?"

The tall man smiled and took the beautiful young woman by the hand. 

"I beg to present you to my garrison, " he said with a laugh. "CountessMarishka Strahni--and--er----?"

"Colonel Galenski of the Fifth Regiment--horse, " said the Colonel with abow. "And you, sir--who are you?"

The tall man extended a grimy hand to the immaculate Russian. 

"I will tell you that, sir, if"--and he laughed--"if you'll give me acigarette. "

IN REGARD TO THE EVIDENCE IN THE CASE

If the reader of this book is not inclined to accept the _prima-facie_evidence as presented in the newspapers from official sources withregard to the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, theDuchess of Hohenberg, he is referred by the publishers to the veryinteresting article by Mr. Henry Wickham Steed called "The Pact ofKonopisht, " printed in the _Nineteenth Century_ for February, 1916. Mr. Steed, as is well known, was for twenty years the correspondent inVienna of the _London Times_, and is also the author of the latest andpresumably the most authoritative work in English on theAustro-Hungarian government and the House of Habsburg. 

The facts presented in that article beginning with the open breachbetween Franz Joseph and the Archduke on his marriage to Sophie Chotek;the _entente_ between Kaiser and Archduke at Eckartzau and Potsdam; theseizure of the Archduke's papers by the Austrian government after theassassination; the instructions to the Sarajevo police from the militaryauthorities of Austria-Hungary to make no special arrangements for theArchduke's protection; the fact that no evidence has ever been adducedproving the complicity of the Serbian government; the funeral of theArchduke and Duchess, at which no wreaths were sent by Emperor FranzJoseph, by the Archduke's sister, or any member of the Austro-HungarianImperial Family; the inadequacy of the formal arrangements for burialand the obvious intention of the Court authorities to pay as littlehonor as possible to the dead; the exclamation of the Kaiser, duringKiel week when the news of the assassination was brought to him, "Now Imust begin all over again":--these facts must be considered ascircumstantial evidence of the most positive sort that the relationsbetween Archduke and Kaiser had been looked on with disfavor andsuspicion by the Imperial Family of Austria. What actually happened atKonopisht of course will never be known, but there is strong presumptiveevidence that a pact of the character suggested in this story was madein the rose garden of the castle and that Von Tirpitz was a witness toit. 

Whatever the police records show with regard to Cabrinovitz and Prinzep, the former, who threw the bomb, the latter who did the killing, nosuccessful effort has been made to show that they were employed by theSerbian government, nor is it probable that Serbia would have promoted aplot which would give Austria Hungary a pretext for assailing her, apretext that Austria Hungary had already sought. The story of thebeginnings of the Great War has shown how she found it. 

 In the light of the ascertained facts concerning the production of anti-Serbian forgeries employed by Austria during the annexation crises of 1908-9, and exposed during the Friedjung trial of December, 1909, it certainly would not be beyond the power of Austro-Hungarian Secret Service agents to cook up a plot at Belgrade or Sarajevo, were it considered desirable, for reasons of Imperial policy, either to "remove" obnoxious personages or to provide a pretext for war. 

The dream of an empire from Hamburg to Saloniki is as yet a dream, butthat it was dreamed in Potsdam no one doubts. 

 * * * * *

Books by George Gibbs

 The Secret Witness Paradise Garden The Yellow Dove The Flaming Sword Madcap The Silent Battle The Forbidden Way The Bolted Door Tony's Wife