CHAPTER XXIX.
THE TRUTH OUT AT LAST.
While an examination of the train was made to see how much of it couldproceed, my wounds were roughly dressed, and as soon as it wasascertained that only one of the saloons could go on, the Emperor saidthat I should travel in it with himself and his immediate party, andinstructions were wired to Moscow that a doctor should be sent out tothe small station just outside the city, where it had been arrangedalready that the Emperor should change into the Imperial train that hadpassed empty. The object of this was that the entry into the cityshould be made from the royal train, and thus no comment be raised.
As I was being moved into the other carriage an incident happened whichI knew might have a very sinister effect upon my fortunes. My mencheered lustily as soon as they caught sight of me; but when the cheershad died away a wild and vehement curse greeted me from the only one ofthe five Nihilists who had life enough left in him to grind his teethand hiss out an imprecation.
"He was our leader, damn him," cried the man, "and betrayed us. Tohell with such a traitor!" and he poured out his curses with tremendousvolubility, till a soldier standing by, clapped his hand on his mouthand silenced him.
"Your Majesty hears that?" said the Grand Duke, and I saw the Emperorwas greatly impressed and looked at me doubtingly.
I could not speak then, but I had sense enough left to understand myperil; and during the short journey I was thinking busily.
All the time the Emperor was in close consultation with the Grand Duke,and it was easy to see that poison was being poured into the Imperialear to prejudice me. But I could do nothing until my wounds had beenproperly dressed and the power to speak freely restored. At present Icould not utter a word without bringing the blood into my mouth: and Ilay chafing and fretting and fevering myself, as I watched what I readto be the conviction of my treachery stealing over the face of the Czar.
I knew his character well enough to appreciate my danger fully. Theone subject on which his mind was warped and morbid in itssensitiveness was the fear of assassination: and under its influence hewould believe almost anything that was told to him. The personalinfluence of the Grand Duke was, moreover, enormous.
As we were nearing the little station where the change of trains was tobe made, the Emperor crossed the saloon and spoke to me.
"Lieutenant Petrovitch, can you hear me?"
I looked at him and tried to raise my bandaged, mangled hand to thesalute, but could not.
"Don't move," he said, hastily, seeing the attempt. "The charges madeagainst you are of the most terrible kind and there certainly seems tobe much more ground than I at first thought. But my own eyes saw whatyou did, and you will have the fullest opportunity of explainingeverything. For the time you are under arrest, necessarily; but itwill be my personal charge to see that everything is done for you thatsurgical skill can do. A few hours and proper treatment will, I hope,render you able to give the necessary explanation, and in the mean timeyou will see no one but the doctors. I myself shall then see andquestion you."
He was turning to leave me then, when I made a sign that I wished toanswer, and he bent forward to listen.
"Your Majesty will have a care," cried the Grand Duke, who had heardand watched everything closely.
"Do you think the man breathes poison that I should be afraid of him,maimed and bleeding and helpless as he is?" was the reply.
I made a great effort to speak, but it nearly killed me, and with allmy struggle I could get only a word at a time, and that with tremendousdifficulty.
"Your--Majesty--keep--my--men--watching--line--where--I--stood--by--alder--trees."
"It shall be done," he said; and I saw him exchange looks with theGrand Duke and then shrug his shoulders and lift his eyebrows as heleft the saloon.
Directly he had left, the doctors came round me, and I resigned myselfcheerfully and completely into their hands. But the Czar had given methe tonic that had done more than all the doctor's efforts to pull meround quickly. I was to have a private audience; and it would not bemy fault, if I did not win my way to freedom and Olga.
Some three or four hours after the Czar had left me I was moved on toMoscow in the saloon where I lay; and my reception there was mostmingled. Some garbled accounts of the attempt on the Emperor's lifehad got about, and when I was carried from the saloon and placed in aState carriage and then driven away in the midst of a large militaryescort, the people were at a loss to know who I was, and whether I wasa Nihilist to be hooted or a hero to be cheered. They were in a noisymood that day, and did both therefore, until the party neared thePalace and it was clear I was being taken there. This decided that Imust be a hero and the hooting ceased and the cheering shouts rang outwith a deafening roar.
I was glad to be done with that part of the business. I knew well thatthe same throats that had been stretched in shouts of acclamation werequite as ready to be strained in yelling for my death. The populacewanted an excuse for a noise; and it was all one to them, so far aspersonal gratification went, whether they yelled in a man's honour, orroared for his death.
The day's round of festivities was a particularly full one for theEmperor, and it was many hours before he could possibly be at liberty;but every hour added to my strength. The doctors soon ascertained thatthe wound in the neck was not a very dangerous one, though it had beena ghastly one enough to look upon. The thrust had been within an aceof killing me; but the man's weapon had missed the arteries and thevertebrae, though it had sliced an ugly wound in the windpipe, havinglet the blood into it, and thus nearly choked me. My hands were badlycut, very badly mangled indeed; and the doctors thought more seriouslyof them than of the wound in the neck, so far as after-consequenceswere concerned. But they soon patched me up sufficiently to enable meto speak if necessary.
With this knowledge I awaited the Emperor's coming with such patienceas I could command.
It was past midnight before he came; and then only to ask as to mycondition. He seemed pleased that I was so much better: and closelyquestioned the doctor who had remained in constant attendance on me asto the exact nature of my wounds and when I should be able to undertakethe fatigue of a long conversation. I might do it at once with care,was the doctor's report; but it would be better after a night's rest.
"Then it shall be to-morrow evening. Certain matters have yet to beinvestigated," said the Czar, turning to me, "and you will have fullopportunity of answering all that may be said." His manner had ceasedto shew the kindliness I thought I had detected in the earlierquestions about my condition, and I judged that his mind had receivedfurther prejudice against me.
I felt that delay was dangerous to me; but I could not help myself. Isaid I should prefer to answer all his questions at once and tell himall I had to say; but he turned from me somewhat peremptorily with ashort reply that he had made his decision. And with that he left theroom.
I augured ill from the Emperor's demeanour; but as any change in himwould only increase my need for the greatest possible amount ofstrength, I thrust all my troubles resolutely out of my thoughts andwent to sleep. I slept into the next day when the doctor's report wasaltogether favourable. My head, too, was clear and my wits vigorousfor the ordeal that was in store for me.
In the morning, the Emperor sent to inquire my condition, instead ofcoming in person, and I interpreted this as a sign that the thermometerof favour was still going down.
When he came in the evening the Grand Duke was with him, and I saw bythe expression of the latter's face that he at any rate wasanticipating a triumph and my downfall.
"Now, Lieutenant, you are well enough to answer questions, tell thetruth. I warn you it must be the whole truth; for I have had manysurprising facts brought to my knowledge, and all your answers can beat once tested--and will be."
"Your Majesty, I pledge myself to answer every question. But before Ido that there is one communication I should like to make to yourselfalone."
"You can make any st
atement you like afterwards. Now, tell me, are youa Nihilist?"
"I am not," I answered firmly.
"Well, what have been--Stay, you acted bravely yesterday, you arecharged with this: that you are and have been a Nihilist for years andthat your sister is one also; that you were concerned twelve months agoin the attack upon the Governor of Moscow; that before and since thenyou have been in constant communication with the Nihilist leaders; thatwith your own hand you assassinated Christian Tueski, after havingyourself volunteered for the work; that you proposed the plot which bythe mercy of God failed yesterday; that you were privy to the wholematter and went out to assist in the deadly work."
"Who are my accusers, Sire?"
"It is the accusation, not the accuser you have to answer," replied theEmperor, sternly. "You are to answer, not question."
"I have a complete answer, which happily I can support with ampleproof. Until less than two months ago, I had never exchanged a wordwith a Nihilist..."
"He is a liar," burst out the Grand Duke, vehemently.
A hot answer rose to my lips, but I checked it.
"Then, Sire, a band of them set upon me in the street and would haveassassinated me, had I not beaten them off with my sword. One of themI took prisoner to my rooms, and from him I learnt that I was supposedto have...."
"Supposed!" exclaimed the Grand Duke.
"Supposed to have incurred their wrath. They had sentenced me todeath, it appeared, and that was the first attempt at my execution. Ithen took a course which I am well aware will seem peculiar. I went toa meeting at which the death of Christian Tueski was resolved, and Iwas selected to kill him."
"You confess this?" cried the Emperor, harshly. "You, my officer?"
"Sire, I beg your patience. I did this because I did not think Ishould be in Russia many hours; and because I thought I could gain thetime I needed by pretending to be at the head of the conspiracy. Notfor a moment did I intend to lay a finger on him. I am no assassin."
"But he was assassinated by you Nihilists," cried the Emperor, withbitter indignation. "The whole land has rung with the news."
"The man is a madman, or takes us for fools," said the Grand Duke.
"I am as innocent of his death, Sire, as a child, except, I fear,indirectly. He died by the hand of his wife, whom on the very day ofhis death I had warned of the plot to kill him."
"Your proofs, man, your proofs," cried the Emperor impatiently.
"That most unfortunate woman had been under the impression that therehad been an intrigue between myself and her and...."
"Half Moscow knew of it," interrupted the Duke.
"Until less than two months ago, I had never seen her in all my life,"I returned. "She thought by this deed to coil such a web round me thatI could not escape from marrying her. Had I wished to kill the man, Ihad ample opportunity on the very afternoon of the day he was murdered,for I was closeted alone with him for two hours. He, too, had set hisbullies on to me and I went to settle things with him and to getpermits to leave the country for myself and Olga Petrovitch. I gotthem, and that night his wife thrust into his heart a dagger shebelieved was mine, added the Nihilist motto, and then hid the sheath,with the name 'Alexis Petrovitch' on it, intending to use it as a meansto force me to marry her under the threat of charging me with thecrime."
"Your repute does not belie you," growled the Duke. "You're the mostcallous dare-devil I ever heard of to tell a tale of that kind. Tochoose a woman's petticoats!"
The Emperor turned to him and held up a hand in protest.
"In that way I got the credit for that crime; and I was then approachedabout the attempt of yesterday."
"Ah!" The Emperor drew in a sharp breath.
"I listened to what was said, believing still that I should be out ofthe country before the time, and intending in any event to make thesuccess of the scheme impossible. A series of extraordinary eventsprevented my leaving, and when more details were told me, I saw theremust be someone in the matter very near your Majesty's throne. Ithought I could perhaps discover who that was and thus, by remaining,serve your Majesty most effectively. I think I know now who it is, orat least have the means of obtaining proof. Up to nine o'clockyesterday morning the pivot on which everything was to turn was yetunsettled. A part was assigned to me days ago, on the understandingthat certain military duties would be confided to me; that a change inthe whole plans would be made at the very last moment; that all thecommands would be altered; and that I should find myself in charge of acertain section of the line. I was told this in general terms morethan a week ago; and everything was confirmed to me in detail on Sundaymorning--twenty-four hours before the change was announced by theColonel of the regiment."
"'Fore God, Sir, what are you saying?" cried the Emperor in a loudvoice. He had turned white and was pressing his hand to his foreheadwith every sign of great agitation. "Do you hear this?" he asked theman who had been so loud in accusing me, and who himself was nowfighting hard for self-possession.
I had struck home indeed.
A dead silence followed, lasting more than a minute; and to give itfull weight I affected to be unable to speak.
"I'm not surprised such a tale overcomes him in the telling. It iswild enough to listen to, let alone to invent," said the Grand Duke,recovering himself with a sneer.
"Proceed, when you can, Lieutenant," said the Emperor, shortly.
"I have nearly finished, Sire," I answered weakly. "But there is onepoint where I can give you the highest corroboration of the key to allthis seeming mystery. Will your Majesty send for Prince Bilbassoff?"
The Duke started as I mentioned the name and glanced keenly at me as itseemed to me in much discomposure.
"I was told, Sire," I resumed, when the Emperor had complied with myrequest. "That there was one, or at most two persons beside yourMajesty who knew the real order of matters for yesterday; and that itwas from that one, or from one of those two persons, that theinformation was given to the Nihilists which formed the basis of thisplot. I did not believe it possible, Sire, and I did not thinktherefore that any attempt could be made. But yesterday morning to myintense astonishment, I found myself appointed to command exactly thesection of the line of which I had been told by the Nihilists, manyhours, indeed days in advance."
The consternation of both my hearers as I dwelt on this was so greatthat I emphasized it; and I saw then that I could safely slur over theonly point that I really feared in the whole story--the episode of thefive men whom I had posted in accordance with the Nihilist orders.
I had struck such a blow at the Grand Duke that he said no more; and hewas much more busy thinking of how to defend himself than of how toaccuse me.
I next told of the secret mechanism; how I had seen it work; how itproved that the operator must have had exact knowledge of the train inwhich the Emperor would travel, and then how I had sprung on the lineto stop the train. I left my actions after that to speak forthemselves.
The impression created by my story was profound; due of course to theterrible and daring accusation I had levelled at the man who hadaccused me.
The Emperor remained wrapped in deep thought; and in the silence thatfollowed, Prince Bilbassoff entered. I could tell by the quick glancehe gave round the room and particularly at me, that he did not at alllike the look of matters. He had heard something of the facts aboutme, and I believe he thought I had perhaps denounced him in the matterof the proposed duel with the Grand Duke.
"Lieutenant Petrovitch has asked for you to be present, Prince, tosupport some part of the explanation he has given of certain chargesbrought against him."
"As your Majesty pleases," replied the Prince bowing.
The Emperor resumed his attitude of intense thought, and then aftersome moments, he regarded me with a heavy frown and said very sternlyand harshly:
"The story you tell is incredible, sir. It is a mass ofcontradictions. You say the Nihilists attempted to kill you, havingdecreed your death;
and yet that you had never spoken to one until thenight of the attempt. You say this woman whom you accuse of the murderof her husband did this horrible deed for your sake as the result of anintrigue--and yet that you had never seen her until almost the veryhour when she sinned thus for your sake. You say that you listened tothese Nihilist intrigues in the belief that you would be out of thecountry--yet you hold and have held for years a commission in my army.It is monstrous, incredible, impossible."
"There is another contradiction which your Majesty has forgotten," saidI daringly. "That I, being as my enemies tell your Majesty, a Nihilistof the Nihilists and a leader among them, should yet have slain threeof them with my own hand in defence of your Majesty's life and haveturned the sword of the fourth into my own body. As your Majesty saidyesterday, traitors of that kind should rather be welcome. But if yourMajesty thinks that that is an additional proof of my guilt, my life isat your service still."
He looked at me as if in doubt whether to rebuke me for this daringpresumption, or to admit his own doubt. But I did not give him time tospeak.
"I have deceived your Majesty, however, though I wished to speak openlyat the outset. I told you there was a key to all this of a mostextraordinary fashion. There is; and I throw myself humbly on yourmercy, Sire. The tales you have been told about me are all true to apoint, and false afterwards. To a point all these horrible chargesagainst Alexis Petrovitch are true; but what I have told you is truealso. The key is--that I have only been Alexis Petrovitch for sevenweeks. I am not a Russian, Sire, but an Englishman; and PrinceBilbassoff here has within the last few hours had proof of this."
"An Englishman!" exclaimed the Czar, in a tone that revealed hiscomplete bewilderment. "I don't understand."
"I wish to tell your Majesty everything," and then I told him almosteverything as I have set it down here.
As I told the story, ending with my wish to be allowed to leave thecountry at once, I saw his interest deepening and quickening, andperceived that he was coming round to my side. He listened withscarcely a break or interruption, and at the close remained thinkingmost earnestly.
"What confirmation have you, Prince?"
Prince Bilbassoff was so relieved to find that I had said nothingindiscreet about him that he spoke in the strongest way for me.
"I know much of this to be true, your Majesty. I have had telegramsfrom England confirming Mr. Tregethner's story; and there is now inMoscow a certain Hon. Rupert Balestier, who has been making the mostenergetic inquiries for him; and--the weirdest of all--the wretchedwoman, Paula Tueski, has killed herself and left a confession of hercrime."
The Emperor's decision was taken at once.
"I owe you deep reparation, Mr. Tregethner. I ought to have trusted myinstinct and my eyesight, and have known that no man would have donewhat you did yesterday to save my life, and be anything but my firmfriend. May God never send Russia or me a greater enemy than you. Mayyou never lack as firm a friend as I will be to you. God bless you!"
My heart was too full for speech, and I could only falter out the words:
"I would die for your Majesty."
"You will do better than that--you will live for me; and when you arewell, we will speak of your future."
With that he turned to leave the room and said to the Grand Duke, whowas quite broken and unstrung:--
"Now, we will find that strange leakage."
As soon as they had left, Prince Bilbassoff questioned me closely, andwhen he heard about the accusation I had by inference brought againstthe man who had tried to ruin me and had so nearly succeeded, wordscould not express his delight.