the door; it trembled and creaked, but didnot yield; he moved farther back, drew his breath hard, and,--strongas a bull,--went at it with a furious rush; the lock gave way, thedoor flew open and Joachim sprawled upon the floor. I could seeEstella standing back near the window, her right arm was raised, andI caught the glitter of something in her hand. In an instant Joachimwas on his feet and approached her; I saw him grasp her; there was aslight scuffle, and the next moment Joachim rushed out of the room,pale as death, with his hand to his breast, crying out:
"'Oh! my God! she has stabbed me.'
"He tore open his shirt bosom, and there upon his hairy breast was abloody spot; but the knife had struck the breastbone and inflictedonly a shallow flesh-wound. Joachim laughed, replaced his shirt, andsaid:
"'Ah! I might have known a girl's hand could not strike a deadlyblow. I will bring her out, my lord. Get me a rope.'
"He turned toward me, as he spoke; but on the instant I saw a sharpspasm contract his features; he clapped his hand to his heart; a lookof surprise and then of terror came over his face.
"'Oh, my God!' he cried, 'I am poisoned.'
"The most awful shrieks I ever heard broke from him; and the nextmoment his limbs seemed to lose their strength, and he fell in a heapon the floor; then he rolled over and over; mighty convulsions sweptthrough him; he groaned, cried, shrieked, foamed at the mouth; therewas a sudden snorting sound, and he stiffened out and was dead.
"We fell back appalled. Then in the doorway appeared the figure ofEstella, her blue eyes bright as stars, her long golden hair fallinglike a cloak to her waist, the red-tipped knife in her hand; shelooked like a Gothic priestess--a Vala of Odin--with the reekinghuman sacrifice already at her feet. The blood of a long line ofheroic ancestors thrilled in her veins. Stepping over the dead body,already beginning to swell and grow spotted with many colors, like asnake, she advanced toward the Prince, who stood in hisdressing-gown, trembling, and nearly as bloated, pale and hideous asthe wretched Joachim.
"'Is it you,' she said--'you, the dealer in human flesh and blood,that has bought me? Come to me, and take possession of yourbond-woman!'
"With a cry of terror the Prince turned his back and fled as fast ashis legs would carry him, while all the rest of us followedpell-mell. At the end of the hall is a large iron door, used forprotection in case of fire.
"'Quick,' shrieked the Prince, 'lock the door! lock the door!'
"This was done, and he stopped to pant and blow in safety. When hehad recovered his breath, he cried out:
"'Send for the police! We will have her chloroformed.'
"I touched Frederika on the arm;--she followed me into an open room.
"'Tell him,' I whispered to her, quickly, 'tell him that if he callsin the police there will have to be an inquest over the dead body ofJoachim; there may be questions asked that will be hard to answer.The girl will have to be taken off to be tried for murder, and hewill lose her. If he attempts to use chloroform she will stab herselfwith the poisoned knife. Tell him you will drug her food withnarcotics; that hunger will eventually compel her to eat; and thatwhen she sleeps she may be made a prisoner, and the knife taken awayfrom her.'
"The quick-witted girl saw the force of these suggestions, and ranafter her paramour. She succeeded in her mission. He fears the comingoutbreak, whispers of which are now heard everywhere. He has recalledthe order for the police. He stipulates, however--for he issuspicious of Frederika, and fears treachery--that he is to drug thefood himself and see it placed in the room; and he has stationed twotrusty guards at the door of Estella's chamber, who are to be changedevery eight hours, and who are instructed that, whenever they thinkshe is asleep, one of them is to notify him; and carpenters will thenquietly cut the door from its hinges, and they will enter, disarm herand make her a prisoner. Estella, I find, has barricaded her doorwith her bedstead and the rest of the furniture. If she sleeps shewill wake with any attempt to enter the room; but she is not likely,in her present state of high-wrought excitement, to sleep at all; andshe will not touch the drugged food sent in to her. I have arrangedwith Frederika, who has great authority in the house, that on Mondaynight the two watchmen shall be furnished with some refreshmentcontaining morphine; and when they are sound asleep, and the Princebusy with his guests, she or I will go to the room, carryingEstella's masculine disguise, and then bring her to my room, whereshe will join your friend.
"I do not think she is in any present danger. The poisoned knife isher safeguard. The whole household, after witnessing its terriblepotency, fear it as they would the fangs of a rattlesnake. It was alucky thought that left it with her.
"If your friend does not fail us, all will be well.
"Farewell.
28,263 M 2."
I need not tell you, my dear Heinrich, that we both followed thisnarrative with the most rapt attention and the most intense feeling.
"Brave girl!" I cried, when Maximilian stopped reading, "she is worthdying for." "Or living for," said he, "which is better still. How sherose to the occasion!"
"Yes," I said, "that was blood."
"There is as good stuff in the ranks," he replied, "as ever came outof them. The law of heredity is almost as unreliable as the law ofvariation. Everything rises out of the mud, and everything goes backinto it."
"Do you think," I asked, after a pause, "that she will be safe untilto-morrow night? Should I not go to her at once? Could I not seeRudolph and have her descend the rope-ladder, and I meet her andbring her here?"
"No," he replied, it is now too late for that; it is midnight. Youcan place full faith in Rudolph; his penetration and foresight areextraordinary. He will not sleep until Estella is out of that house;and his busy brain will be full of schemes in the meantime. The bestthing we can do now is to go to bed and prepare, by a good longsleep, for the excitements and dangers of to-morrow night. Do notfear for Estella. She has ceased to be a child. In an hour she hasrisen to the full majesty of her womanhood."
CHAPTER X.
PREPARATIONS FOR TO-NIGHT
The next morning I found Maximilian in conference with a stranger; aheavily-built, large-jawed, uncommunicative man. As I was about towithdraw my friend insisted that I should sit down.
"We have been making the necessary arrangements for next Mondaynight," he said. "The probabilities are great that we may be followedwhen we leave the house, and traced. It will not do to go, as Rudolphsuggested, to the residence of any friend, and pass through it toanother carriage. The Oligarchy would visit a terrible vengeance onthe head of the man who so helped us to escape. I have instructedthis gentleman to secure us, through an agent, three empty houses indifferent parts of the city, and he has done so; they stand in thecenter of blocks, and have rear exits, opening upon other streets oralleys, at right angles with the streets on which the houses stand.Then in these back streets he is to have covered carriages with thefleetest horses he can obtain. Our pursuers, thinking we are safelyhoused, may return to report our whereabouts to their masters.Estella being missed the next day, the police will visit the house,but they will find no one there to punish; nothing but curtains overthe windows."
"But," said I, "will they not follow the carriage that brought usthere, and thus identify its owner and driver, and force them to tellwho employed them?"
"Of course; I have thought of that, and provided for it. There aremembers of the Brotherhood who have been brought from other cities indisguise, and three of these will have another carriage, which,leaving the Prince's grounds soon after we do, will pursue ourpursuers. They will be well armed and equipped with hand-grenades ofdynamite. If they perceive that the spies cannot be shaken off, orthat they propose to follow any of our carriages to their stables, itwill be their duty to swiftly overtake the pursuers, and, as theypass them, fling the explosives under the horses' feet, disabling orkilling them. It will take the police some time to obtain otherhorses, and before they can do so, all traces of us will be lost. Ifnecessary, our frien
ds will not hesitate to blow up the spies as wellas the horses."
"But," I suggested, "will they not identify the man who rented thehouses?"
Maximilian laughed.
"Why," said he, "my dear Gabriel, you would make a conspiratoryourself. We will have to get you into the Brotherhood. We are tooold to be caught that way. The man who rented the houses has beenbrought here from a city hundreds of miles distant; he was thoroughlydisguised. As soon as he engaged the buildings, and paid one month'srent in advance for each, he left the city; and before to-morrownight he will be home again, and without his disguise; and he couldnever be suspected or identified as the same man. And," he added, "Ido not