XVIII. THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT
Lorry's cell was as comfortable as a cell could be made through theefforts of a kindly jailer and a sympathetic chief of police. It was notlocated in the dungeon, but high in the tower, a little rock-bound room,with a single barred window far above the floor. There was a bed ofiron upon which had been placed a clean mattress, and there was a littlechair. The next day after his arrest a comfortable arm chair replacedthe latter; a table, a lamp, some books, flowers, a bottle of wine andsome fruit found their way to his lonely apartment--whoever may havesent them. Harry Anguish was admitted to the cell during the afternoon.He promptly and truthfully denied all interest in the donations, butsmiled wisely.
He reported that most of the Axphain contingent was still in town;a portion had hurried home, carrying the news to the old Prince,instructed by the aggressive Mizrox to fetch him forthwith to Edelweiss,where his august presence was necessary before the twenty-sixth.Those who remained in the Graustark capital were quiet but still in athreatening mood. The Princess, so Harry informed the prisoner, sentsincere expressions of sympathy and the hope that all would end wellwith him. Count Halfont, the Countess, Gaspon and many others had askedto be remembered. The prisoner smiled wearily and promised that theyshould not be forgotten in a week--which was as far as he expected hismemory to extend.
Late in the evening, as he was lying on his bed, staring at the shadowyceiling and puzzling his brain with most oppressive uncertainties, therattle of keys in the lock announced the approach of visitors. The doorswung open and through the grate he saw Dangloss and Quinnox. The latterwore a long military rain coat and had just come in from a drenchingdownpour. Lorry's reverie had been so deep that he had not heard thethunder nor the howling of the winds. Springing to his feet he advancedquickly to the grated door.
"Captain Quinnox brings a private message from the Princess," said theChief, the words scarcely more than whispered. It was plain that themessage was important and of a secret nature. Quinnox looked up and downthe corridor and stairway before thrusting the tiny note through thebars. It was grasped eagerly and trembling fingers broke the seal.Bending near the light he read the lines, his vision blurred, his heartthrobbing so fiercely that the blood seemed to be drowning out othersounds for all time to come. In the dim corridor stood the two men,watching him with bated breath and guilty, quaking nerves.
"Oh!" gasped Lorry, kissing the missive insanely as his greedy eyescareened through the last line. There was no signature, but in everyword he saw her face, felt the touch of her dear hand, heard her timidheart beating for him-for him alone. Rapture thrilled him from head tofoot, the delirious rapture of love. He could not speak, so overpoweringwas the joy, the surprise, the awakening.
"Obey!" whispered Quinnox, his face aglow with pleasure, his fingerquivering as he pointed commandingly toward the letter.
"Obey what!" asked Lorry, dully.
"The last line!"
He hastily reread the last line and then deliberately held the preciousmissive over the lamp until it ignited. He would have given all hepossessed to have preserved it. But the last line commanded: "Burn thisat once and in the presence of the bearer."
"There!" he said, regretfully, as he crumpled the charred remnantsbetween his fingers and turned to the silent watchers.
"Her crime goes up in smoke," muttered Dangloss, sententiously.
"The Princess commits no crime," retorted Quinnox, angrily, "when shetrusts four honest men."
"Where is she?" whispered the prisoner, with thrumming ears.
"Where all good women should be at nine o'clock--in bed," repliedDangloss, shortly. "But will you obey her command?"
"So she commands me to escape!" said Lorry, smiling. "I dare not disobeymy sovereign, I suppose."
"We obey her because we love her," said the captain of the guard.
"And for that reason, I also obey. But can this thing be accomplishedwithout necessitating explanations and possible complications? I willnot obey if it is likely to place her in an embarrassing position."
"She understands perfectly what she is doing, sir. In the first place,she has had my advice," said Dangloss, the good old betrayer of anofficial trust.
"You advised her to command you to allow me to escape?"
"She commanded first, and then I advised her how to command you. Axphainmay declare war a thousand times over, but you will be safe. That's allwe--I mean, all she wants."
"But I cannot desert my friend. How is he to know where I've gone? Willnot vengeance fall on him instead?"
"He shall know everything when the proper time comes. And now, willyou be ready at the hour mentioned. You have but to follow theinstructions--I should say, the commands of the writer."
"And be free! Tell her that I worship her for this. Tell her that everydrop of blood in my body belongs to her. She offers me freedom, butmakes me her slave for life. Yes, I shall be ready. If I do not see youagain, good friends, remember that I love you because you love her andbecause she loves you enough to entrust a most dangerous secret to yourkeeping,--the commission of an act that may mean the downfall of yournation." He shook hands with them fervently.
"It cannot be that, sir. It may cost the lives of three of her subjects,but no man save yourself can involve the Princess or the Crown. They maykill us, but they cannot force us to betray her. I trust you will beas loyal to the good girl who wears a crown, not upon her heart," saidDangloss, earnestly.
"I have said my life is hers, gentlemen," said Lorry, simply. "God, ifI could but throw myself at her feet! I must see her before I go. I willnot go without telling her what is in my heart!" he added, passionately.
"You must obey the commands implicitly, on your word of honor, or thetransaction ends now," said Quinnox, firmly.
"This escape means, then, that I am not to see her again," he said, hisvoice choking with emotion.
"Her instructions are that you are to go tonight, at once," saidDangloss, and the black-eyed soldier nodded confirmation.
The prisoner paced the floor of his cell, his mind a jumble ofconflicting emotions. His clenched hands, twitching lips and half-closedeyes betrayed the battle that was inflicting him with its carnage.Suddenly he darted to the door, crying:
"Then I refuse to obey! Tell her that if she permits me to leave thishole I shall be at her feet before another night has passed. Say to herthat I refuse to go from Graustark until I have seen her and talked withher. You, Quinnox, go to her now and tell her this, and say to her alsothat there is something she must hear from my own lips. Then Iwill leave Graustark and not till then, even though death be thealternative." The two men stared at him in amazement and consternation.
"You will not escape?" gasped Quinnox.
"I will not be dragged away without seeing her," he answered,resolutely, throwing himself on the bed.
"Damned young ass!" growled Dangloss. The soldier's teeth grated.A moment later the slab door closed softly, a key rattled, and hisvisitors were gone--messengers bearing to him the most positive proof ofdevotion that man could exact. What had she offered to do for hissake? She had planned his escape, had sanctioned the commission of anunparalleled outrage against the laws of her land--she, of all women, aPrincess! But she also had sought to banish him from the shrine at whichhis very soul worshiped, a fate more cruel and unendurable than the oneshe would have saved him from.
He looked at his hands and saw the black stains from the charred letter,last evidence of the crime against the state. A tender light came tohis eyes, a great lump struggled to his throat, and he kissed the sootyspots, murmuring her name again and again. How lonely he was! how coldand cheerless his cage! For the first time he began to appreciate thereal seriousness of his position. Up to this time he had regardedit optimistically, confident of vindication and acquittal. His onlyobjection to imprisonment grew out of annoyance and the mere deprivationof liberty. It had not entered his head that he was actually facingdeath at close range. Of course, it had been plain to him that thecharge
s were serious, and that he was awkwardly situated, but the trueenormity of his peril did not dawn upon him until freedom was offered insuch a remarkable manner. He grew cold and shuddered instinctively as herealized that his position was so critical that the princess had deemedit necessary to resort to strategic measures in order to save him fromimpending doom. Starting to his feet he paced the floor, nervousnessturning to dread, dread to terror. He pounded on the door and criedaloud. Oh, if he could but bring back those kindly messengers!
Exhausted, torn by conflicting emotions, he at last dropped to the bedand buried his face in his arms, nearly mad with the sudden solitude ofdespair. He recalled her dear letter--the tender, helping hand thathad been stretched out to lift him from the depths into which he wassinking. She had written--he could see the words plainly--that hisdanger was great; she could not endure life until she knew him to besafely outside the bounds of Graustark. His life was dear to her, andshe would preserve it by dishonoring her trust. Then she had unfoldedher plan of escape, disjointedly, guiltily, hopelessly. In one placenear the end, she wrote: "You have done much more for me than you know,so I pray that God may be good enough to let me repay you so far asit lies within my power to do so." In another place she said: "You maytrust my accomplices, for they love me, too." An admission unconsciouslymade, that word "too."
But she was offering him freedom only to send him away without grantingone moment of joy in her presence. After all, with death staring himin the face, the practically convicted murderer of a prince, he knew hecould not have gone without seeing her. He had been ungrateful, perhaps,but the message he had sent to her was from his heart, and somethingtold him that it would give her pleasure.
A key turned suddenly in the lock, and his heart bounded with thehope that it might be some one with her surrender in response to hisultimatum. He sat upright and rubbed his swollen eyes. The doorswung open, and a tall prison guard peered in upon him, a sharpeyed,low-browed fellow in rain coat and helmet. His lantern's single unkindeye was turned menacingly toward the bed.
"What do you want?" demanded the prisoner, irritably.
Instead of answering, the guard proceeded to unlock the second orgrated door, stepping inside the cell a moment later. Smothering anexclamation, Lorry jerked out his watch and then sprang to his feet,intensely excited. It was just twelve o'clock, and he remembered nowthat she had said a guard would come to him at that hour. Was this theman? Was the plan to be carried out?
The two men stood staring at each other for a moment or two, one in theagony of doubt and suspense, the other quizzically. A smile flitted overthe face of the guard; he calmly advanced to the table, putting downhis lantern. Then he drew off his rain coat and helmet and placed in theother's hand a gray envelope. Lorry reeled and would have fallen but forthe wall against which he staggered. A note from her was in his hand.He tore open the envelope and drew forth the letter. As he read he grewstrangely calm and contented; a blissful repose rushed in to supplantthe racking unrest of a moment before; the shadows fled and life's lightwas burning brightly once more. She had written:
"I entreat you to follow instructions and go to-night. You say you willnot leave Graustark until you have seen me. How rash you are to refuseliberty and life for such a trifle. But why, I ask, am I offering youthis chance to escape? Is it because I do not hope to see you again?Is it not enough that I am begging, imploring you to go? I can say nomore."
He folded the brief note, written in agitation, and, after kissing it,proceeded to place it in his pocket, determined to keep it to thelast hour of his life. Glancing up at a sound from the guard, he foundhimself looking into the muzzle of a revolver. A deep scowl overspreadthe face of the man as he pointed to the letter and then to the lamp.There was no mistaking his meaning. Lorry reluctantly held the note overthe flame and saw it crumble away as had its predecessor. There was tobe no proof of her complicity left behind. He knew it would be folly tooffer a bribe to the loyal guard.
After this very significant act the guard's face cleared, and hedeposited his big revolver on the table. Stepping to the cell's entrancehe listened intently, then softly closed the heavy iron doors. Withouta word he began to strip off his uniform, Lorry watching him as iffascinated. The fellow looked up impatiently and motioned for him to bequick, taking it for granted that the prisoner understood his part ofthe transaction. Awakened by this sharp reminder, Lorry nervously beganto remove his own clothes. In five minutes his garments were scatteredover the floor and he was attired in the uniform of a guard. Not a wordhad been spoken. The prisoner was the guard, the guard a prisoner.
"Are you not afraid this will cost you your life?" asked Lorry, firstin English, then in German. The guard merely shook his head, indicatingthat he could not understand.
He quickly turned to the bed, seized a sheet and tore it into strips,impatiently thrusting them into the other's hands. The first letter hadforetold all this, and the prisoner knew what was expected of him. Hetherefore securely bound the guard's legs and arms. With a grim smilethe captive nodded his head toward the revolver, the lantern and thekeys. His obliging prisoner secured them, as well as his own personaleffects, and was ready to depart. According to instructions he was togo forth, locking the doors behind him, leaving the man to be discoveredthe next morning by surprised keepers. It struck him that there wassomething absurd in this part of the plan. How was this guard to explainhis position with absolutely no sign of a struggle to bear him out?It was hardly plausible that a big, strong fellow could be so easilyoverpowered single-handed; there was something wretchedly incongruousabout the--but there came a startling and effective end to allcriticism.
The guard, bound as he was, suddenly turned and lunged head-foremostagainst the sharp bedpost. His head struck with a thud, and he rolledto the floor as if dead. Uttering an exclamation of horror, Lorry ran tohis side. Blood was gushing from a long gash across his head, and he wasalready unconscious. Sickened by the brave sacrifice, he picked the manup and placed him on the bed.
A hasty examination proved that it was no more than a scalp wound, andthat death was too remote to be feared. The guard had done his partnobly, and it was now the prisoner's turn to act as resolutely and asunflinchingly. Sorry to leave the poor fellow in what seemed an inhumanmanner, he strode into the corridor, closed and locked the doorsclumsily, and began the descent of the stairs. He had been instructed toact unhesitatingly, as the slightest show of nervousness would result indiscovery.
With the helmet well down over his face and the cape well up, hesteadily, even noisily made his way to the next floor below. There wereprisoners on this floor, while he had been the only occupant of thefloor above. Straight ahead he went, flashing his lantern here andthere, passing down another stairway and into the main corridor. Here hemet a guard who had just come in from the outside. The man addressed himin the language of the country, and his heart almost stopped beating.How was he to answer? Mumbling something almost inaudible, he hurried onto the ground floor, trembling with fear lest the man should call to himto halt. He was relieved to find, in the end, that his progress was notto be impeded. In another moment he was boldly unlocking the door thatled to the visitors' hall. Then came the door to the warden's office.Here he found three sleepy guards, none of whom paid any attention tohim as he passed through and entered Captain Dangloss' private room. Thegruff old Captain sat at a desk, writing. The escaping man half pausedas if to speak to him. A sharp cough from the Captain and a significantjerk of the head told him that there must be no delay, no words.Opening the door he stepped out into a storm so fierce and wild that heshuddered apprehensively.
"A fitting night!" he muttered, as he plunged into the driving rain,forcing his way across the court-yard toward the main gate. The littlelight in the gate-keeper's window was his guide, so, blinded by thetorrents, blown by the winds, he soon found himself before the finalbarrier. Peering through the window he saw the keeper dozing in hischair. By the light from within he selected from the bunch of keys hecarried one that had a w
hite string knotted in its ring. This was thekey that was to open the big gate in case no one challenged him. In anyother case he was to give the countersign, "Dangloss," and trust fortuneto pass him through without question.
Luck was with him, and, finding the great lock, he softly inserted andturned the key. The wind blew the heavy gate open violently, and itrequired all of his strength to keep it from banging against the wallbeyond. The most difficult task that he had encountered grew from hisefforts to close the gate against the blast. He was about to give up indespair when a hand was laid on his shoulder and some one hissed in hisstartled ear:
"Sh! Not a word!"
His legs almost went from under his body, so great was the shock andthe fear. Two strong hands joined his own in the effort to pull the doorinto position, and he knew at once that they belonged to the man whowas to meet him on the corner at the right of the prison wall. Heundoubtedly had tired of the delay, and, feeling secure in the darknessof the storm, had come to meet his charge, the escaping prisoner. Theirunited efforts brought about the desired result, and together they leftthe prison behind, striking out against the storm in all its fury.
"You are late," called the stranger in his ear.
"Not too late, am I?" he cried back, clutching the other's arm.
"No, but we must hasten."
"Captain Quinnox, is it you?"
"Have a care! The storm has ears and can hear names," cautioned theother. As rapidly as possible they made their way along the blackstreet, almost a river with its sheet of water. Lorry had lost hisbearings, and knew not whither he went, trusting to the guidance of hisstruggling companion. There seemed to be no end to their journey, and hewas growing weak beneath the exertion and the excitement.
"How far do we go?" he cried, at last.
"But a few rods. The carriage is at the next corner."
"Where is the carriage to take me?" he demanded.
"I am not at liberty to say."
"Am I to see her before I go?"
"That is something I cannot answer, sir. My instructions are to placeyou in the carriage and ride beside the driver until our destination isreached."
"Is it the castle?" cried the other, joyously.
"It is not the castle," was the disappointing answer.
At that moment they came upon a great dark hulk and heard the stampingof horses' hoofs close at hand. It was so dark they could scarcelydiscern the shape of the carriage, although they could touch its sidewith their hands.
A soldier stood in the shelter of the vehicle and opened the door forthe American.
"Hurry! Get in!" exclaimed Quinnox.
"I wish to know if this is liable to get her into trouble," demandedLorry, pausing with one foot on the steps.
"Get in!" commanded the soldier who was holding the door, pushing himforward uneasily. He floundered into the carriage where all was dry andclean. In his hand he still carried the keys and the lantern, the slideof which he had closed before leaving the prison yard. He could not see,but he knew that the trappings of the vehicle were superior. Outside heheard the soldier, who was preparing to enter, say:
"This carriage travels on most urgent business for Her Royal Highness,captain. It is not to be stopped."
A moment later he was inside and the door slammed. The carriage rockedas Quinnox swung up beside the driver.
"You may as well be comfortable," said Lorry's companion, as he satrigid and restless. "We have a long and rough ride before us."