VIII. THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS
That afternoon they went to the palace grounds and inquired for thechief steward. After a few moments they were shown to his office in asmall dwelling house just inside the gates. The steward was a red-facedlittle man, pleasant and accommodating. He could speak German--in fact,he was a German by birth--and they had no difficulty in presenting theirrequest. Mr. Fraasch--Jacob Fraasch--was at first dubious, but theirfrank, eager faces soon gained for them his consent to see that part ofthe great park open to the public. Beyond certain lines they were not totrespass. Anguish asked how they could be expected to distinguish theselines, being unacquainted, and the steward grimly informed them that themembers of the royal guard would establish the lines so plainly that itwould be quite clear.
He then wrote for them a pass to the grounds of the royal palace ofGraustark, affixing his seal. In giving this last to them he foundoccasion to say that the princess had instructed him to extend everycourtesy possible to an American citizen. It was then that Anguish askedif he might be permitted to use his camera. There was an instant andemphatic refusal, and they were told that the pass would be rescindedif they did not leave the camera outside the gates. Reluctantly Anguishdeposited his luckless box in the steward's office, and they passed intothe broad avenue which led towards the palace.
A guard, who served also as a guide, stepped to their side beforethey had taken ten paces. Where he came from they never knew, soinstantaneous was his appearance. He remained with them during the twohours spent in the wonderful park.
The palace stood in the northwestern part of the grounds, possibly ahalf mile from the base of the mountain. Its front faced the mountainside. The visitors were not permitted to go closer than a quarter of amile from the structure, but attained a position from which it couldbe seen in all its massive, ancient splendor. Anguish, who had studiedchurches and old structures, painted the castles on the Rhine, and wassomething of a connoisseur in architecture, was of the opinion thatit had been standing for more than five hundred years. It was a vast,mediaeval mass of stone, covered with moss and ivy, with towers, turretsand battlements. There had been a moat in bygone days, but modern ideashad transformed the waterway into solid, level ground. This they learnedafterwards. Broad avenues approached in several directions, the castlestanding at the far side of a wide circle or parade ground. The openspace before the balconies was fully three hundred yards square, and waspaved. From each side stretched the velvety green with its fountains,its trees, its arbors, its flowers, its grottos and its red-leggedsoldiers.
The park was probably a mile square, and was surrounded by a high wall,on the top of which were little guard-houses and several masked cannon.In all their travels the Americans had not seen a more delightful bit ofartifice, and they wandered about with a serene content that would haveappealed to anyone but their voiceless guide. He led them about theplace, allowing them to form their own conclusions, draw their owninferences and make their own calculations. His only acts were to salutethe guards who passed and to present arms when he had conducted hischarges to the edge of forbidden territory. When they had completedtheir tour of inspection their guide rapidly led the way to the wallthat encircled the grounds, reaching it at a point not far from thecastle itself. Here was situated another large gate, through which theydid not pass. Instead, they ascended some steps and came out upon thehigh wall. The top of this wall was several feet wide, and walking wascomparatively safe. They soon understood the guide's design. The objectwas to walk along this wall until they reached the main gate. Whythis peculiar course was to be taken they could not imagine at first.Anguish's fertile brain came to the rescue. He saw a number of women ina distant part of the grounds, and, remembering their guide's haste inconducting them to the wall, rightly conjectured that it was againstcustom for visitors to meet and gaze upon members of the royalhousehold. The men and women, none of whom could be plainlydistinguished from the far-away wall, were undoubtedly a part of thecastle's family, and were not to be subjected to the curious gaze ofsightseers. Perhaps Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Graustark, wasamong them.
They reached the main gate and descended, Anguish securing his camera,after which they thanked the steward and turned to fee the guide. But hehad disappeared as if the ground had swallowed him.
"Well, it's a fair Versailles," observed Anguish, as they walked downthe street, glancing back at the frowning wall.
"It all goes to make me wonder why in the name of heaven we have neverheard of this land of Graustark," said Lorry, still thinking of thecastle's grandeur.
"My boy, there are lots of things we don't know. We're too busy. Don'tyou remember that but one-half the world knows how the other half lives?I'll wager there are not twenty-five people in the United States whoknow there is such a country as Graustark."
"I don't believe that a single soul over there has heard of the place,"vouchsafed Lorry, very truthfully.
"I'll accept the amendment," said Anguish. Then he proceeded to take asnap-shot of the castle from the middle of the street. He also secureda number of views of the mountain side, of some odd little dwellinghouses, and two or three interesting exposures of red-robed children.Everybody, from the children up, wore loose robes, some red, some black,some blue, but all in solid colors. Beneath these robes were baggytrousers and blouses among the men, short skirts among the women. Allwore low boots and a sort of turban. These costumes, of course,were confined to the native civilians. At the hotel the garb of thearistocrats was vastly different. The women were gowned after the latestViennese patterns, and the men, except those of the army, woreclothes almost as smart as those which covered the Americans. MissGuggenslocker--or whatever her name might be--and her carriage companionwere as exquisitely gowned as any women to be seen on the boulevards orin Hyde Park of an afternoon.
It was late in the afternoon when they returned to the hotel. Afterdinner, during which they were again objects of interest, they strolledoff towards the castle, smoking their cigars and enjoying the gloriousair. Being a stranger in a strange land, Lorry acted on the romanticpainter's advice and also stuck a revolver in his pocket. He laughed atthe suggestion tha there might be use for the weapon in such a quiet,model, well-regulated town, but Anguish insisted:
"I've seen a lot of these fellows around town who look like genuinebrigands and cutthroats, and I think it just as well that we beprepared," asserted he, positively, and his friend gratified what hecalled a whim.
At ten o'clock the slender moon dropped behind the mountain, and thevalley, which had been touched with its tender light, gradually took onthe somberness and stillness of a star-lit night. The town slumbered ateleven, and there were few lights to be seen in the streets or in thehouses. Here and there strolled the white-uniformed police guards;occasionally soldiers hurried barracksward; now and then belatedcitizens moved through the dense shadows on the sidewalks, but theAmericans saw still life in its reality. Returning from their strollbeside the castle-walls, far to the west of where they had entered thegrounds that afternoon, they paused in the middle of Castle Avenue, nearthe main gate, and looked down the dark, deserted street. Far away couldbe seen the faint glare from their hotel; one or two street-lamps burnedin the business part of the city; aside from these evidences of lifethere was nothing but darkness, silence, peacefulness about themeverywhere.
"Think of Paris or New York at eleven o'clock," said Lorry, a trifleawed by the solitude of the sleeping city.
"It's as dead as a piece of prairie-land," said his friend. "'Gad, itmakes me sleepy to look down that street. It's a mile to the hotel, too,Lorry. We'd better move along."
"Let's lie down near the hedge, smoke another cigar and wait tillmidnight. It is too glorious a night to be lost in sleep," urged Lorry,whose heart was light over the joys of the day to come. "I can dreamjust as well here, looking at that dark old castle with its one littletower-light, as I could if I tried to sleep in a hard bed down at thehotel."
Anguish, who was more or less
of a dreamer himself, consented, and,after lighting fresh cigars, they threw themselves on the soft, drygrass near the tall hedge that fenced the avenue as it neared the castlegrounds. For half an hour they talked by fits and starts; long silenceswere common, broken only by brief phrases which seemed so to disturb theone to whom they were addressed that he answered gruffly and not atall politely. Their cigars, burnt to mere stubs, were thrown away,and still the waking dreamers stretched themselves in the almostimpenetrable shade of the hedge, one thinking of the face he had seen,the other picturing in his artist eye the painting he had vowed tocreate from the moon-lit castle of an hour ago.
"Some one coming," murmured the painter, half rising to his elbowattentively.
"Soldiers," said the other briefly. "They'll not disturb us."
"They'll not even see us, I should say. It's as dark as Egypt under thishedge. They'll pass if we keep quiet."
The figures of two men could be seen approaching from the city, dimand ghostly in the semi-blackness of the night. Like two thieves theAmericans waited for them to pass. To their exceeding discomfiture,however, the pedestrians halted directly in front of their restingplace and seated themselves leisurely upon a broad, flat stone at theroadside. It was too dark to see if they were soldiers, notwithstandingthe fact that they were less than fifteen feet away.
"He should be here at twelve," said one of the new comers in a lowvoice and in fairly good English. The other merely grunted. There was asilence of some duration, broken by the first speaker.
"If this job fails and you are caught it will mean years of servitude."
"But in that case we are to have ten thousand gavvos apiece for eachyear we lie in prison. It's fair pay--not only for our failure, butfor our silence," said the other, whose English was more difficult tounderstand.
Anguish's fingers gripped Lorry's leg, but there was no sound fromeither of the thoroughly aroused dreamers. "A plot, as I live," thoughteach, with a thrill.
"We must be careful to speak only in English. There are not twentypeople in Edelweiss who understand it, but the night has ears. It is theonly safe tongue. Geddos speaks it well. He should be here." It wasthe first speaker who uttered these words, little knowing that he hadlisteners other than the man to whom he spoke.
A dark figure shot across the roadway, and, almost before the Americanswere aware of it, the party numbered three.
"Ah, Geddos, you are punctual."
"I have found it ever a virtue." responded the newcomer.
"Have you secured your men?"
"I have, your--"
"Sh! Call me Michael, on your life! They are ready and willing toundertake the venture?"
"Yes, but they do not understand the true conditions. I have told themthat we are to rob the castle and carry the booty to Ganlook beforemorning."
"They do not know the real object of the raid, then. That is as Idesired. Are they trusty and experienced men?"
"The best--or the worst--that I could find in Vienna. Not oneunderstands our language, and they are so ignorant of our town thatthey are entirely dependent on me. They know nothing whatever of thePrincess, Michael, and will do only as they are told, realizing that ifcaught they will be guillotined. I have told them it is the royal palacewe are to rifle. Ostrom, here, and I are the only ones, except yourselfand the men who will aid us inside the castle, who know the truth, sir."
"It cannot fail, unless those inside prove false or unworthy," said thehoarse-voiced Ostrom. Anguish's fingers were gripping Lorry's leg sofiercely that the blood was ready to burst out, but he did not feelthe pain. Here, then, was some gigantic plot in which the person of thePrincess herself was to be considered. Was it an assassination?
"You have five of these Viennese?"
"Yes. Two to stand beneath the window to receive the booty as we lowerit to the ground, one to stand guard at the west gate and two to attendthe carriage and horses in the ravine beyond the castle."
"When did these men arrive?"
"This morning. I kept them in my sister's home until an hour ago.They are now in the ravine, awaiting Ostrom and myself. Are you sure,Michael, that the guards and the cook have been made to understand everydetail? The faintest slip will mean ruin."
"They are to be trusted fully. Their pay is to be high enough to makeit an object to be infallible. The guard, Dushan, will leave the gateunwatched, and you will chloroform him--with his consent, of course. Youwill enter, as I have explained before, crawl along in the dark shadowof the wall until you reach the arbor that leads to the kitchen andscullery. Here another guard, Rabbo--known to Ostrom as a comrade in HerRoyal Highness's service not more than a year ago--will be encountered.He will be bound and gagged without the least noise or struggle. Justas the clock strikes two the cook will walk past the scullery window, inthe basement, thrice, carrying a lighted candle. You will see this lightthrough the window, and will know that all is well inside the castle.Ostrom, you will then lead the two Viennese to a place directly beneaththe third window in the Princess's sleeping apartment. There are severalclumps of shrubbery there, and under these they will hide, protectedfrom the gaze of any watchman who is not with us. You and Geddos will beadmitted to the scullery by the cook, who will conduct you to the hallleading to Her Highness's bed-room. The man who guards her door iscalled Dannox. He will not be at his post, but will accompany you whenyou leave the castle. You will understand how carefully you must enterher room and how deeply she must be chloroformed. In the adjoining roomher lady-in-waiting, the Countess Dagmar, sleeps. If her door is ajar,you are to creep in and chloroform her, leaving her undisturbed. Thenthe Princess is to be wrapped in the cloth you take with you and loweredfrom the window to the men below. They are to remain in hiding untilyou have left the castle and have reached their side. It will not bedifficult, if caution is observed, for you to get outside of the walland to the carriage in the ravine. I have given you this plan of actionbefore, I know, but I desire to impress it firmly upon your minds. Theremust not be the slightest deviation. The precision of clock-work isnecessary."
The man named Michael hissed the foregoing into the ears of hiscompanions, the palsied Americans hearing every word distinctly. Theyscarcely breathed, so tremendous was the restraint imposed upon theirnerves. A crime so huge, so daring as the abduction of a Princess, theactual invasion of a castle to commit the theft of a human being just asan ordinary burglar would steal in and make way with the contents of asilver chest, was beyond their power of comprehension.
"We understand fully how it is to be done, and we shall get her toGanlook on time," said Geddos, confidently.
"Not a hair of her head must be harmed," cautioned the arch-conspirator."In four days I shall meet you at Ganlook. You will keep her in closeconfinement until you hear from me. Have you the guard's uniforms thatyou are to wear to-night?"
"They are with the carriage in the ravine; Ostrom and I will donthem before going to the castle. In case we are seen they will throwobservers off the track long enough for us to secure a good start in ourflight."
"Remember, there is to be no failure. This may mean death to you;certainly a long prison term if you are apprehended. I know it is adaring deed, but it is just of the kind that succeeds. Who would dreamthat mortal man could find the courage to steal a princess of therealm from her bed and spirit her away from under the very noses of hervaunted guardsmen? It is the bold, the impossible plan that wins."
"We cannot fail if your men on the inside do their work well,"said Geddos, repeating what Ostrom had said. "All depends on theirfaithfulness."
"They will not be found wanting. Your cut-throats must be sent on toCaias with the empty carriage after you have reached Ganlook in safety.You will need them no more. Ostrom will pay them, and they are to leavethe country as quickly as possible. At Caias they will be able to joina pack-train that will carry them to the Great Northern Railroad. Fromthere they will have no trouble in reaching Vienna. You will explain tothem, Geddos. All we need them for, as you know, is to prove by thei
rmere presence in case of capture that the attempt was no more than acase of burglary conceived by a band of Viennese robbers. There will beno danger of capture if you once get her outside the walls. You can behalf way to Ganlook before she is missed from the castle. Nor can she befound at Ganlook if you follow the instructions I gave last night. It isnow nearly one o'clock, and in half an hour the night will be as darkas Erebus. Go, men; you have no more time to lose, for this must beaccomplished slowly, carefully, deliberately. There must be no hasteuntil you are ready for the race to Ganlook. Go, but for God's sake, donot harm her! And do not fail!"
"Failure means more to us than to you, Michael," half whispered thehoarse Ostrom.
"Failure means everything to me! I must have her!"
Already the two hirelings were moving off toward the road that ranwest of the castle grounds. Michael watched them for a moment and thenstarted swiftly in the direction of the city. The watchers had not beenable to distinguish the faces of the conspirators, but they could neverforget the calm, cold voice of Michael, with its quaint, jerky English.
"What shall we do?" whispered Anguish when the men were out of hearing.
"God knows!" answered Lorry. "This is the most damnable thing I everheard of. Are we dreaming? Did we really see and hear those men?" He hadrisen to his feet, his companion sitting weakly before him.
"There's no question about it! It's a case of abduction, and we have itin our power to spoil the whole job. By Gad, but this is luck, Gren!"Anguish was quivering with excitement as he rose to his feet. "Shall wenotify old Dangloss or alarm the steward? There's no time to be lost ifwe want to trap these fellows. The chief devil is bound to escape, forwe can't get him and the others, too, and they won't peach on him. Come,we must be lively! What are you standing there for? Damn it, the trapmust be set!"
"Wait! Why not do the whole job ourselves?"
"How-what do you mean?"
"Why should we alarm anybody? We know the plans as well as thesescoundrels themselves. Why not follow them right into the castle,capture them red-handed, and then do the alarming? I'm in for saving thePrincess of Graustark with our own hands and right under the nosesof her vaunted guardsmen, as Michael says." Lorry was thrilled by thespirit of adventure. His hand gripped his friend's arm and his face wasclose to his ear. "It is the grandest opportunity two human beings everhad to distinguish themselves!"
"Great heaven, man! We can't do such a thing!" gasped Anguish.
"It's the easiest thing in the world. Besides, if we fail, we havenothing to lose. If we succeed, see what we've done! Don't hesitate, oldman! Come on! Come on! We'll take 'em ourselves, as sure as fate. Haveyou no nerve? What kind of an American are you? This chance won'tcome in ten lifetimes! Good God, man, are we not equal to those twoscoundrels?"
"Two? There are at least ten of them!"
"You fool! The three guards are disposed of in advance, two of theViennese are left with the horses, two are chucked off under theprincess' window, and one stands at the gate. We can slug the man at thegate, the fellows under the window are harmless, and that leaves but ourtwo friends and the cook. We have every advantage in the world. Can'tyou see?"
"You are right! Come on! I'll risk it with you. We will save thePrincess of Graustark!"
"Don't you see it will be just as easy for us to enter the castle as forthese robbers? The way will be clear, and will be kept clear. Jove, man,we need not be more than thirty seconds behind them. Is your pistol allright?"
By this time the two men were speeding along the grassy stretch towardthe road that ran beside the wall. They looked to their pistols, andplaced them carefully in outside coat pockets.
"We must throw away these heavy canes," whispered the painter to hisfriend, who was a pace or so ahead.
"Keep it! We'll need one of them to crack that fellow's head at thegate. 'Gad, it's dark along here!"
"How the devil are we to know where to go?"
"We'll stop when we come to the gate where we climbed up the wallto-day. That is the only entrance I saw along the west wall, and it isnear the castle. Just as soon as the gang enters that gate we'll crawlup and get rid of the fellow who stands watch." It was so dark thatthey could barely see the roadway, and they found it necessary to ceasetalking as they slunk along beside the wall. Occasionally they paused tolisten, fearing that they might draw too close upon the men who had gonebefore. At last they came to a big gate and halted.
"Is this the gate?" whispered Anguish.
"Sh! Yes, I'm quite sure. We are undoubtedly near the castle, judgingby the distance we have come. Let us cross the road and lie directlyopposite. Be careful!"
Like panthers they stole across the road and down a short, grassyembankment. At Anguish's suggestion Lorry wrapped his handkerchieftightly about the heavy end of his cane, preparing in that way to deadenthe sound of the blow that was to fall upon the Vienna man's head. Thenthey threw aside their hats, buttoned their coats tightly, and sank downto wait, with bounding hearts and tingling nerves, the arrival of theabductors, mutely praying that they were at the right gate.