IV. CHECKMATE.
I HASTENED at once home, and knocked at Miss Calhoun's door. Whilewaiting for a response, the mockery of my return without the token I hadundertaken to restore to her, impressed itself upon me in full force. Itseemed to me that in that instant my face must have taken on a haggardlook. I could not summon up the necessary will to make it otherwise.Any effort in that direction would have made my failure at cheerfulnesspitiable.
The door opened. There she stood. Whatever expectancy of success she mayhave had fled at once. Our eyes met and her countenance changed. My facemust have told the whole story, for she exclaimed:
"You have failed!"
I was obliged to acknowledge it in a whisper, but hastened to assure herthat the ring had not yet been placed upon the bronze hand, and was notlikely to be till the lock had been cleaned, out. This interested her,and called out a hurried but complete recital of my adventure. She hungupon it breathlessly, and when I reached the point where Madame and herprophetic voice entered the tale, she showed so much excitement that anydoubts I may have cherished as to the importance of the communicationMadame had made us vanished in a cold horror I with difficulty hid frommy companion. But the end agitated her more than the beginning, and whenshe heard that I had taken upon myself a direct connection with thismysterious matter, she grew so pale that I felt forced to inquire if thefolly I had committed was likely to result badly, at which she shudderedand replied:
"You have brought death upon yourself. I see nothing but destructionbefore us both. This woman--this horrible woman--has seen your face,and, if she is what you describe, she will never forget it. The man, whois her guardian or agent, no doubt, must have tracked you, and findingyou here with me, from whose hand he himself may have torn the ringlast night, will record it as treason against a cause which punishes alltreason with death.
"Pshaw!" I ejaculated, with a jocular effort at indifference, which Iacknowledge I did not feel. "You seem to forget the law. We live in thecity of Baltimore. Charlatans such as I have just left behind me do notmake away with good citizens with impunity. We have only to seek theprotection of the police."
She met my looks with a slowly increasing intentness, which stilled thisprotest on my lips.
"I am under no oath," she ruminated. "I can tell this man what I will.Mr. Abbott, there has been formed in this city an organization againstwhich the police are powerless. I am an involuntary member of it, and Iknow its power. It has constrained me and it has constrained others, andno one who has opposed it once has lived to do so twice. Yet it hasno recognized head (though there is a chief to whom we may addressourselves), and it has no oaths of secrecy. All is left to thediscretion of its members, and _to their fears_. The object of thissociety is the breaking of the power of the North, and the means bywhich it works is _death_. I joined it under a stress of feeling Icalled patriotism, and I believed myself right till the sword wasdirected against my own breast. Then I quailed; then I began to askby what right we poor mortals constitute ourselves into instruments ofdestruction to our kind, and having once stopped to question, I sawthe whole matter in such a different light that I knowingly put astumbling-block in the path of so-called avenging justice, and thuscourted the doom that at any moment may fall upon my head." And sheactually looked up, as if expecting to see it fall then and there."This Madame," she went on in breathless haste, "is doubtless one of themembers. How so grotesque and yet redoubtable an individuality shouldhave become identified with a cause demanding the coolest judgment aswell as the most acute political acumen, I cannot stop to conjecture.But that she is a member of our organization, and an important one, too,her prophecies, which have so strangely become facts, are sufficientproof, even had you not seen my ring on her finger. Perhaps, incredibleas it may appear, she is the _chief_. If so--But I do not make myselfintelligible," she continued, meeting my eyes. "I will be more explicit.One peculiar feature of this organization is the complete ignorancewhich we all have concerning our fellow-members. We can reveal nothing,for we know nothing. I know that I am allied to a cause which has forits end the destruction of all who oppose the supremacy of the South,but I cannot give you the name of another person attached to thisorganization, though I feel the pressure of their combined power uponevery act of my life. _You_ may be a member without my knowing it--asecret and fearful thought, which forms one of the greatest safeguardsto the institution, though it has failed in this instance, owing"--hereher voice fell--"to my devotion to the man I love. What?"--(I had notspoken; my heart was dying within me, but I had given no evidence ofa wish to interrupt her; she, however, feared a check, and rushedvehemently on.) "I shall have to tell you more. When, through pamphletsand unsigned letters--dangerous communications, which have long sincebecome ashes--I was drawn into this society (and only those of the mostradical and impressionable natures are approached) a ring and a key weresent me with this injunction: 'When the man or woman whose name willbe forwarded to you in an otherwise empty envelope, shall have, in yourhonest judgment, proved himself or herself sufficiently dangerous tothe cause we love, to merit removal, you are to place this ring on themiddle finger of the bronze hand locked up in the box openly displayedin the office of a Dr. Merriam on ------ Street. With the pressure ofthe whole five rings on the fingers of this piece of mechanism, theguardian of our rights will be notified by a bell, that a victim awaitsjustice, and the end to be accomplished will be begun. As there are fivefingers, and each one of these must feel the pressure of its own ringbefore connection can be made between this hand and the bell mentioned,no injustice can be done and no really innocent person destroyed. For,when five totally disconnected persons devoted to the cause agree thata certain individual is worthy of death, mistake is impossible. Youare now one of the five. Use the key and the ring according toyour conscience.' This was well, if I had been allowed to follow myconscience; but when, six weeks ago, they sent me the name of a man oflofty character and unquestioned loyalty, I recoiled, scarcely believingmy eyes. Yet, fearing that my own judgment was warped, or that somehidden hypocrisy was latent in a man thus given over to our attention,I made it my business to learn this man's inner life. I found it sobeautiful----" She choked, turned away for a moment, controlled herself,and went on rapidly and with increased earnestness: "I learned to lovethis man, and as I learned to love him I grew more and more satisfied ofthe dangerous character of the organization I was pledged to. But I hadone comfort. He could not be doomed without my ring, and that was safeon my finger. Safe! You know how safe it was. The monster whom you havejust seen, and who may have been the person to subject this noble man tosuspicion, must have discovered my love and the safeguard it offered tothis man. The ring, as you know, was stolen, and as you have failed torecover it, and I to get any reply from the chief to whom I forwarded myprotest, to-morrow will without doubt see it placed upon the finger ofthe bronze hand. The result you know. Fantastic as this may strike you,it is the dreadful truth."
Love, had I ever felt this holy passion for her, had no longer a placein my breast; but awe, terror and commiseration for her, for him, andalso perhaps for myself, were still active passions within me, and atthis decided statement of the case, I laughed in the excitement of themoment, and the relief I felt at knowing just what there was to dread inthe adventure.
"Absurd!" I cried. "With Madame's address in my mind and the Baltimorepolice at my command, this man is as safe from assault as you or I are.Give me five minutes' talk with Chief----"
Her hand on my arm stopped me; the look in her eye made me dumb.
"What could you do without _me?_" she said; "and my evidence you cannothave. For what would give it weight can never pass my lips. The livesthat have fallen with my connivance stand between me and confession. Ido not wish to subject myself to the law."
This placed her in another light before me, and I started back.
"You have----" I stammered.
"Placed that ring three times on the hand in Dr. Merriam's office."
"And each time?"
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"A man somewhere in this nation has died suddenly. I do not know by whatmeans or by whose hand, but he died."
This beautiful creature guilty of---- I tried not to show my horror.
"It is, then, a question of choice between you and him?" said I. "Eitheryou or he must perish. Both cannot be saved."
She recoiled, turning very pale, and for several minutes stood surveyingme with a fixed gaze as if overcome by an idea which threw so immensea responsibility upon her. As she stood thus, I seemed not only to lookinto her nature, but her life. I saw the fanaticism that that hadonce held every good impulse in check, the mistaken devotion, theunreasoning hatred, and, underneath all, a spirit of truth andrectitude which brightened and brightened as I watched her, till itdominated every evil passion and made her next words come easily, andwith a natural burst of conviction which showed the innate generosity ofher soul.
"You have shown me my duty, sir. There can be no question as to wherethe choice should fall, I am not worth one hair of his noble head. Savehim, sir; I will help you by every means in my power."
Seizing the opportunity she thus gave me, I asked her the name of theman who was threatened.
In a low voice she told me.
I was astonished; dumfounded.
"Shameful!" I cried. "What motive, what reason can they have fordenouncing _him?_"
"He is under suspicion--that is enough."
"Great heaven!" I exclaimed. "Have we reached such a pass as that?"
"Don't," she uttered, hoarsely; "don't reason; don't talk; act."
"I will," I cried, and rushed from the room.
She fell back in a chair, almost fainting. I saw her lying quiet, inertand helpless as I rushed by her door on my way to the street, but I didnot stop to aid her. I knew she would not suffer it.
The police are practical, and my tale was an odd one. I found it hard,therefore, to impress them with its importance, especially as in tryingto save Miss Calhoun I was necessarily more or less incoherent. Idid succeed, however, in awakening interest at last, and, a man beingassigned me, I led the way to Madame's door. But here a surprise awaitedme. The doorplate, which had so attracted my attention, was gone, andin a few minutes we found that she had departed also, leaving no tracebehind her.
This looked ominous, and with little delay we hastened to the office ofDr. Merriam. Knocking at the usual door brought no response, but whenwe tried the further one, by which his patients usually passed out, wefound ourselves confronted by the gentleman we sought.
His face was calm and smiling, and though he made haste to tell us thatwe had come out of hours, he politely asked us in and inquired what hecould do for us.
Not understanding how he could have forgotten me so soon, I looked athim inquiringly, at which his face lighted up, and he apologeticallysaid:
"I remember you now. You were here this morning consulting me about afriend who is afflicted with a peculiar complaint. Have you anythingfurther to state or ask in regard to it. I have just five minutes tospare."
"Hear this gentleman first," said I, pointing to the officer whoaccompanied me.
The doctor calmly bowed, and waited with the greatest self-possessionfor him to state his case.
The officer did so abruptly.
"There is a box in your ante-room which I feel it my duty to examine. Iam Detective Hopkins, of the city police."
The doctor, with a gentleness which seemed native rather than assumed,quietly replied:
"I am very sorry, but you are an hour too late." And, throwing open thedoor of communication between the two rooms, he pointed to the table.
_The box was gone_!