CHAPTER XX
NEENAH
"Selim's wife, Neenah, saved my life." It was the next morning and Chasewas relating his experiences to an eager marvelling company in thebreakfast room. "She has a sister whose husband was one of the leadersin the attack. Neenah told Selim and Selim told me. That's all. We wereprepared for them when they came last night. Days ago, Selim and Icached the rope at the top of the cliff, anticipating just such anemergency as this, and intending to use it if we could reach the chateauin no other way. I figured that they would cut off all other means ofgetting into your grounds.
"Neenah came up from the village ahead of the attacking party, out ofbreath and terribly frightened. We didn't waste a second, let me tellyou. Grabbing up our guns, we got out through the rear and made a dashacross the stable yard. It was near midnight. I had received thecommittee at nine and had given them my reasons for not resigning thepost. They went away apparently satisfied, which aroused my suspicions.I knew that there was something behind that exhibition of meekness.
"The servants, all of whom were up and ready to join in the fight,attempted to head us off. We had a merry little touch of real warfarejust back of the stables. It was as dark as pitch, and I don't believewe hit anybody. But it was lively scrambling for a minute or two, let metell you." Chase shook his head in sober recollection of the preliminaryaffray.
Deppingham's big blue eyes were fairly snapping. His wife put her handon his shoulder with an impulse strange to her and Genevra saw a lightblaze in her eyes. "I hope you potted a few of 'em. Serve 'em jolly wellright if----"
"Selim says he stumbled over something that groaned as we were racingfor the back road. I was looking out for Neenah." He glancedinvoluntarily from Lady Agnes to the Princess, a touch of confusionsuddenly assailing him. "Selim covered the retreat," he added hastily."Instead of keeping the road, we turned up the embankment and struckinto the forest. Dropping down behind the bushes, we watched thosedevils from the town race pell-mell, howling and shooting, down thechateau road. There must have been a hundred of 'em. Five minutes later,the bungalow was afire. It was as bright as day and I had no trouble inrecognising Rasula in the crowd. Selim led the way and I followed withNeenah. It was hard going, let me tell you, up hill and down, stumblesand tumbles, scratches and bumps, through five miles of the blackestnight imaginable. Hang it all, Browne, I didn't have time to save thatcase of cigarettes; I'm out nearly a hundred boxes. And those novels youlent me, Lady Deppingham--I can't return. Sorry."
"You might have saved the cigarettes and novels if you hadn't been sooccupied in saving the fair Neenah," said her ladyship, with a provokingsmile.
"Alas! I thought of that also, but too late. Still, virtue was its ownreward. Imagine my delight when we stopped to rest to have Neenah divideher own little store of Turkish cigarettes with me. We had a bully smokeup there in the wood."
"Selim, too?" asked Browne casually.
"Oh, no! Selim was exploring," said Chase easily.
"Neenah is very beautiful," ventured Lady Agnes.
"She is exquisite," replied Chase with the utmost _sang froid_. "Selimbought her last winter for a ten karat ruby and a pint of sapphires."
"That explains her overwhelming love for Selim," said the Princessquietly. Chase looked into her eyes for a moment and smiled inwardly.
"I'll be happy to tell you all about her some other time," he said. "Herstory is most interesting."
"That will be perfectly delightful," chimed in Drusilla. "We shan't missthose racy novels, after all."
"We finally got to the edge of the cliff and unearthed the rope, whichwe already had fastened to the trunk of a tree. It had been securelyspliced in three places beforehand, giving us the proper length. It wasa frightful trip we had over the ridge. Exhibit: the scratches upon myerstwhile beautiful countenance; reserved: the bruises upon my unhappyknees and elbows. I was obliged to carry Neenah for the last quarter ofa mile, poor little girl. She was tied to my back, leaving my throat andchest free, and down we came. Simplest thing in the world. Presto! Heream I, with my happy family at my heels."
"Well, we can't sit here and dawdle all day," exclaimed Deppingham. "Wemust be moving about--arrange our batteries, and all that, don't youknow. Get out a skirmish line, nominate our spies, bolster up ourdefences, set a watch, court-martial the prisoners, and look into thecommissariat. We've got to stave these devils off for two or threeweeks, at least, and we'll have to look sharp. Browne, that's the thirdcup of coffee you've had. Come along! This isn't Boston."
As they left the breakfast room, Chase stepped to Genevra's side andwalked with her. They traversed the full length of the long hall insilence. At the foot of the stairs, where they were to part, sheextended her hand, a bright smile in her eyes.
"You were and are very brave and good," she said. He withheld his handand she dropped hers, hurt and strangely vexed. "Don't you care for myapproval? Or do you--"
"You forget, Princess, that my hands are still suffering from thebravery you would laud," he said, holding them resolutely behind hisback.
"Oh, I remember!" she cried in quick comprehension. "They were cut andbruised by the rope. How thoughtless of me. What are you doing for them?Come, Mr. Chase, may I not dress them for you? I am capable--I am notafraid of wounds. We have had many of them in our family--and fatal onestoo." She was eager now, and earnest.
He shook his head, with a smile on his lips. "I thank you. They arebetter--much better, and they have been quite properly bandagedalready."
"Neenah?"
"Yes," he replied gently. She seemed to search his mind with a quick,intense look into his eyes. Then she smiled and said: "I'll promise notto bruise the wounds if you'll only be so good as to shake hands withme."
He took her slender hand in his broad, white-swathed palm and pressed itfervently, regardless of the pain which would have caused him to cringeif engaged in any other pursuit.
The forenoon was fully occupied with the preparations for defence. Everyprecaution was taken to circumvent the plans of the enemy. There was nolonger any doubt as to the intentions of the disappointed islanders. VonBlitz and Rasula had convinced them that their cause was seriouslyjeopardised; they were made to see the necessity for permanentlyremoving the white pretenders from their path.
Deppingham, on account of his one time position in the British army, waschosen chief officer of the beleaguered "citadel." A strict espionagewas set upon the native servants, despite Baillo's assurances ofloyalty. Lookouts were posted in the towers and a ceaseless watch was tobe kept day and night. Chase, on his first visit to the west tower,discovered a long unused searchlight of powerful dimensions. Fortunatelyfor the besieged, the electric-light plant was located in the chateaugrounds and could not be tampered with from the outside. A quantity offuel, sufficient to last for a couple of months, was found in the bins.
Britt was put in charge of the night patrol, Saunders the day. Strictorders were given that no one was to venture into that portion of thepark open to long-range shots from the hills. Chase set the minds of allat rest by announcing that the islanders would not seek to set fire tothe chateau from the cliffs: such avaricious gentlemen as Von Blitz andRasula would never consent to the destruction of property so valuable.Selim, under orders, had severed the long rope with a single rifle shot;no one could hope to reach the chateau by way of the cliff.
Extra precautions were taken to guard the women from attacks from theinside. The window bars were locked securely and heavy bolts were placedon the doors leading to the lower regions. It was now only too apparentthat Skaggs and Wyckholme had wrought well in anticipation of arebellion by the native shareholders. Each window had its adjustablegrates, every outer door was protected by heavy iron gates.
By nightfall Deppingham's forces were in full possession of everyadvantage that their position afforded. In the cool of the evening, theysat down to rest in the great stone gallery overlooking the sea,satisfied that they were reasonably secure from any assault that theirfoes might un
dertake. No sign of hostility had been observed during theday. Japat looked, as observed from the chateau, to be the most peacefulspot in the world.
Chase came from his room, still stiff and sore, but with fresh, whitebandages on his blistered hands. He asked and received permission tolight a cigarette, and then dropped wearily into a seat near thePrincess, who sat upon the stone railing. She was leaning back againstthe column and looking dreamily out across the lowlands toward thestarlit sea. The never-ceasing rush of the mountain stream came plainlyup to them from below; now and then a cool dash of spray floated totheir faces from the waterfall hard by.
The soft light from the shaded windows fell upon her glorious face.Chase sat in silence for many minutes, covertly feasting his eyes uponher loveliness. Her trim, graceful, seductive figure was outlinedagainst the darkness; a delicate, sensuous fragrance exhaled from herperson, filling him with an indescribable delight and languor; the spellof her beauty was upon him and he felt the leap of his blood.
"If I were you," he said at last, reluctant to despoil the picture, "Iwouldn't sit up there. It would be a very simple matter for one of ourfriends to pick you off with a shot from below. Please let me pull up achair for you."
She smiled languidly, without a trace of uneasiness in her manner.
"Dear officer of the day, do you think they are so foolish as to pick usoff in particles? Not at all. They will dispose of us wholesale, not bythe piece. By the way, has Neenah been made quite comfortable?"
"I believe so. She and Selim have the room beyond mine, thanks to LadyDeppingham."
"Agnes tells me that she is very interesting--quite like a princess outof a fairy book. You recall the princesses who were always beingcaptured by ogres and evil princes and afterward satisfactorily rescuedby those dear knights admirable? Did Selim steal her in the beginning?"
"You forget the pot of sapphires and the big ruby."
"They say that princesses can be bought very cheaply."
"Depends entirely upon the quality of princess you desire. It's verymuch like buying rare gems or old paintings, I'd say."
"Very much, I'm sure. I suppose you'd call Neenah a rare gem?"
"She is certainly not an old painting."
"How old is she, pray?"
"Seventeen--by no means an antique. Speaking of princesses and ogres,has it occurred to you that you would bring a fortune in the market?"
"Mr. Chase!"
"You know, it's barely possible that you may be put in a matrimonialshop window if Von Blitz and his friends should capture you alive. Everthink of that?"
"Good heavens! You--why, what a horrible thing to say!"
"You won't bring as much in the South Sea market as you would inRapp-Thorberg or Paris, but I daresay you could be sold for--"
"Please, Mr. Chase, don't suggest anything so atrocious," she cried,something like terror in her voice.
"Neenah's father sold her for a handful of gems," said he, with distinctmeaning in his voice. She was silent, and he went on after a moment. "Isthere so much difference, after all, where one is sold, just so long asthe price is satisfactory to all concerned?"
"You are very unkind, Mr. Chase," she said with quiet dignity. "I do notdeserve your sarcasm."
"I humbly plead for forgiveness," he said, suddenly contrite. "It wasbeastly."
"American wit, I imagine you call it," she said scornfully. "I don'tcare to talk with you any longer."
"Won't you forgive me? I'm a poor brute--don't lash me. In two or threeweeks I'll step down and out of your life; that will be penalty enough,don't you think?"
"For whom?" she asked in a voice so low that he could scarcely hear thewords. Then she laughed ironically. "I _do_ forgive. It is all that aprince or a princess is ever asked to do, I'm beginning to believe. Ialso forgive you for coming into my life."
"If I had been a trifle more intelligent, I should not have come into itat all," he said. She turned upon him quickly, stung by the remark.
"Is that the way you feel about it?" she asked sharply.
"You don't understand. A man of intelligence would never have kickedPrince Karl. As a matter of fact, in trying to kick Prince Karl out ofyour life, I kicked myself into it. A very simple process, and yetscarcely intellectual. A jackass could have done as much."
"A jackass may kick at a king," she paraphrased casually. "A cat mayonly look at him. But let us go back to realities. Do you mean to tellme that they--these wretches--would dare to sell me--us, I mean--intothe kind of slavery you mention?" A trace of anxiety deepened the toneof her voice. She was now keenly alert and no longer trivial.
"Why not?" he asked soberly, arising and coming quite close to her side."You are beautiful. If they should take you alive, it would be a verysimple matter for any one of these men to purchase you from the others.You might easily be kept on this island for the rest of your days, andthe world would be none the wiser. Or you could be sold into Persia, orArabia, or Turkey. I am not surprised that you shudder. Forgive me foralarming you, perhaps needlessly. Nevertheless, it is a thing toconsider. I have learned all of the plans from Selim's wife. They do notcontemplate the connubial traffic, 'tis true, but that would be anatural consequence. Von Blitz and Rasula mean to destroy all of us. Weare to disappear from the face of the earth. When our friends come tolook for us, we will have died from the plague and our bodies will havebeen burned, as they always are in Japat. There will be no one left todeny the story. All outsiders are to be destroyed--even the Persian andTurkish women, who hate their liege lords too well. After to-morrow, noship is due to put in here for three weeks. They will see to it thatnone of us get out to that ship; nor will the ship's officers know ofour peril. The word will go forth that the plague has come to theisland. That is the first step, your highness. But there is one obstaclethey have overlooked," he concluded. She looked up inquiringly.
"My warships," he said, the whimsical smile broadening.