CHAPTER XXXI
A PRESCRIBED MALADY
"You are wonderful, staying out there all night watching for--us." Hewas about to say "me."
"How could any one sleep? Neenah found this dress for me--aren't thesebaggy trousers funny? She rifled the late Mr. Wyckholme's wardrobe. Thiscostume once adorned a sultana, I'm told. It is a most pricelesstreasure. I wore it to-night because I was much less conspicuous as asultana than I might have been had I gone to the wall as a princess."
"I like you best as the Princess," he said, frankly surveying her in thegrey light.
"I think I like myself as the Princess, too," she said naively. Hesighed deeply. They were quite close to the excited group on the terracewhen she said: "I am very, very happy now, after the most miserablenight I have ever known. I was so troubled and afraid----"
"Just because I went away for that little while? Don't forget that I amsoon to go out from you for all time. How then?"
"Ah, but then I will have Paris," she cried gaily. He was puzzled by hermood--but then, why not? What could he be expected to know of the moodsof royal princesses? No more than he could know of their loves.
Lady Deppingham was got to bed at once. The Princess, more thrilled byexcitement than she ever had been in her life, attended her friend. Inthe sanctity of her chamber, the exhausted young Englishwoman bared hersoul to this wise, sympathetic young woman in Persian vestment.
"Genevra," she said solemnly, in the end, "take warning from my example.When you once are married, don't trifle with other men--not even if youshouldn't love your husband. Sooner or later you'd get tripped up. Itdoesn't pay, my dear. I never realised until tonight how much I reallycare for Deppy and I am horribly afraid that I've lost something I cannever recover. I've made him unhappy and--and--all that. Can you tell mewhat it is that made me--but never mind! I'm going to be good."
"You were not in love with Mr. Browne. That is why I can't understandyou, Agnes."
"My dear, I don't understand myself. How can I expect you or my husbandto understand me? How could I expect it of Bobby Browne? Oh, dear; oh,dear, how tired I am! I think I shall never move out of this bed again.What a horrible, horrible time I've had." She sat up suddenly and staredwide-eyed before her, looking upon phantoms that came out of the hoursjust gone.
"Hush, dear! Lie down and go to sleep. You will feel better in a littlewhile." Lady Agnes abruptly turned to her with a light in her eyes thatchecked the kindly impulses.
"Genevra, you are in love--madly in love with Hollingsworth Chase. Takemy advice: marry him. He's one man in a--" Genevra placed her hand overthe lips of the feverish young woman.
"I will not listen to anything more about Mr. Chase," she said firmly."I am tired--tired to death of being told that I should marry him."
"But you love him," Lady Agnes managed to mumble, despite the gentleimpediment.
"I _do_ love him, yes, I do love him," cried the Princess, castingreserve to the winds. "He knows it--every one knows it. But marry him?No--no--no! I shall marry Karl. My father, my mother, my grandfather,have said so--and I have said it, too. And his father and grandfatherand a dozen great grandparents have ordained that he shall marry aprincess and I a prince, That ends it, Agnes! Don't speak of it again."She cast herself down upon the side of the bed and clenched her hands inthe fierceness of despair and--decision. After a moment, Lady Agnes saiddreamily: "I climbed up the ladder to make a 'ladyship' of myself bymarriage and I find I love my husband. I daresay if you should go downthe ladder a few rounds, my dear, you might be as lucky. But take myadvice, if you _won't_ marry Hollingsworth Chase, don't let him come toParis."
The Princess Genevra lifted her face instantly, a startled expression inher eyes.
"Agnes, you forget yourself!"
"My dear," murmured Lady Agnes sleepily, "forgive me, but I have such ashockingly absent mind." She was asleep a moment later.
In the meantime, Bobby Browne, disdaining all commands and entreaties,refused to be put to bed until he had related the story of their captureand the subsequent events that made the night memorable. He talkedrapidly, feverishly, as if every particle of energy was necessary to thetask of justifying himself in some measure for the night's mishap. Hesat with his rigid arm about his wife's shoulders. Drusilla was strokingone of his hands in a half-conscious manner, her eyes staring past hisface toward the dark forest from which he had come. Mr. Britt wasordering brandy and wine for his trembling client.
"After all," said Browne, hoarse with nervousness, "there is some goodto be derived from our experiences, hard as it may be to believe. I havefound out the means by which Rasula intends to destroy every livingcreature in the chateau." He made this statement at the close of thebrief, spasmodic recital covering the events of the night. Every onedrew nearer. Chase threw off his spell of languidness and looked hard atthe speaker. "Rasula coolly asked me, at one of our resting places, ifthere had been any symptoms of poisoning among us. I mentioned Pong andthe servants. The devil laughed gleefully in my face and told me that itwas but the beginning. I tell you. Chase, we can't escape the diabolicalscheme he has arranged. We are all to be poisoned--I don't see how wecan avoid it if we stay here much longer. It is to be a case of slowdeath by the most insidious scheme of poisoning imaginable, or, on theother hand, death by starvation and thirst. The water that comes to usfrom the springs up there in the hills is to be poisoned by thosedevils."
There were exclamations of unbelief, followed by the sharp realisationthat he was, after all, pronouncing doom upon each and every one ofthose who listened.
"Rasula knows that we have no means of securing water except from thesprings. Several days ago his men dumped a great quantity of some sortof poison into the stream--a poison that is used in washing or polishingthe rubies, whatever it is. Well, that put the idea into his head. He isgoing about it shrewdly, systematically. I heard him giving instructionsto one of his lieutenants. He thought I was still unconscious from ablow I received when I tried to interfere in behalf of Lady Agnes, whowas being roughly dragged along the mountain road. Day and night adetachment of men are to be employed at the springs, deliberatelyengaged in the attempt to change the flow of pure water into a slow,subtle, deadly poison, the effects of which will not be immediatelyfatal, but positively so in the course of a few days. Every drop ofwater that we drink or use in any way will be polluted with this deadlycyanide. It's only a question of time. In the end we shall sicken anddie as with the scourge. They will call it the plague!"
A shudder of horror swept through the crowd. Every one looked into hisneighbour's face with a profound inquiring light in his eyes, seekingfor the first evidence of approaching death.
Hollingsworth Chase uttered a short, scornful laugh as he unconcernedlylifted a match to one of his precious cigarettes. The others stared athim in amazement. He had been exceedingly thoughtful and preoccupied upto that moment.
"Great God, Chase!" groaned Browne. "Is this a joke?"
"Yes--and it's on Rasula," said the other laconically.
"But even now, man, they are introducing this poison into oursystems----"
"You say that Rasula isn't aware of the fact that you overheard what hesaid to his man? Then, even now, in spite of your escape, he believesthat we may go on drinking the water without in the least suspectingwhat it has in store for us. Good! That's why I say the joke is on him."
"But, my God, we must have water to drink," cried Britt. Mrs. Saundersalone divined the thought that filled Chase's mind. She clapped herhands and cried out wonderingly:
"I know! I--I took depositions in a poisoning case two years ago. Why,of course!"
"Browne, you are a doctor--a chemist," said Chase calmly, firstbestowing a fine smile upon the eager Mrs. Saunders. "Well, we'll distiland double and triple distil the water. That's all. A schoolboy mighthave thought of that. It's all right, old man. You're fagged out; yourbrain isn't working well. Don't look so crestfallen. Mr. Britt, you andMr. Saunders will give immediate instructions that no mor
e water is tobe drunk--or used--until Mr. Browne has had a few hours' rest. He cantake an alcohol bath and we can all drink wine. It won't hurt us. At teno'clock sharp Dr. Browne will begin operating the distilling apparatusin the laboratory. As a matter of fact, I learned somewhere--at college,I imagine--that practically pure water may be isolated from wine." Hearose painfully and stretched himself. "I think I'll get a littlemuch-needed rest. Do the same, Browne--and have a rub down. By Jove,will you listen to the row my clients are making out there in the woods!They seem to be annoyed over something."
Outside the walls the islanders were shouting and calling to each other;rifles were cracking, far and near, voicing, in their peculiarlyspiteful way, the rage that reigned supreme.
As Chase ascended the steps Bobby Browne and his wife came up besidehim.
"Chase," said Browne, in a low voice, his face turned away to hide themortification that filled his soul, "you are a man! I want you to knowthat I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Never mind, old man! Say no more," interrupted Chase, suddenlyembarrassed.
"I've been a fool, Chase. I don't deserve the friendship of any one--noteven that of my wife. It's all over, though. You understand? I'm not acoward. I'll do anything you say--take any risk--to pay for the troubleI've caused you all. Send me out to fight----"
"Nonsense! Your wife needs you, Browne. Don't you, Mrs. Browne? There,now! It will be all right, just as I said. I daresay, Browne, that Iwouldn't have been above the folly that got the better of you. Only--"he hesitated for a minute--"only, it couldn't have happened to me if Ihad a wife as dear and as good and as pretty as the one you have."
Browne was silent for a long time, his arm still about Drusilla'sshoulder. At the end of the long hall he said with decision in hisvoice:
"Chase, you may tell your clients that so far as I am concerned they mayhave the beastly island and everything that goes with it. I'm throughwith it all. I shall discharge Britt and----"
"My dear boy, it's most magnanimous of you," cried Chase merrily. "ButI'm afraid you can't decide the question in such an off-hand, _degage_manner. Sleep over it. I've come to the conclusion that it isn't so muchof a puzzle as to how you are to _get_ the island as how to get _off_ ofit. Take good care of him, Mrs. Browne. Don't let him talk."
She held out her hand to him impulsively. There was an unfathomable,unreadable look in her dark eyes. As he gallantly lifted the coldfingers to his lips, she said, without taking her almost hungry gazefrom his face:
"Thank you, Mr. Chase. I shall never forget you."
He stood there looking after them as they went up the stairway, apuzzled expression in his face. After a moment he shook his head andsmiled vaguely as he said to himself:
"I guess he'll be a good boy from now on." But he wondered what it wasthat he had seen or felt in her sombre gaze.
In fifteen minutes he was sound asleep in his room, his long framerelaxed, his hands wide open in utter fatigue. He dreamed of a Hennergirl with Genevra's brilliant face instead of the vague, greenishfeatures that haunt the vision with their subtle mysticism.
He was awakened at noon by Selim, who obeyed his instructions to theminute. The eager Arab rubbed the soreness and stiffness out of hismaster's body with copious applications of alcohol.
"I'm sorry you awoke me, Selim," said the master enigmatically. Selimdrew back, dismayed. "You drove her away." Selim's eyes blinked withbewilderment. "I'm afraid she'll never come back."
"Excellency!" trembled on the lips of the mystified servant.
"Ah, me!" sighed the master resignedly. "She smiled so divinely. Hennergirls never smile, do they, Selim? Have you noticed that they are alwayspensive? Perhaps you haven't. It doesn't matter. But this one smiled. Isay," coming back to earth, "have they begun to distil the water? I'vegot a frightful thirst."
"Yes, excellency. The Sahib Browne is at work. One of the servantsbecame sick to-day. Now no one is drinking the water. Baillo is bringingin ice from the storehouses and melting it, but the supply is not large.Sahib Browne will not let them make any more ice at present." Nothingmore was said until Chase was ready for his rolls and coffee. Then Selimasked hesitatingly, "Excellency, what is a bounder? Mr. Browne says----"
"I believe I did call him a bounder," interrupted Chase reminiscently."I spoke hastily and I'll give him a chance to demand an explanation.He'll want it, because he's an American. A bounder, Selim? Well,"closing one eye and looking out of the window calculatingly, "a bounderis a fellow who keeps up an acquaintance with you by persistentlydunning you for money that you've owed to him for four or five years.Any one who annoys you is a bounder."
Selim turned this over in his mind for some time, but the puzzled airdid not lift from his face.
"Excellency, you will take Selim to live with you in Paris?" he saidafter a while wistfully. "I will be your slave."
"Paris? Who the dickens said anything about Paris?" demanded Chase,startled.
"Neenah says you will go there to live, sahib."
"Um--um," mused Chase; "what does she know about it?"
"Does not the most glorious Princess live in Paris?"
"Selim, you've been listening to gossip. It's a frightful habit to getinto. Put cotton in your ears. But if I were to take you, what wouldbecome of little Neenah?"
"Oh, Neenah?" said Selim easily. "If she would be a trouble to you,excellency, I can sell her to a man I know."
Chase looked blackly at the eager Arab, who quailed.
"You miserable dog!"
Selim gasped. "Excellency!"
"Don't you love her?"
"Yes, yes, sahib--yes! But if she would be a trouble to you--no!"protested the Arab anxiously. Chase laughed as he came to appreciate thesacrifice his servant would make for him.
"I'll take you with me, Selim, wherever I go--and if I go--but, my lad,we'll take Neenah along, too, to save trouble. She's not for sale, mygood Selim." The husband of Neenah radiated joy.
"Then she may yet be the slave of the most glorious Princess! Allah isgreat! The most glorious one has asked her if she will not come withher----"
"Selim," commanded the master ominously, "don't repeat the gossip youpick up when I'm not around."