CHAPTER XVI
"Good-morning, Mason," Browne said, as he shook hands. "I am glad thatyou were able to come up at once, for I want to consult you on mostimportant business. Sit down, and let us get to work. You were notlong in getting under way."
"I started directly I received your message, sir," the man replied."Perhaps you would not mind telling me what it is I have to do."
"I'll very soon do that," Browne replied; "and, if I know anything ofyou, you will be glad to hear my needs. I want to see you with regardto a cruise in Eastern waters. I am tired of the English winter, and,as you are aware, I have never yet visited Japan, I've suddenly made upmy mind to go out there. How soon do you think you could be ready tostart?"
"For Japan, sir?" the captain replied. "Well, that's a goodish step.Might I ask, sir, how long you can give me? Are you in a very greathurry?"
"A very great hurry indeed," Browne said. "I want to get away at theshortest possible notice; in fact, the sooner you can get away, thebetter I shall be pleased. I know you will do all you can."
"You may be very sure of that, sir," said the captain. "If it isreally necessary, I fancy I could be ready--well, shall we say?--onMonday next. Would that suit you, sir?"
"It would do admirably," said Browne. "I may count, then, on beingable to sail on that day?"
"Certainly, sir," said the captain. "I will catch the next train back,and get to work without loss of time. Your own steward, I suppose,will accompany you?"
"Yes," said Browne, for he was convinced that the man was one in whosehonesty and courage he could place implicit reliance, which was justwhat would be wanted on such a voyage.
"And how many guests will you be likely to have, sir?" inquired thecaptain. "I suppose you will fill all the cabins as usual?"
This was a question to which Browne had not yet given any properconsideration, though he had practically decided on one person. Thevoyage from England to Japan, as all the world knows, is a long one,and he felt that if he went alone he would stand a very fair chance ofboring himself to death with his own company.
"I am not able to say yet who will accompany me; but in any case youhad better be prepared for one or two. It is more than possible,however, that we shall pick up a few others in Japan."
"Very good, sir," said Mason. "I will see that all the necessaryarrangements are made. Now I suppose I had better see about gettingback to Southampton."
Having consulted his watch, he rose from his chair, and was about tobid his employer good-bye, when Brown stopped him.
"One moment more, Mason," he said. "Before you go I have something tosay to you, that is of the utmost importance to both of us." He pausedfor a moment, and from the gravity of his face the captain argued thatsomething more serious was about to follow. "I wanted to ask youwhether you had any sort of acquaintance with the seas to the northwardof Japan, say in the vicinity of the island of Yesso and the Gulf ofTartary?"
"I cannot say that I have any at all, sir," the other replied. "But Icould easily make inquiries from men who have sailed in them, andprocure some charts from Potter, if you consider it necessary."
"I should do so if I were you," said Browne; "it is always as well tobe prepared. In the meantime, Mason, I want you to keep what I havesaid to yourself. I have the most imperative reasons for making thisrequest to you. A little mistake in this direction may do me anincalculable amount of harm."
Though he did not in the least understand what prompted the request,the captain willingly gave his promise. It was easy for Browne,however, to see that it had caused him considerable bewilderment.
"And there is one other point," Browne continued. "I want you to bemore than ordinarily careful that the crew you take with you are thebest men procurable. I am not going to say any more to you, but leaveyou to draw your own conclusions, and to bear in mind that this voyageis likely to be one of the most, if not _the_ most, important I haveever undertaken. You have been with me a good many years now, and youwere with my father before me--it is not necessary for me to say notonly as captain, but also as a man who is an old and well-tried friend."
"I thank you, sir, for what you have said," said the captain. "Inreply, I can only ask you to believe that, happen what may, you willnot find me wanting."
"I am quite sure of that," said Browne, holding out his hand.
The captain took it, and, when he had shaken it as if he woulddislocate it at the shoulder, bade his employer good-bye and left theroom.
"So much for breaking the news to Mason," said Browne to himself, whenthe door had closed behind the skipper. "Now I must see Jimmy Foote,and arrange it with him."
He glanced at his watch, and found that it wanted only a few minutes totwelve o'clock. Ringing the bell, he bade the footman telephone to theMonolith Club, and inquire whether Mr. Foote were there; and if he werenot, whether they could tell him where it would be possible to findhim. The man disappeared upon his errand, to return in a few momentswith the information that Mr. Foote had just arrived at the club inquestion.
"In that case," said Browne, "beg the servants to tell him that I willbe there in ten minutes, and that I want to see him on most importantbusiness. Ask him not to leave until I come down."
The appointment having been duly made, he ordered his cab and set offin it for the rendezvous in question. On reaching the club--the samein which he had seen Jimmy on that eventful night, when he haddiscovered that Katherine was in London--Browne found his friendengaged in the billiard-room, playing a hundred up with a younggentleman, whose only claim to notoriety existed in the fact, that atthe time he was dissipating his second enormous fortune at the rate ofmore than a thousand a week.
"Glad indeed to see you, old man," said Jimmy, as Browne entered theroom. "I thought you were going to remain in Paris for some timelonger. When did you get back?"
"Last night," said Browne. "I came over with Maas."
"With Maas?" cried Jimmy, in surprise. "Somebody said yesterday thathe was not due to return for another month or more. But you telephonedthat you wanted to see me, did you not? If it is anything important, Iam sure Billy here won't mind my throwing up the game. He hasn't aghost of a chance of winning, so it will be a new experience for himnot to have to pay up."
Browne, however, protested that he could very well wait until they hadfinished their game. In the meantime he would smoke a cigar and watchthem. This he did, and as soon as the competition was at an end andJimmy had put on his coat, he drew him from the room.
"If you've nothing you want to do for half an hour or so, I wish youwould walk a little way with me, old chap," he said. "I have gotsomething to say to you that I must settle at once. This place has aslong ears as the proverbial pitcher."
"All right," said Jimmy. "Come along; I'm your man, whatever you want."
They accordingly left the club together, and made their way down PallMall and across Waterloo Place into the Green Park. It was not untilthey had reached the comparative privacy of the latter place thatBrowne opened his mind to his friend.
"Look here, Jimmy," he said, "when all is said and done, you and I haveknown each other a good many years. Isn't that so?"
"Of course it is," said Jimmy, who noticed his friend's seriouscountenance, and was idly wondering what had occasioned it. "What isit you want to say to me? If I did not know you I should think youwere hard up, and wanted to borrow five pounds. You look as grave as ajudge."
"By Jove! so would you," said Browne, "if you'd got on your mind what Ihave on mine. It seems to me I've got to find some jolly good friendwho'll see me through as delicate a bit of business as ever I heard ofin my life. That's why I telephoned to you."
"Very complimentary of you, I'm sure," said Jimmy. "But I think youknow you can rely on me. Come, out with it! What is the matter? Isit a breach of promise case, or divorce, or what is it?"
"Look here, old man, before we go any farther," said Browne, with greatimpressiveness, "I want to ask you
not to joke on it. It may seemhumorous to other people, but I assure you it's life and death to me."
There was a little silence that might have lasted a minute; then Jimmytook his friend's arm. "I'm sorry," said he; "only give me a decentchance and I'm sure to make a fool of myself. I had no idea it wassuch a serious matter with you. Now then, what is it? Tell meeverything from beginning to end."
"I will," said Browne. "But I ought to tell you first that I am notsupposed to say anything about it. The secret, while it is mine in asense, concerns another person more vitally. If I were the only one init I shouldn't care a bit; but I have to think of others before myself.You may remember that one night--it seems as if it were years ago,though in reality it is only a few weeks--you and I were walking downRegent Street together. You told me you had seen a picture in a shopwindow that you wanted to show me."
"I remember the incident perfectly," said Jimmy, but this time withouta smile. "It was a very foggy night, and you first kept me waitinghalf an hour outside the shop, and then acted like a lunaticafterwards."
"Well," said Browne, without replying to his friend's comments upon hisbehaviour on that occasion, "you may remember that the night followingyou dined with me at Lallemand's, and met two ladies."
"Madame Bernstein and Miss Petrovitch," said Jimmy. "I remember. Whatnext?"
Browne paused and looked a trifle sheepish before he replied, "Well,look here, old man; that girl, Miss Petrovitch, is going to be mywife." He looked nervously at Jimmy as if he expected an explosion.
"I could have told you that long ago," said Jimmy, with imperturbablegravity. "And, by Jove! I'll go further and say that I don't thinkyou could do better. As far as I could tell, she seemed an awfullynice girl, and I should think she would make you just the sort of wifeyou want."
"Thank you," said Browne, more pleased with Jimmy than he had ever beenbefore.
"But that only brings me to the beginning of what I have to say," hecontinued. "Now I want you, before we go any further, to give me yourword as a friend that, whatever I may say to you, you will not revealto any one else. You cannot think how important it is, both to her andto me."
"I will give you that promise willingly," said Jimmy. "You can tell mewhatever you like, without any fear that I shall divulge it."
"Your promise is all I want," said Browne. Then, speaking very slowly,and as earnestly as he knew how, he continued: "The truth of the matteris that that girl is by birth a Russian. Her father had the misfortuneto get into trouble over an attempt upon the Czar's life."
"A Nihilist, I suppose?" said Jimmy.
Browne nodded. "Well, the attempt was discovered, and Katherine'sfather was arrested and sent to Siberia, condemned to imprisonment forlife. He was there for many years, but later on he was drafted to theisland of Saghalien, on the eastern coast of Siberia, where he now is."
Jimmy nodded. "After that?"
"Well, on the morning of the second day after that dinner atLallemand's, Miss Petrovitch and Madame Bernstein left for Paris, onsome important business, which I now believe to have been connectedwith the man who was exiled. I followed her, met her, and eventuallyproposed to her. Like the trump she is, she did her best to make mesee that for me to love her was out of the question. Thinking only ofme, she tried to put me off by telling me how impossible it all was.But instead of doing what she hoped, it only served to show me what anoble nature the girl possessed."
"She is not rich, I suppose?" asked Jimmy.
"She has not a halfpenny more than three hundred a year assured toher," the other replied; "and she shares that with Madame Bernstein."
"And yet she was willing to give up a hundred and twenty thousand ayear, and the position she would have in English society as your wife?"
"She was," said Browne.
"Then all I can say, is," said Jimmy, with considerable conviction,"she must be one in a million. But I interrupted you; I'm sorry. Goon."
"Well," continued Browne, "to make a long story short, she finished bytelling me the sad story of her life. Of course she said that shecould not possibly marry me, being the daughter of a convict. Then shewent on to add that news had lately come to her--how I cannot say--thather father is dying. It seems that he has been in failing health forsome years; and at last the terrible climate, the roughness of theliving, and the knowledge that he was hopelessly cut off for the restof his existence from all he held dear in the world, has resulted in acomplete collapse. To hope to obtain a pardon from the RussianGovernment would be worse than futile. All that remains is to get himaway."
"But, surely, my dear old Browne," said Jimmy, who had listened aghast,"it cannot be possible that you dream of assisting in the escape of aRussian convict from Saghalien?"
"That is exactly what I _do_ think," replied Browne, with unusualearnestness. "Come what may, if it costs me all I am worth in theworld, I am going to get the man out of that hell on earth. Try tothink, my dear fellow, how you would feel if you were in that girl'splace. Her father, the man whom she has been brought up to believe hasbeen sacrificed for his country's good, is dying. She declares it isher duty to be with him. How can I let her do that?"
"I admit it is impossible."
"Well, what remains? Either she must go to him, or he must come toher."
"In plain words, she wants you to risk your good name, all you have inthe world, your happiness, your very life indeed, in order to get afanatic out of the trouble he has brought upon himself."
"You can put it how you like," said Browne; "but that is practicallywhat it means. But remember she is the woman who is to be my wife. IfI lose her, what would life be worth to me?"
This was the crucial part of the interview. For the first time itstruck Browne that he was figuring before his friend in rather aselfish light.
"I wanted to see you," he began, "in order to find out whether youwould care to accompany me to the Farther East. Remember, I don't wantyou to pledge anything. All that I ask of you is to say straight outwhether you would care to come or not. I shall sail in the yacht onMonday next for Japan. We shall touch at Hong-kong _en route_, where Iam to have an interview with a man who, I believe, has brought off oneor two of these little affairs before. He will tell me what I am todo, and may possibly do it for me. After that we proceed to Japan,where we are to pick up Madame Bernstein and Miss Petrovitch. Fromthat moment we shall act as circumstances dictate."
"And now I want you to tell me one thing," said Jimmy; "what is yourreason for wanting me to accompany you?"
"I will tell you," said Browne. "I want you to come with me, because Iam anxious to have one man on board, a friend, in whom I can placeimplicit confidence. Of course Mason will be there; but, as he willhave charge of the boat, he would be comparatively useless to me. Totell the truth, Jimmy, it will make me easier to know that there issome one else on board the boat, who will take care of Miss Petrovitch,in the event of anything happening to me."
"And how long do you propose to be away from England?" his friendinquired.
"Well, that is a very difficult question to answer," said Browne. "Wemay be away three months, possibly we may be six. But you may restassured of one thing; we shall not be absent longer from England thanis absolutely necessary."
"And when do you want an answer from me," said Jimmy.
"As soon as you can let me have one," Browne replied. "Surely itshould not take you long to make up your mind?"
"You don't know my family," he answered. "They say I can never make upmy mind at all. Will it do if I let you know by seven o'clockto-night? I could arrange it by then."
"That would suit me admirably," said Browne. "You don't think any theworse of me, old chap, for asking so much of you, do you?"
"Angry with you?" answered the other. "Why should I be? You'reoffering me a jolly good holiday, in excellent company; and what'smore, you are adding a spice of danger too, which will make it doublyenjoyable. The only question is whether I can get away
."
"At any rate, I'll give you until to-night to make up your mind. Ishall expect to hear from you before seven o'clock."
"You shall hear from me without fail," said Jimmy; "and, if by anychance I can't manage it, you will understand--won't you?--that it isnot for any want of feeling for yourself."
"I know that, of course," said Browne; and thereupon the two young menshook hands.
A few moments later Browne bade him good-bye, and, calling a hansom,drove back to his own house. As soon as he had lunched he wrote toKatherine to tell her how things were proceeding. The afternoon wasspent in the purchase of various articles which he intended to takewith him. For this reason it was not until after six o'clock that hereturned to his own house. When he did, the butler brought him a noteupon a salver. He opened it, and found, as he expected, that it wasfrom Jimmy.
"Dear old man," it ran, "I am coming with you, happen what may.--Alwaysyour friend, J. FOOTE."
"That is another step upon the ladder," said Browne.