CHAPTER XXIII
GENERAL MAXGREGOR
Maxwell's coolness had come back to him again. His face was alert andvigorous; his anger had gone.
"I am afraid that I shall have to ask you to go on alone," he said. "Inthe face of this discovery I do not see my way to lose this opportunity.The king cannot stay here long; you will see that it is impossible forCountess Saens to run any further risks. I am going to wait."
Jessie felt that she would like to wait also, but duty was urging herelsewhere. She stood irresolute just a moment as a figure came down thestreet, and pausing before the house opposite, whistled a bar from somecomic opera. Maxwell touched Jessie's arm.
"Just a minute," he said. "Cling to me as if we were saying good-night.Unless I am greatly mistaken, the whistle was no more than a signal. Ah,that is what I thought! Evidently all the servants have gone to bed, forhere is the countess herself."
The countess opened the door and stood on the step with the light behindher. The man stopped whistling and walked up the steps. He saluted thecountess properly.
"So you are here at last!" she said. The night was so close and stillthat her voice was easily carried across the road. "I thought that youwere never coming. Take this note and see that Prince Mazaroff has itwithout delay. You will be able to give him the signal. See it goes intohis own hand. Oh, yes, Merehaven House. The best way will be by thegarden door. _You_ know where that is."
The man nodded, and said something in Russian that the listeners couldnot follow. Then he lounged off up the road and the countess vanished.Maxwell was all energy.
"Come along," he said. "I have changed my mind. What the king does forthe next few hours must be on his own head and on his own account. It isfar greater importance for me to know what message it is that thecountess has sent to Prince Mazaroff. We will walk quickly and get aheadof that fellow, so that I can hide myself in the garden before he comes.We shall probably find that the signal is a bar or two of the same operathat our man was whistling just now. Unless fortune plays me a verysorry trick, I shall see the inside of that letter within half an hour."
The slouching figure of the unconscious Russian was passed in aperfectly natural way. Maxwell glanced at him sideways, and saw that hehad slipped the letter into his breast pocket. The garden gate leadinginto the grounds of Merehaven House was safely reached, and Jessie drewa sigh of relief as she threw off her wrap and cast it on a seat. Ifanybody saw her now it would be assumed that she had come out for abreath of fresh air.
She saw the lights streaming from the library window, she saw the littlegroup there, and she drew nearer. She heard enough to tell her that shewas in deadly peril of being discovered. If Mazaroff was not stopped, ifhe persisted in his determination, the fraud must be exposed.
What was to be done? Something would have to be done, and speedily.Varney could be trusted to stave off the evil moment as long aspossible. If she could come and spoil Mazaroff's game? The idea came toJessie like a flash--she tingled with it.
The queen! Who else but the Queen of Asturia? Jessie raced round andreached the house. She hoped that she would not be too late; she prayedthat the queen had not gone. There she was, on the couch of the salon,quiet and dignified as usual, but her dark eyes were alert. She lookedabout her from time to time as if seeking something. Greatly daring,Jessie made a sign. With her forefinger she actually beckoned to thequeen! But there was no sign of offended displeasure in the face ofroyalty. On the contrary, the queen rose, and making some excuse walkedto the door. Once outside her manner changed entirely. Her face grewhaggard, her eyes had a hunted expression.
"What is it?" she asked. "Something very wrong, or you would never....But never mind that. Speak plainly, and I will do anything I can toassist. Ay, menial work, if necessary."
"There is no necessity, madame," Jessie said breathlessly. "Nor have Itime to explain. That will come later. Prince Mazaroff has made what hedeems to be a most important discovery. It is nothing like so importantas he thinks, but its disclosure at the present moment would ruin allour plans. He is telling Lord Merehaven all about it now in the library.Lord Merehaven is an English gentleman first and a diplomatistafterwards, and he would insist upon having the whole thing cleared up.Could you not make a diversion? Could you not interrupt, get Mazaroffout of the way if only for half an hour? Time is precious."
"It is very vague," said the queen quietly. "At the same time, I can seethat you are in deadly earnest. I will go to the library myself atonce."
The queen moved along the corridor swiftly, as she used to do in hermountain home long before she felt the weight of the crown on her brows.She forced a smile to her face as she entered. Lord Merehaven waslistening gravely and with a puzzled frown to Mazaroff. Varney stood bylaughing with the air of a man who is vastly amused.
"I don't think Lord Merehaven understands," he said. "Champagne, my dearprince, champagne in moderation is an excellent thing. But when indulgedin three times a day----"
"I shall be glad if Miss Galloway will be pleased to grace us with herpresence," Mazaroff said.
"Would I not do instead?" the queen said as she looked in. She wassmiling gaily as she entered. She seemed to have utterly abandonedherself to the gaiety of the moment. "Miss Galloway is doing somethingfor me, and I could not spare her for the next half hour. After that weare both at your disposal. Positively, I cannot permit three of thecleverest and most brilliant men in the house to be seeking each other'ssociety in that selfish manner. You have quite forgotten those stamps,my lord!"
"Bless my soul, so I have!" Merehaven exclaimed. "I beg your majesty'spardon. Mazaroff was saying----"
"What Mazaroff was saying will keep," that individual mutteredsignificantly. "There is no hurry; and the mere idea of keeping hermajesty waiting----"
He bowed and smiled. It was quite clear to Jessie, who was once moreoutside the window, that the Russian had no idea that anything butaccident had postponed his accusation. He was talking to Varney now inthe most natural manner. With her hand under his arm the queen had ledMerehaven away. Presently Mazaroff made an excuse and followed. Jessiestepped into the room.
"That was a very near thing, my dear," Varney said coolly. "If the queenhad not come in----"
"I fetched her," Jessie said. "By great good luck I was by the window atthe time. Keep Mazaroff's mouth sealed to-night, and by this timeto-morrow, when he is confronted with Vera Galloway, he will see thereal Vera and nobody else."
"Then you have been quite successful in your mission?" Varney askedeagerly.
Jessie proceeded to explain, and as she did so Varney's face grew grave.But after all, he reflected, things are not quite so bad as they mightbe. The enemy was utterly at a loss, and could not possibly know thatthose papers had vanished.
"You have done wonderfully well between you," Varney said at length."What was that? I fancied that I saw the shadow of a man lurking in thegarden. Just by those mimosa tubs."
Surely enough a shadow flitted along, and somebody began softlywhistling a few bars of an opera. Hardly was the first bar on the man'slips before another man dashed forward and struck the whistler to theground. There was a struggle, the sound of a blow or two, a suggestionof punishment for loafers hanging about there with a feloniousintention, and the figure of the first man rose and ran headlong downthe garden. In the distance the clang of the wooden door could beheard.
"_Another man dashed forward and struck the whistler tothe ground._"]
"We had better see into this," Varney cried. "If this is some cunninggame of some gang of thieves----?"
"It is nothing of the kind," Jessie said tranquilly. "That is Mr.Charles Maxwell. We had better go and see if he has succeeded. I willtell you presently what it all means. If he has only obtained possessionof that letter without the thief knowing that the robbery wasintentional!... Come along!"
Varney followed, greatly excited. In the shadow of an alcove seatMaxwell stood with a small black envelope in his hand. He advancedcoolly to Varney.
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"This was intended for Mazaroff," he explained. "It was sent to him byCountess Saens. I fancy that I have managed this without yonder toolsuspecting anything. This young lady will tell you all about itpresently. Let us open the letter."
The letter contained nothing worse than a visiting card, with only a fewwords written on it. As Maxwell held it up to the light the others couldsee perfectly:--
"I am sending this by a sure hand. The key of the situation lies withGeneral Maxgregor. Follow him up without delay, for time is all againstus."