The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Chancellor, by Sir William Magnay This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Red Chancellor Author: Sir William Magnay Release Date: February 24, 2019 [EBook #58952] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CHANCELLOR *** Produced by D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net For the ePub edition of this book, the cover was produced by the Transcriber, and placed in the public domain. THE RED CHANCELLOR By SIR WILLIAM MAGNAY, BART. Author of “The Man of the Hour,” “Rogues in Arcady,” “The Pitfall,” etc. WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO “You may be my friend in this place where I have no friends.” “You may be my friend in this place where I have no friends.” (Chapter XVIII.) The Red Chancellor] [Frontispiece CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I Duke Johann’s Chapel 5 II The Face in the Light 11 III The Jaguar 15 IV The King and the Chancellor 19 V The Deserted Ball-room 23 VI The Capsized Boat 31 VII Supper at the Baroness’s 40 VIII The Beating of Death’s Wings 46 IX The Duel 55 X An Asylum 62 XI A Court Physician 66 XII A Mysterious Occurrence 72 XIII The Stone Sarcophagus 77 XVI The Professor is Maimed 86 XV A Lesson in Geology 91 XVI A Blow is Struck 97 XVII The Jaguar’s Den 104 XVIII A Word of Warning 112 XIX The Fan 118 XX The Living Dead 125 XXI A Wastrel 131 XXII The Light in the Wood 138 XXIII What we saw at Carlzig 145 XXIV The Midnight Burial 150 XXV Von Lindheim’s Departure 154 XXVI I Shoot with the Count 160 XXVII The Dish of Sweetmeats 166 XXVIII The Prior’s Room 174 XXIX The Count’s Hospitality 179 XXX A Discovery 186 XXXI The Dark Way 186 XXXII Asta at Last 194 XXXIII An Ominous Visit 191 XXXIV We Outstrip our Fortune 209 XXXV The Attack 220 XXXVI Restoration 230 XXXVII The Last Meeting 238 THE RED CHANCELLOR CHAPTER I DUKE JOHANN’S CHAPEL “Von Orsova is playing a dangerous game.” “He takes the risk.” “Of what?” It was I who asked the question, curious to hear what penalty attached to the handsome Rittmeister’s temerity. The three men gave glances at each other, as though inquiring which of them could answer. My friend Von Lindheim broke the pause, replying with a shrug— “He is a Captain of Cavalry, Master of the Horse; a gentleman, noble, no doubt, by birth, but a simple, if magnificent, Rittmeister. The lady”—he glanced round towards the dark shadows of the trees, gave another shrug of caution and lowered his voice,—“is what we all know. To couple their names is high treason; and, a fortiori, it is treason in a higher degree for the Bursche to aspire.” “We have not forgotten,” another said, “the case of poor Steiner.” I saw they were not inclined to run risks by discussing State secrets under the very walls of the palace, so postponed the gratification of my curiosity until I should get Von Lindheim alone in my rooms or his house. We four had slipped out into the gardens, to snatch ten minutes for a cigarette from the rather dreary formality of a State ball at the palace of Buyda. My three companions were guests in their official capacities, being attached to the bureau of the world-known Chancellor Rallenstein; I, Jasper Tyrrell, a mere traveller, through the friendly offices of Von Lindheim, to whom I had an introduction. I had gone abroad in a restless, roving frame of mind, ready for any adventure, and heartily sick of the monotony of inaction, forced inaction, very slightly relieved by the problematical fun of entertaining big shooting parties at my place in Norfolk. That seemed all I had to look forward to in the year, and the more I thought of my autumn programme the more restless and discontented had I grown. Even the temporary diversion of marriage, strenuously commended to me by certain not altogether disinterested friends, had failed to take hold on my fancy; amusements of that sort can be arranged at any time and at comparatively short notice. So one night at dinner, during which several friends and relations were good enough to map out a very pretty six months’ programme for me—and themselves—my resolution was taken, and before I had got into bed that night my kit for an extended solitary ramble was packed. Next day I made a bolt of it, leaving to an astute aunt full authority, by letter, to carry on Sharnston in my absence, and after a month’s desultory progress found myself at Buyda. A generation ago there were, as every student of European diplomacy knows, some very curious political intrigues (we know more about them now) in several of the Courts of Europe. More or less secret acts of aggressive statesmanship were perpetrated which, had they not been diplomatically covered up or explained away, would have seemed to set the forces of civilization to right-about-face. But the press, like speech, often serves, in some countries at [Pg 5] [Pg 6] [Pg 7] any rate, to withhold rather than to give out information, while special correspondents are mostly acclimatized and often merely human. Still, there was somewhere, in east central Europe for choice, a chance of seeing something of life a little more adventurous than the cricket field or the covert at home had to offer, and with young blood in one’s veins, a perfect digestion, a muscular system second to none at Angelo’s, the idea of a possible running into adventures is not displeasing. The dull smoothness and security of a well-policed community is monotonous to a man of spirit. Such were the vague anticipations with which I set forth, but my imagination certainly never suggested such a series of adventures as that which I was to pass through before I got back. I had purposely left my destination uncertain, even to my own mind. In the true spirit of adventure I would be bound by no fixed route, but let my fancy and the circumstances of the moment carry me whither they would. Only one indication of any sort of purpose did I take with me. That was a letter of introduction from an F. O. friend to an old school-fellow of his, Gustav von Lindheim, a rich young fellow who had been educated in England, and who now held a post in the Chancellory of his native State. It was in that corner of Europe that something of an adventure seemed most likely to be had, and it was there, to pass over my earlier wanderings, that I eventually found myself. Through the half-open windows of the great ball-room came “Amorettentänze,” thundered out with military swing and insistence by the resplendent Court band. In company with my three acquaintances I had strolled away from the illuminated portion of the gardens, and we were now pacing a dark and comparatively secluded walk. Encouraged perhaps by the lessened probability of eavesdropping (for methods under Rallenstein, the dread Chancellor’s rule, were mediæval, more or less), one of my companions remarked: “Our Princess looks bewitchingly pretty to-night. The bold Rittmeister has indeed an excuse.” “And she also,” Von Lindheim replied. “The fellow is the most splendid clothes-peg and wig-block combined that I know. He is magnificent, the sort of magnificence that does not live to see its grandchildren.” “He is a fool,” one of the others said, “to snap his fingers so close to the Jaguar’s snout.” “Orsova is a fool, my dear Szalay,” Von Lindheim assented, “as I have just hinted.” “And the Jaguar is couched and ready to spring at the right moment.” “Our dear chief does not make a mistake or let another man make it against his policy.” “Or woman.” “Ah! He has a plan, and the Herr Rittmeister von Orsova forms no part of it.” “No use for him. Prince Theodor——” I began incautiously, when I was stopped by a subdued chorus of “Hush!” “Secrets of State, my dear fellow,” Von Lindheim said, laughing, but with a warning gesture. “You will get us into trouble. You Englishmen, with your excess of freedom, can’t realize how circumspect we have to be. You have no Jaguar ever ready for the spring. You don’t know our famous Red Chancellor—even by reputation.” Strolling and talking thus, we had passed through the gardens and struck into a path, skirting a little wood beyond the pleasaunce of the royal grounds. My companions stopped and turned. “I’ll just finish my cigar and follow you,” I said. The Emperadore was too good to throw away for the sake of hurrying back to an entertainment of which, to tell the truth, the petty splendour rather bored me. Nevertheless, we all turned back together. Suddenly Szalay halted, and pointed into the wood. “What is that?” We all looked. A light was glimmering from the depth of the blackness; a light suggested rather than seen. “That is Duke Johann’s old chapel there, now used as a summer-house,” Von Lindheim said. “Yes; but what can any one be doing there at this time of night.” “We ought to investigate,” the third man, D’Urban, said with official zeal. “Come, then. We can get round this way again to the terrace, and perhaps——” They had plunged into the wood, making for the light. I followed them a step or two, then stopped and regained the path, not seeing how the question of the irregular illumination could interest me. Enjoying my cigar I strolled on. The night was pleasant enough. A slight warm breeze drove the clouds slowly across a gibbous moon, giving a pretty play of light and shade. So I sauntered on in a frame of mind attuned to my present surroundings. I had become so far acclimatized as to take an interest in the Court intrigues which flourished in the air of that Chancellor-ruled kingdom. I had an idea of seeking a temporary commission in the State cavalry, that dazzling regiment with its picture-book cattle and its theatrical accoutrements. I was only awaiting to see whether there was any grit inside all that fur and brass and steel and bullion, not caring to ear-mark myself with a regiment of costumiers’ dummies. This doubt made me take a peculiar interest in that magnificent spectacular warrior, the Rittmeister von Orsova. Granted he was a fool, he might be a plucky fool. That the pretty Princess Casilde (and she was lovely) was in love with him, or something near it, was common gossip in the inner circle of Court officialdom. But the despotic Chancellor held other views and plans. Having made himself the foremost man in the State (for the King, with all his parade of authority, was notoriously under his thumb), he now nursed the one idea of the State’s aggrandizement as the only way left of increasing his own power. And it was evident that that aggrandizement could best be attained by allying his master’s house with the richer and [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] more important state of which Prince Theodor was heir-apparent. Hence the projected marriage between that Prince and the Princess Casilde. Such was the state of affairs when I found myself in Buyda. CHAPTER II THE FACE IN THE LIGHT After a while I turned in my walk. It was time to get back to the ball-room if I would not appear to slight the honour shown me in the invitation. I had rather lost my bearings in the wooded walk, and in returning had the choice of three paths without knowing which one to take. I chose that which seemed to lead directly towards the distant music, and walked on quickly. It soon appeared that it was not the path I had come by. It led me much deeper into the wood than I had been before; still, the music seemed to grow nearer, and I flattered myself it might be a short cut. Hurrying on, I suddenly came upon a clearing in the wood. In the middle of this stood a small building—Duke Johann’s chapel, of which my companions had spoken. A quaint little edifice built, so far as the fitful light showed me, in a highly ornate style of Moorish architecture. It was still lighted up dimly; a ray fell across the path at some little distance in front of me, evidently from one of the side windows. Neither the place, although it was romantic enough, nor the light particularly interested me. But as I went round towards the opposite side of the clearing, I was arrested by a curious sight. The stream of light which I have spoken of became suddenly interrupted, then diffused and broken up, then it swept from side to side. I stopped and watched it for a few seconds, then my eye followed the movement to its cause. Just outside the window, half blocking the light and dispersing it, was a man’s head. The body I could not see, as it was naturally in the deep shadow. But the face! It was peering into the chapel eagerly, its expression, illuminated into strong relief by the light which streamed upon it from the little window, was one I can hardly describe, but shall never forget. Perhaps I can best give an idea of it by likening it to the look of hungry ferocious expectation in the eyes of a tiger which has got to within striking distance of its quarry. The sight was so extraordinary that I must have stood for several seconds hardly drawing my breath, and looking at it half fascinated. Then something told me it would be better to walk on, taking no further notice. After all, I had a perfect right as a guest to be in the wood, and——. In the dark shadow of a buttress near the window there was a quick movement, but quite independent of the peering man. Next instant a form crossed the band of light; another man had come out of the darkness and accosted me. His first words were rough and brusque. “What are you doing here?” Then, noticing his mistake, and concluding probably by my appearance that I was a gentleman, and one of the royal guests, he abruptly changed his tone and manner. “Pardon! You are waiting here for some one, mein Herr, or wish to return to the palace?” “I was taking the liberty of smoking a cigar,” I answered, as politely as I felt inclined. “Here? In the wood?” The question was put sharply, with a certain stern incredulity and insistence strangely at variance with the man’s look. I scarcely knew whether to resent or laugh at it. “Not till this minute,” I replied, deeming it easiest to be straightforward in that land of ceremonies and red tape. “I have been smoking outside the wood, and took this path back to the palace. Why? Is it forbidden?” The man gave a shrug, but never relaxed his fixed gaze on my face. “Under certain circumstances. You have not been to this spot till this moment, you say?” “No.” “You were not here just now; three, four minutes ago?” “I am not used to have my word doubted, sir,” I returned, getting a little out of patience. “Pardon.” He changed his tone again, reverting to its first bluffness. “You are English. I may ask your name?” I told him, adding, “I presume you have a right to ask it?” “Pardon,” he said again, but his manner was still offensive. “You have been here alone?” “No. I have been smoking with three friends who hold official positions here. They have gone in.” “Pardon, sir,”—he spoke in English now—“we are obliged to be circumspect here; you in England may not comprehend our necessity. Excuse me if I ask a few questions, in no spirit of idle curiosity, I assure you.” I nodded and waited. “Those gentlemen, your friends they left you here in the wood?” “On the path outside it.” “You have not been in this wood before now to-night?” “No.” “You have seen your friends since you parted from them down there?” [Pg 11] [Pg 12] [Pg 13] “No.” “No? Why did you walk this way?” “Really, sir,” I answered, getting somewhat exasperated, “I don’t know why I should submit to this cross- examination.” He laughed, showing a set of cruel teeth. “Because you are an Englishman it is incomprehensible. May one inquire without offence your object in walking this way when the path to the palace is outside the wood?” “If you must know, I took this path by mistake. I trust I have not transgressed any rule of your Court etiquette ——” “Oh, no, no, no,” he broke in. “You say you did not speak with your friends again?” “No. Is there any offence in that?” I put the question in a bantering tone, and was rather surprised that he took it seriously. “That I cannot tell. All depends on the subject of conversation. Let me see, Herren Szalay, Von Lindheim, and D’Urban; not so?” “Yes. Is there anything more you wish to know?” “At present, nothing. I thank you. Let me offer you my apologies and a piece of advice.” “Yes?” “Be careful of your words. You are not in England here. Our master, the Herr Chancellor, has no—patience with chatterers. Good-night. That is your way.” CHAPTER III THE JAGUAR In all an Englishman’s wonder and impatience at so intolerable a system of surveillance, I made my way back to the palace. The dance was in full swing again. In the crowd I could not for the moment see any one of my three friends. The King was on a daïs chatting in animated fashion to a group standing round him. His daughter, the Princess Casilde, presently came out of the throng of dancers, and sat beside him, joining laughingly in the conversation. I saw the great cavalry swell, the Master of the Horse, Von Orsova, waltzing with a plain-looking girl, and was just wondering what sort of a soldier’s heart beat beneath that glorious tunic, when Von Lindheim came up. “Lindheim,” I said, “a queer thing happened after you fellows left me just now.” “What do you mean?” he asked, looking grave, though he tried to smile. “I was passing through the wood by the chapel when a fellow accosted me, and——” He stopped me. “Hush, for Heaven’s sake. Here! Come in here and tell me. How do you like the new decoration?” he went on in a louder tone, with a wave of the hand towards the ceiling and walls; “this is only the second time the Saal has been used since the scaffolding came down. It was closed all the spring.” His extraordinary change of tone and subject led me for a moment to wonder whether he had not been paying too assiduous court to the Royal champagne: then I concluded that it was a blind. Talking on commonplace subjects, we sauntered across the adjoining music-saal, thence to a deserted room, one of the great suite of state apartments. “Now,” he said, lowering his voice and speaking anxiously, “tell me what happened.” I told him. His face grew graver and whiter every moment. “What does it mean?” I said. “Is it officialism gone mad?” “Worse than that,” he replied. “I cannot tell you. Only for your life, for the lives of all of us, don’t breathe a word of it—not even to yourself.” I looked at him inquisitively, and indeed my curiosity was greater than my concern. “Is there any danger,” I asked, “in my inquiring the name of the fellow who honoured me with the cross-examination?” “Do for Heaven’s sake dismiss the whole affair,” Von Lindheim answered impatiently. “Don’t think we have done anything wrong,” he added quickly; “it is less and yet worse than that. Our only chance is that we were not recognized.” They had been, of course, and it was on the tip of my tongue to say so, but I checked myself, thinking I would not add to his uneasiness, unreasonable as it seemed. There I made a great mistake, as the story will show. “We had better get back to the ball-room,” my friend said nervously. “Do you know there are said to be twenty thousand separate pieces in that great chandelier? It is one of the most elaborate specimens of glass work in the world.” My inspection of this interesting piece of work was cut short by Von Lindheim’s directing my attention, in an equally abrupt manner, to a specimen of Nature’s handicraft far more engaging. [Pg 14] [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] “Here,” he said, “let me introduce you to Fräulein Asta von Winterstein. She is one of the Maids of Honour, and the most charming girl in Buyda.” The Fräulein’s looks decidedly confirmed his words; a merry-looking girl, with a lovely face, and that air of youth and spirits which is so eloquent of the joie de vivre. “You are fortunate in getting a dance with Fräulein von Winterstein,” Lindheim said. “I am only just off duty,” she laughed, “and my card is a blank.” I was beginning a complimentary remark when my friend said, “Excuse my depriving you of five seconds of the Fräulein’s society, my dear Tyrrell, but I have a message to give her.” They drew aside and I waited. Happening to glance at them I noticed that a cloud had come over the girl’s face; both looked grave as they spoke in an undertone, then the girl’s natural animation returned, and with a few laughing words to Von Lindheim, she left him and came to me. A swinging waltz was being played and we took several turns. When we stopped I remarked: “Our friend, Von Lindheim, seems worried about something, I’m afraid he takes officialism too seriously.” “An Englishman cannot understand the peculiarities of our life here.” I was rather tired of being told that, albeit rather glad of my ignorance. Still, I did not mind the adage from this girl; she was breezy and sensible, and determined not to be too insular with respect to Buyda officialism. “Don’t you admire the Princess?” my partner asked. “She is very pretty.” “Every one thinks her lovely.” “She is not the only belle in the room.” “Hush!—Luckily; for she is out of reach.” “Naturally. Herr Rittmeister von Orsova is a fine specimen of a man.” “You are the genius of indiscretion. A splendid fellow.” “I hope he is all through alike, and that the grit and pluck correspond to the spectacular part of the show.” “Why should you doubt it?” “I don’t for a moment. Only Nature does sometimes send out inferior goods in smart cases.” “He is as brave as he is handsome.” “Good! Oh, by——!” “What is the matter?” I had stopped in the waltz, with the result that the next couple cannoned against us severely. The reason of my sudden pull-up was something which in the whirl had passed my eye. Bending over the daïs in close conversation with the King was a man whom I had not observed there before. And that man’s was the face I had seen peering into the chapel window. The expression was altered now, but the face was the same, one never to be mistaken or forgotten, a face curiously striking in its suggestion of immense power and indomitable will, yet ugly almost to repulsiveness. “Who is that?” I asked eagerly. “That man talking to the King?” The girl looked at me curiously. “Surely you know him, at least by sight. No? Why, that is our great Chancellor, Graf von Rallenstein.” CHAPTER IV THE KING AND THE CHANCELLOR I began to understand Von Lindheim’s disquietude; all the same, although the Chancellor’s system of espionage was pretty notorious, I did not quite see what my friend had to be so afraid of. True, I was an Englishman, and we know the aphorism; then he, too, was half English and a Rugby boy. Still, I suppose he counted as a native under the heel of the man known throughout Europe as the Red Chancellor, the man who never stood any nonsense. “That Von Rallenstein?” “And you really never saw him before?” “Never before to-night; not even his photograph.” “That is not extraordinary,” she replied in a low voice. “He has never allowed himself to be photographed.” I began to speculate how this great statesman came to be in that undignified position outside the chapel window, [Pg 18] [Pg 19] and to marvel at the customs of the land in which I found myself. Then I recollected that my partner expected me to dance, not muse, and we whirled on. The waltz came to an end. As we stopped I felt myself touched on the shoulder. A man, evidently one of the officers of the household, was at my side. He addressed me by name. “His Majesty desires to make your better acquaintance when the honoured Fräulein can spare you, sir.” It was of course a command, so I took my partner to a seat and made for the daïs. The King and the Chancellor were still chatting confidentially as I approached. The former received me very graciously, and presented me to Von Rallenstein, who shook hands in a manner which was almost British. The conversation at once glided into a perfectly easy groove; the King was very affable, and courteously interested himself in my movements, asked me how I liked the country and city, how long I thought of staying, what part of England I lived in, was pleased to hear I had come over for sport; asked me several questions on horse-breeding, and said, as the subject was one in which he took peculiar interest, he should esteem it a great advantage to have the benefit of my advice and experience, and would go more fully into it at an early opportunity. All this was very pleasant; Von Rallenstein chimed in now and again with a pertinent remark or leading suggestion; he seemed agreeable enough, and I began to think Von Lindheim’s bugbear was principally of his own making. Of course any one could see that the Chancellor was a strong man and a masterful, but, after all, he had a peculiar country to govern, and those were the qualities necessary to that end. Had I never seen that cruel, almost fiendish face at the window, I should have thought its owner a very good fellow—for his place. In this world of weaklings one does not admire a man less for his grit and power. Presently the talk halted; and I understood from the King’s manner that the interview was to close. He dismissed me very graciously, hoping I should enjoy myself both that evening and during the whole of my stay in his country. Von Rallenstein added a word or two, and I bowed myself off. “How did you find the King, and, more particularly, the Chancellor?” Fräulein von Winterstein inquired when I rejoined her. “Not very alarming. But then I am—an—‘outsider.’” A gorgeous being came up whose twinkling eyes were in ludicrous contrast to his fiercely brushed-up moustache. “Ah, here is Herr Oberkammerer Eilhardt,” exclaimed the girl, introducing us. “Herr Oberkammerer, our friend Mr. Tyrrell wishes to be acquainted with Herr Rittmeister von Orsova, whom I know to be a great friend of yours. Mr. Tyrrell is interested in the First Regiment of Cuirassiers.” The Herr Oberkammerer bowed with an energy begotten of Court life. “It would charm me to be the medium of bringing our much-honoured guest into friendship with the Herr Rittmeister. My friend Von Orsova of a certainty comes to my rooms here to conclude the evening and drink a glass of wine. If Herr Tyrrell would honour me likewise?” I thanked him and accepted. “That will be capital,” my partner said. “You can discuss arms and horses, and enflame your martial spirits over some of the Royal Steinberger Cabinet.” “I can answer for the quality of the wine,” Eilhardt returned. “The dance is nearly at an end; we keep early hours in Buyda. I cannot leave until his Majesty retires. But if you will meet me here ten minutes after the King’s departure, I shall do myself the honour to conduct you to my apartment.” I agreed, and with a flourish he left us, swaggering off towards the royal party. “It is just as well to have a quiet chat with Von Orsova,” Fräulein von Winterstein observed. “He is too fond of the dance to say many words to one here.” “To a man.” “Bien entendu. He is a perfect waltzer.” “Happy partners!” “Take care.” “Why?” her manner made me ask. Then I followed her eyes and saw the reason of her whispered caution. The tall Rittmeister was waltzing with the Princess. They passed quite close to us. He was talking to her with an earnestness far beyond the usual ball-room trifling, or even flirtation. “A serious affair.” “Mr. Tyrrell, you are hopelessly indiscreet. Ah!” Suddenly the band stopped. The King had risen abruptly and was evidently about to retire. The musicians stood up and played the National Hymn. The Princess Casilde went quickly to her father, a procession was formed, and having interchanged bows with the company the royal party retired. There was to be a dance or two more; and, as though relieved by the departure of royalty, every one seemed to become more animated, smiles were now laughter, and the excessive, almost oppressive decorum of the dance vanished. [Pg 20] [Pg 21] [Pg 22] My partner had hurried away with a bewitching “Auf Wiedersehen!” to join the royal party. Left alone, I betook myself to the corner of the ball-room where Herr Eilhardt was to find me. CHAPTER V THE DESERTED BALL-ROOM If this State ball did not degenerate exactly into a romp, it grew more free and easy as I sat watching it and waiting for the Oberkammerer. Von Orsova seemed to have had enough of dancing—he was evidently a good deal run after— and was now parading about with a dashing, middle-aged woman, corresponding to the skittish colonels’ wives we see in our garrison towns. They passed me, she chattering and laughing, he rather bored, as it struck me, and strolled off towards the music-room. Then I noticed the two men, Szalay and D’Urban, who had been with Von Lindheim and me in the gardens. They were talking earnestly together. I wondered if they, too, took the same serious view of the situation as my friend. Herr Eilhardt presently appeared and hurried to me with profuse apologies for having kept me waiting. The King was particularly exigeant that night, he had most unwarrantably taken it into his head to discuss certain arrangements, as though any one could be expected to enter into such subjects at midnight after a dance. This he confided to me confidentially, and then proceeded to look round for his other guest. Von Orsova was not to be seen in the thinning crowd. With renewed and quite unnecessary apologies the Oberkammerer sailed off in search of him. Only to return alone. “The Rittmeister is nowhere to be seen. He has doubtless already gone to my apartment, not knowing I should return here. Shall we ascend?” We ascended. Herr Eilhardt occupied a comfortable suite of rooms, shut off, like a flat, in a distant block of the great rambling palace. He was evidently a man of taste, from the quaint old furniture, the pictures and curiosities, with which his bachelor quarters were crammed. “The Herr Rittmeister is already here, yes?” he inquired of his servant. “No, Oberkammerer,” the man answered, “the Herr Rittmeister has not yet arrived.” My host led the way into one of the most delightful dens I ever puffed smoke in. “Shall we make ourselves comfortable? Von Orsova must be here directly. He said he should come. Adolph! The wine.” “You have a good time here,” I remarked with a glance at my surroundings, almost too gorgeous for a bachelor official. He laughed. He seemed to have thrown off his official manner, to have become more human and less of a marionette. “We are in a groove,” he replied; “and it is necessary to make that groove as comfortable as possible.” “Not only that,” he proceeded with a frankness which rather surprised me: “in the artificial life of a Court it is good to keep up the illusion. One must take one’s duties seriously; etiquette, forms and ceremonies are often in themselves ridiculous. If one allowed oneself to feel their absurdity one could never perform them properly. One’s surroundings must be in keeping with one’s life; it would be fatal to regard them from an outsider’s point of view.” “You are rather a philosopher, mein Herr.” “I am a countryman of Heine. A philosopher I hope first, and an official afterwards.” “Certainly. I congratulate you. How few of us can say we accept our lot in the same spirit!” There was a knock at the door. A servant in quaint livery entered and made two prodigious bows before delivering his message, which was to the effect that the King desired the Oberkammerer’s presence. “I attend His Majesty immediately.” The man bowed twice again almost to the ground and departed. In a moment my host had resumed his professional manner of a mediæval master of the ceremonies. His apologies were unbounded. It was most unfortunate; the King did not require his attendance at this hour once in six months. That it should have happened on this of all nights was deplorable. “It is a matter of duty,” I said, holding out my hand, “no apology can be needed. I shall hope to have the pleasure of paying you another visit and of resuming our interesting conversation.” “I know not for how long his Majesty may require my attendance,” he said regretfully. “His Majesty has lately been given to step outside his prescribed circle,” which was one way of hinting at eccentricity. “And the Rittmeister von Orsova does not seem likely to honour me to-night. It is altogether unfortunate, but you will give me the pleasure of dining here, and I will ask Von Orsova to meet you. You will not stay now? I am horrified at the idea of turning you out.” [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] I assured him that such violent emotion was unnecessary, and we left his rooms together, retracing our steps through the labyrinthine corridors and stairways of the old palace, my companion keeping up a string of explanations and apologies, which, of course, I politely deprecated. I was disappointed at missing Von Orsova, but he evidently was not bound for the Oberkammerer’s quarters that night. Before a pair of emblazoned doors, guarded by a sentry, my host stopped and bade me good-night. “I must leave you here,” he said, “as my time, you understand, is not my own. If you wait for a few moments I will send a man to show you the way out of the palace.” “It is quite unnecessary,” I protested. “Please do not trouble. I have the bump of locality.” “The grand entrance will be closed, or your way would be simply down these stairs. As it is, your nearest way will be to go to the end here, then along the picture corridor on the right, pass through the last door, thence you will easily find your way down to the private entrance. The sentries will direct you. Good-night.” With a flourish he passed through the grand doors into the royal apartments, and I went on through the suite of anterooms. Beyond the last I found myself in a long corridor, panelled with portraits from that bygone world to which my late companion was so tenaciously clinging. “Go through the last door,” he had said. But there were two, exactly facing each other, and as fate would have it I pushed through the left-hand one instead of the right. I saw at once that I had made a mistake. I was in a curious room, something like a private box at the theatre, but on a very large scale. What light there was came through a half-closed window at the farther end. It was all so peculiar that my curiosity made me step forward and look through the window. A glance explained it. The little apartment overlooked the great ball-room where we had danced that evening, now in darkness save for the rays of a brilliant moon which streamed in full radiance through the row of windows on the opposite side, and for one other light. A pair of candles in a massive silver holder were placed on a console table, and showed me an extraordinary scene. Two men standing in a recess by a window facing one another, and one pointing a pistol at his companion’s breast. The light falling on the polished barrel showed it clearly and made me certain of that. But what astounded me most was my recognition of the two; the man with the pistol was the one who had accosted and questioned me in the wood that evening; I knew him in an instant; and the other was even less unmistakable—Von Orsova. “What on earth are they doing?” I said to myself. “What fresh piece of tomfoolery is this?” For it looked childish enough; the two were so quiet and matter-of-fact that it might have been a rehearsal of a stage scene. After the Oberkammerer and his playing at mediævalism I was prepared for anything. The men were talking, but in so low a tone that from the distance I could not catch their words. But the man still continued to cover Von Orsova’s heart with his pistol; they were not two paces apart. I wondered how long they were going to keep up the attitude, which was not particularly heroic or effective from my point of view. At last the murmur of their voices ceased; there was a movement, and one which sent a thrill through me. Not so much the action as the agonized look on Von Orsova’s face as he threw up his hands with a gesture of despair, and, turning almost with a stagger to the wall, leaned against it with his head on his arm. The other never let the pistol drop— it was still pitilessly pointed at the Rittmeister. Then I realized that something serious was in progress. My idea was that the smaller man was trying to extort something from Von Orsova, having got him at a disadvantage. But I was wrong, at least in that my speculation did not go far enough. After a few seconds Von Orsova turned again, facing the man and throwing out his hand in desperation. “Is there——” he spoke louder, and by pushing the window a little way open I could hear him plainly say now —“is there no other way?” The reply came coldly and uncompromisingly. “None.” “It is devilish, it is sheer murder,” Von Orsova exclaimed bitterly; “and you, Count, you lend yourself to it.” “Most regretfully. But the State is before everything.” “The Chancellor, you mean.” “Pardon me, the State. Time is short, Herr Rittmeister. It would be a pity if I should be forced to pull the trigger.” “Ah!” Von Orsova gave a great sigh. “Let me take the alternative.” He turned to the console table and took up from it a small object which I could not distinguish. As he did so the other moved with him the corresponding distance, keeping the same space between them, and ever covering him with the pistol. Then they returned to their former positions. Von Orsova seemed to be manipulating the thing he held in his hand. “My offence does not merit this punishment,” he said, almost coolly, so coolly that I began to wonder what the punishment was. “The Chancellor judges otherwise,” the Count returned. “You played a dangerous game, Herr Rittmeister, and must have known the risk you ran. But my orders are not to talk but to act; you understand?” Von Orsova raised the hand which held the small object. “This works quickly?” “Instantaneously.” The soldier seemed to fumble with it, then he burst out, “This is horrible! I cannot—I am young and unready to die. Furello, my friend, let me escape; no one need ever know. I have rich relations and friends; I will buy my life with a [Pg 26] [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] fortune beyond—ah!” The cry was one of despair, as the Count extended his arm to fire, and so cut short the other’s pleading. It was appalling. As I realized what was going forward I broke out into a cold perspiration. My nerves are pretty firm, but I found myself trembling and almost paralysed, at least quite unable to decide on any line of action. The Count’s reply fell on my ear, but my brain was only half conscious of it. “I give you ten seconds. I am not a madman; and, if I were, escape would be impossible. Shall I fire?” Von Orsova raised his hand. “I will spare you the trouble,” he said, and then turned to the wall. I heard the murmuring sound of his voice, perhaps in prayer; then he raised his right hand to his head. Next moment he staggered from the wall and fell heavily backwards with an awful thud, his head almost striking the Count, who jumped back that it might clear him. So he stood for a few seconds watching the supine body, his pistol still pointing as though fearing a trick. Then he moved round, always keeping his face towards the body, took up the candles in his disengaged hand, and held the light so that it fell on Von Orsova’s face. From the distance at which I was placed I could plainly see the features, livid and distorted. I realized then that the startling tragedy was over. By a curious reaction my nerves suddenly regained their normal tension, and I could view the scene with as little excitement as though it were occurring on the stage, could look in mere curiosity to see what the Count would do next. It was dramatic enough. The great room was dark now (for the moon was obscured), save at one corner, where the candles flickered on the ghastly face of the dead Hussar, made more horrible by contrast with his gorgeous uniform; then the relentless black figure stooping over him. Satisfied apparently with his inspection, the Count set the candelabrum on the floor, and kneeling down beside the body, proceeded to unfasten the tunic, and inserting his hand, kept it for a while upon the heart. He withdrew it, fastened the gilt button again, raised the dead hand and let it fall with a thud on the floor. Then he rose and took up the light, seemed to notice some small object lying near, which he pushed with his foot towards the body, held the lights above his head, and looked round the room. Then he set down the candelabrum upon the table again, and went softly to the door. I groped my way back into the corridor, pushed open the right door this time, and found my way without difficulty down to the private entrance of the palace. A soldier on guard there challenged me, but saluted and made way respectfully on my explaining that I had come from the Oberkammerer’s apartments. CHAPTER VI THE CAPSIZED BOAT Next morning I could hardly persuade myself that what I had seen the night before had not been all a dream. In the bright sunshine and in the active work-a-day life of the city, the ghastly business seemed impossible. But the effect of my experience lay heavy on my mind. I felt I could do nothing. As a State affair it was no business of mine to interfere; I could not decide even whether I should tell Von Lindheim what I knew. I was to see him late that afternoon, and had the greater part of the day at my disposal. Thinking that exercise would be the best means of shaking off my depression, I determined to revert to an old sport of mine, rowing. Accordingly, after a late breakfast, I hired the lightest sculling boat I could find, and went for a pull up the river. A picturesque stream, the Narvo, when once you get clear of the wharves, mills, warehouses, and like unromantic accessories; but the worst piece of water for a steady pull that I had ever dipped oar into, and I had tried a good many, from the Wensum to the Danube. No sooner did I get into my swing and the craft began to slip along, than I had to hold her up for an eyot, or a patch of aggressive water lilies, varied by what answers in those parts for a weir, or a superfluous, if picturesque waterfall. But the clearing of the obstacles was all in the day’s work. I was not bound against time for the source of the river, so pushed, hauled, and punted energetically, thinking the change of working muscles no bad thing. As a reward for my perseverance I presently got away from all signs of the town; the banks grew higher and, with their overhanging bushes, something like our Wye, shut out the hideous chimneys and other unromantic evidences of Buyda’s commercial prosperity. As I pulled leisurely up a comparatively clear reach, my train of thought was snapped by the bow of my boat striking against some light object. I looked round and saw I had run against a floating scull. I took it into my boat, thinking some one might have let it slip and been unable to recover it, an awkward mishap not uncommon with duffers; then I rowed on, thinking to come across the owner before long. The sound of rushing water warned me that I was approaching another of the weirs, of which just then I was getting rather tired, since they meant haulage. Beyond a sharpish bend the river widened considerably, the current became stronger, and, looking ahead, I could see an obstacle, half weir, half natural waterfall, with the usual rotten posts and dilapidated rails. I pulled on, undecided whether to take the trouble of carrying my craft round or to return, when a stroke took me beyond, and so in sight of an object lying caught in the sedge outside the current. A capsized boat. I did not like the look of it. “That accounts for the scull,” I said, and pulled round to examine her. No one was to be seen on the banks, which were flat and open here. I ran my boat alongside the overturned craft. With some difficulty I righted her. A row-boat, similar to mine, she was of course empty, except that, jammed under the thwarts was a walking-stick, an ordinary bamboo with a hook handle and the usual silver band. This I threw into my boat, and then got ashore. Not a soul was in sight. I walked up a good way past the fall, giving an occasional shout, but there was no [Pg 30] [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] sign of any human being, dead or alive, and the one seemed now as much to be looked for as the other. So I returned to my boat without having got nearer to the mystery, and now determined to pull homewards, for the river up higher did not promise much reward for my exertions. As I went back, however, I looked sharply about for any further evidences of a boating accident, but found none. It looked to me very much as though the boat had gone over the fall, and the walking-stick decidedly pointed to someone having been in her. But I came to the conclusion that even then if the fellow could swim and had kept his head he would probably have got off, with an extremely unpleasant ducking, as the fall was not great, and the water below clear of obstacles and fairly deep. At the landing-stage I told my story, but the capsized boat did not belong to the owner of mine, and the subject consequently lacked interest for him. There had been accidents over the falls, he told me; but it was people’s own fault and stupidity. One of his men, however, thought he had seen a gentleman rowing up earlier in the day, but did not recognize him, or know where the boat had been hired. That was all; so not seeing what more I could be expected to do, I went back to the hotel, calling, however, at the police office on my way to give information of what I had found. The officer in charge phlegmatically assured me that the matter should be looked into, and bowed me out. Having changed my clothes, I went on to Von Lindheim’s. He had not returned home, although it was past his usual hour, but shortly after my arrival he made his appearance. He seemed in better spirits, and I was glad to notice that the cloud of the previous evening had passed away. He had been detained at the Chancellerie, he said, by extra work; D’Urban was away, whether on leave or through illness he had not been able to find out. “It was rather hard on me,” Von Lindheim said, “but I had to stay over a stupid protocol, although I told Krause, our chief, that I was taking an English friend to the theatre. However, we have just time for a short dinner, and the coffee we can get between the acts.” We were going together en garçon to see Harff in Shylock, and accordingly sat down to a hurried meal. It had been in progress scarcely ten minutes when word came in that Von Lindheim’s friend and colleague, Szalay, was waiting to see him on most urgent business. “I told the Herr you were engaged, sir,” said the servant, “but he said he must see you without delay.” My friend looked grave, and jumping up with a word of apology to me, hurried from the room. I concluded that the visit had to do with the discovery of Von Orsova’s death, and began to turn over in my mind whether I ought to say what I knew. But after all, I argued, it has nothing to do with these men; I had better perhaps ignore a matter of which I have no right to be cognizant. In a few minutes Von Lindheim returned, followed by his visitor. “You are a man of the world, my dear Tyrrell, and we have come to put a case before you.” I nodded assent. “Szalay here has called to see me on a very serious matter indeed. He has been challenged to fight a duel.” I whistled. “Who’s your man?” “A ridiculous little ass in the Royal Guard here; a fellow who is always swaggering about full of his own importance, a certain Captain Rassler de Hayn, or Hahn, as he is nicknamed.” “And the cause of the quarrel?” Szalay broke in eagerly: “None that I can tell of. He sends a friend to me to say that I have spoken disrespectfully of him, and so insulted his uniform, his corps, the army, and the King. He will hear of no apology.” “Fire-eating little fool!” Von Lindheim ejaculated. “But perhaps you have insulted him, and all the rest of it?” “Not particularly. Everybody laughs at the little spit-fire, you understand; I have laughed with the rest. But not to his face; I have manners.” “De Hayn is a dead shot and a clever swordsman,” Von Lindheim observed grimly. “These fools are not wanting in pluck.” “But why has he challenged me of all men?” Szalay cried, with a gesture of bewilderment. Lindheim gave a shrug. “Who can account for the action of a conceited fathead? Szalay has come to ask me to act for him. Of course, the whole affair is ridiculous, still it may end seriously if we treat it as lightly as it deserves. I must go and see this Lieutenant Paulssen without delay. What line would you take?” “You come to the worst man in the world when you put such a case to an Englishman,” I answered, “for——” “I know. You have no duels, and hold them supremely absurd. But as a man of the world——” “Don’t call me that, even in a complimentary sense,” I returned. “But so far as my advice goes, it would be to see this Lieutenant Paulssen, assure him that your principal has no recollection of having spoken disrespectfully of his, far less of any intention to do so; that his man has been misinformed, and generally to apologize for any careless word by which he may have u...