The World Masters
Page 31
CHAPTER XXX
Almost at the moment that the man and the two women who, but a fewmoments ago, had been standing in the full pride of their youth andhealth and beauty, had dropped to the earth in little heaps ofcrumbling bones, whistles sounded inside the works, and a number ofmen came out of the western gate, some of them armed with rifles andrevolvers, and others carrying stretchers. Hardress and Chrysie werelifted on to two of these, and Lady Olive went back into the workswith them.
Lord Orrel and the president, after having their wounds hastilybandaged for the time being, went to the door of the saloon carriage,and Lord Orrel said, shortly and sternly:
"Madame de Bourbon, as you have seen, your niece has ceased to exist.Count Valdemar, the same is true of your daughter. And as for you,gentlemen," he went on, turning to the two admirals, "you have seensomething of those means of defence of which I spoke to you afterdinner.
"There," he went on, pointing to the little heap of mingled boneslying on the sand, "is the proof of it. Every human thing that triesto pass the limits of those rays will share the same fate. Thesepeople were enemies, but they were worse--they were traitors; and, asyou have seen, they wished to be murderers. They have justly earnedtheir fate. There is no reason why you should share it. Take myadvice, I pray you, advice which I give from the bottom of my heart.Weigh anchor to-night, go back to Europe, and you will find thateverything that we have told you is true."
"That, my Lord Orrel, is impossible," said Admiral Nazanoff, coming tothe door of the car. "By what devilish means you have slain CaptainFargeau and those two ladies we know not, save that it must have beendone through some material mechanism. To-morrow our guns shall tryconclusions with it, whatever it is. Yes, even though you turned thatmurderous ray on us and killed us, as you did them, for our men havetheir orders. And now, I suppose, we had better get out and walk. Wecan hardly expect the use of your train after what has happened."
"You needn't worry about that, admiral," said the president; "we'vepromised you safe conduct to your ships, and you shall have it. Butlook here, count," he went on, pulling a heavy six-shooter out of hispocket, "don't you get fingering about that pocket as if you had a gunin it, or it'll be the last shooting-iron you ever did touch. We don'twant any more shooting than we've had till we begin business in themorning."
Count Valdemar saw that he was covered, and he didn't like the look ofthe hard, steady, grey eyes behind the barrel of the long repeatingpistol. He took his hand empty out of his pocket, clasped it with theleft over his knees, and shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing tobe said, and so he kept something of his dignity by holding histongue, and the president went on:
"Well, that's better. You keep your hands where they are, and no harmwill happen to you just now. But don't you think, gentlemen, that itwould be better if Madame de Bourbon came back with us into the works,where she will be safe, anyhow safer than she would be on one of yourships, if you are still determined to fight it out."
"I am much obliged to you, Monsieur le President," replied the oldlady, in her most autocratic manner; "but after what has happened, andwhat I have seen, I prefer to return with my own people."
"And," added Admiral Dumont, "you may be quite certain, monsieur, thatbefore this most regrettable battle begins at six o'clock, one of theships will have taken Madame de Bourbon beyond the reach of harm."
"With that, of course, we must be content," said Lord Orrel, comingback to the president's side. "And now, gentlemen, since, as you say,it is to be war between us, I have one more favour to ask: Here is theman," he went on, pointing to the second engineer of the _Nadine_, whohad been brought out of the gate by a couple of stalwart quartermasters,"here is the man who allowed himself to be bribed by the late CountessSophie Valdemar and the Marquise de Montpensier to wreck the enginesof the _Nadine_, and so, as they thought, turn the course of fate intheir favour. We have not punished him, but we have no further use forhis services. He is a good engineer, whatever else he may be, and soperhaps you will be able to find him some employment on board one ofyour ships. Now, Robertson and Thompson, help Mr Williams into thecar, please. These gentlemen want to get down to the harbour."
The two quartermasters picked up the handcuffed Williams, and flunghim in through the open door of the saloon. Then the president said tothe man at the engine, "Right away, driver, and come back when thesegentlemen are safe on board. Salud, Senores," he went on to the twoadmirals, raising his hat with his unwounded arm. "Take myadvice--clear out, and don't let us have any shooting in the morning.I reckon we've had quite trouble enough already."
At this moment the driver of the electric motor sounded his bell, thetwo admirals and the count raised their hats and stared out throughthe window with grim, immovable faces, and so went back to the ships,marvelling greatly at the wonderful horror they had beheld. Madame deBourbon was already in hysterics, succoured by Ma'm'selle Felice.Count Valdemar, though stricken to the heart by the frightful fate ofthe only human being that he had loved since his wife had died nearlytwenty years before, was yet determined to use all his influence tocompel the admirals to take the amplest possible revenge for herslaying. Certainly if the works were not battered into ruins withintwelve hours, it would not be his fault; and then, as the little traindrew out, he fell to wondering whether Hardress and Chrysie Vandelwere killed or not.
"And are you still decided to fight, gentlemen?" he said to theadmirals a few moments later, when the car was rattling over thenarrow rails, "and, if so, what are you going to do with this thing?"He touched Mr Williams's still prostrate body with his toe as he saidthis.
"I need not tell you, count," replied Admiral Nazanoff, "as a Russianto a Russian, that orders are orders, and mine are to take those worksor destroy them. I admit that what we saw to-night was very wonderfuland very terrible, but when Holy Russia says 'Go and do,' then we mustgo and do, or die. The Little Father has no forgiveness for failure.That, in Russia, is the one unpardonable fault. Our guns will open atsix in the morning. That man will take his chance with the rest of ourmen."
"And," said Admiral Dumont, "even if we cannot take the works and usethem, we may destroy them, and so rid the world of this detestablecommercial tyranny which would make war a matter of poll-tax. We shallopen fire at six. Ah, here we are at the wharf. Now let us go and seethat everything is ready. Admiral Nazanoff, I believe you are mysenior in service; it will therefore be yours to fire the first shot.The _Caiman_ shall fire the second."
"And I shall ask you, admiral," said the count to Nazanoff, "as apersonal favour, and also, as I will say frankly, a matter of personalvengeance, to be allowed to fire that first gun."
"My dear count," replied the admiral, "with the greatest pleasure. Itshall be laid by the best gunner on board the _Ivan_, and your handshall send the shot, I hope, into the vitals of these accursed works.If we could only manage to drop a hundred-pound melinite shell intothe right place, it would do a great deal."