CHAPTER XVIII
THROUGH THE STORM
I moved to the door and locked it noiselessly. I dared not open it tosee if the servant had gone, for if he had not that would have rousedhis suspicions at once. The Duke had already crossed to the further sideof the room, and I joined him there.
He wasted no time in preliminaries.
"Mishka has told me all," he began, speaking in English, though still inthe hoarse low growl appropriate to his assumed character. "And I havelearned much since. There is to be a meeting to-night, and if things areas I suspect she will be brought before the tribunal. We must save herif we can. Will you come? To say it will be at the risk of your life isto put it mildly. It will be a forlorn hope."
"I'll come; tell me how," I said.
"You will go to the place where you met Mishka to-day, dine there, andchange your clothes. They will have some for you, and you need not usethe formula. They expect you already; I knew you would come! Mishka willjoin you, and will accompany you to the rank where I shall be waitingwith my droshky. You will hire me in the usual way; and we will tell youmy plans when we are clear of the city. Have you any weapon?"
"No."
He felt in an inner pocket of his filthy greatcoat and brought out arevolver and a handful of spare cartridges.
"It's loaded; you can have these, too, though if there's any shooting Idoubt if you'll have the chance of reloading. Let's hope you won't fallin with the police for the third time to-day! Mishka will join youbetween nine and ten. We need not start till then,--these light nightsare a drawback, but that cannot be helped. The meeting will be held asusual, after midnight. That is all now. I must not stay longer. Give methe note you spoke of. A blank sheet--anything--I will destroy itimmediately."
I put a sheet of note-paper into an envelope, and addressed it toLieutenant Mirakoff at his barracks. His was the first name thatoccurred to me.
"You know him?" he asked, pointing to the name.
"Very slightly."
He nodded and picked up the note, holding it carefully by one cornerbetween his filthy thumb and finger.
I unlocked the door as quietly as I had locked it, and a moment later heopened it noisily and backed out, growling guttural and surly thanks;backed right up against the servant, who, as we both guessed, waswaiting just outside. Even I was surprised at the altercation thatfollowed. A Russian droshky driver has a bigger command of bad languagethan any other cabby in the world, and the Grand Duke Loris hadevidently studied his part from life. He was letter perfect in it!
I strode to the door and flung it open.
"Here, stop that!" I shouted. "Be off with you, Ivan; you impudentrascal!"
He leered at me and shambled off, but I could hear the coarse voicegrowling ribaldries all the way down the staircase.
It was a masterpiece of impersonation!
I waited a while, till I judged it safe to start on the first stage ofmy expedition. I meant to take a circuitous route to the cafe, in case Iwas still being watched. I would run no unnecessary risks, not for myown sake, but I guessed that the success of our enterprise--whatever itwas--would depend on the exercise of infinite caution, at the beginning,anyhow. I felt strangely elated, happier than I had done for many a longday; although I knew that the worst, or almost the worst, had come topass, and that Anne was here, in the power of her enemies. But we weregoing to save her,--we would save her. "A forlorn hope" even LorisSolovieff had called it. Nothing of the kind. Could anything that such aman as he attempted be a forlorn hope; and together, working loyallyside by side, what could we not dare, and accomplish? Nothing seemedimpossible to-night.
"Merely an earth to cleave, a sea to part!"
I kept a wary lookout as I made my way along the streets, most of themthronged at this hour of the summer evening. The air was sultry, andhuge masses of cloud were piling up, ominous of a storm before long.
I reached the cafe eventually and, so far as I knew, unobserved, andcame out of it an hour or so later, looking, I hope, as like a shabbilyattired Russian student as the Grand Duke Loris looked like a droshkydriver, accompanied by a man of the artisan type, who might have been myfather,--none other than Mishka himself.
The sky was overcast, and already, above the rumble of the traffic, onecould hear the mutter of distant thunder. It reminded me of thateventful night in London, little more than a month ago, though I hadseemed to live a lifetime since then.
"The storm comes soon," said Mishka. "That is well, very well."
We came to a rank where several droshkys were standing; and he pausedirresolute, fumbling in his pocket.
"We will drive, Paul," he asserted aloud, with the air of a man who hasjust decided to indulge in an extravagance. "Yes, I say we will; thestorm comes soon, and thy mother is alone."
He began to haggle, after the usual fashion, with the nearest driver;and again I marvelled at the Duke's disguise; for it was he, of course.
Once clear of the city Mishka unfolded the plan.
"Presently we turn across country and come to a house; there we leavethe droshky; and there also will be horses for us in readiness if weshould need them--later. Thence we go on foot through the forest to themeeting-place. We must separate when we get near it, but you will keepclose to Ivan"--we spoke always of the Duke by that name--"and I willcome alone. You will be challenged, and you will give the word, 'ForFreedom,' and the sign I showed you. Give it to me, now."
He held out his hand, palm upwards; and I touched it with my thumb andfingers in turn; five little taps.
"Good, you are a quick learner--Paul! The meeting will be in an oldchapel,--or so we imagine; the place is changed many times, but it mustbe there, or in the clearing. Either way there will be little light,there among the pines. That is in our favor. If she is there, we shallknow how to act; we must decide then. She will be accused--that iscertain--but the five may acquit her. If that comes to pass--good; weshall easily get speech with her, and perhaps she may return with us. Atleast she will be safe for the moment. But if they condemn her, we mustact quickly and all together. We must save her and get heraway,--or--die with her!"
"Well said!" growled "Ivan."
The rain was pattering down now in big drops, and the lightning flasheswere more frequent, the thunder nearer each time. The horse shied asthere came a more vivid flash than before, followed almost instantly bya crackling roll--the storm was upon us.
As the thunder ceased, I found "Ivan" had pulled the horse up, and waslistening intently. I listened also, and above the faint tinkle of ourbells and the slight movements of the horse, I heard, faint, as yet, butrapidly approaching, the thud of hoofs and the jangle of accoutrements.
"A patrol," said "Ivan" quickly. "They are coming towards us; I saw themby the lightning flash. They will challenge us, and I shall drive on,trusting to the darkness and storm. If they follow--as they probablywill--and shoot, you two must seize your opportunity, and jump. There isjust the chance that they may not see you; I shall drive on. If Idistance them, I will follow you. But we must not all be taken, and itwill be better for me than for you."
He started again on the instant, and another flash showed severalmounted figures just ahead.
A challenge rang out, and "Ivan's" reply was to lash the horse into agallop. We charged through them, and they wheeled after us, and fired. Iheard the "zsp" of a bullet as it ripped through the leather hood closeto my ear; but in the darkness and confusion they fired wildly. And, forthe present at any rate, our gallant little horse was more than a matchfor theirs, and was distancing them rapidly.
Another flash, and "Now!" roared "Ivan," above the roar of the thunder.I had already sprung up, knowing that I must jump before the next flashcame; and Mishka, as I found afterwards, did the same.
Steadying myself for a moment, I let myself drop, stumbled backward fora few steps, fell, and rolled into the ditch, just as the pursuersclattered past, in a whirlwind of oaths.
For the moment I, at least, had escaped; but where was Mishka?
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