CHAPTER XX.
_NEARLY CAPTURED._
I seemed to have slept scarcely five minutes when a knocking at the doorwakened me, and I rubbed my eyes dreamily.
It was Nicholas, with the information that breakfast was ready; so,jumping out of bed, I quickly washed and dressed.
In spite of the early hour, the countess had risen to see that I had acomfortable meal, and to wish me success in my enterprise.
While I ate she superintended the packing of a wallet which was to bearme company to the Eagle's Nest, and for which, later in the day, I feltvery grateful.
After a hearty breakfast I thanked my kind hostess again, and promising,if all went well, to return at dusk, joined Nicholas, who had slung thewallet over his shoulder.
The faithful Mecsey was waiting in one of the rooms through which wepassed, and he begged very hard to go with me.
I would have taken him gladly, but he could do no good. There was noquestion of fighting or even of strategy. I had simply to sit in a treeand watch.
Nothing could save me if the Russians discovered I was there; if theydid not, I was perfectly safe.
Mecsey was shrewd enough to see the reasonableness of this, but he hadattached himself so strongly to my fortunes that he hated the idea of mygoing into possible danger alone.
He yielded at last, however, kissed my hand, and stood on the top of thesteps gazing mournfully at me as I trudged off with Nicholas.
The new day was breaking gloriously as we entered the wood; hundreds ofsongsters carolled gaily, and the undergrowth was alive with game.
"Your master has plenty of shooting," I remarked to my companion.
"Ah!" replied he, with a wise shake of the head, "the count has been amighty hunter. But we must hurry; it will be broad daylight soon, andyou must be in the Nest before then."
Accordingly we walked faster, Nicholas leading me by tracks well knownto him and the rest of the count's household.
At last he stopped and, pointing to a giant tree, exclaimed, "There isthe Eagle's Nest! Near the top you will find a snug sitting-placeformed by the branches, which will give you a splendid view of thehighroad."
He took off the wallet, strapped it on my back, and waited to see meclimb the tree.
I had done little climbing for years, and the unusual exercise made mymuscles ache; but I had not altogether lost my old skill, and graduallymounted to the spot which Nicholas had described. Perhaps it was atrifle less comfortable than his memory pictured, but in one matter atany rate he had been right--there was a splendid view of the route theRussians must take if they were trying to prevent Goergei from crossingthe Theiss.
I removed the wallet, and fastened it carefully to one of the branches;then I took out the notebook which Count Kemeny had provided, andwaited.
An hour passed uneventfully, and then in the west there rose up a cloudof dust, which swept towards me at a rapid pace.
It was a body of cavalry--Cossack irregulars, by the look ofthem--mounted on shaggy, little horses and armed with long lances.
I caught a glimpse as they dashed up, a fuller one as they passedbeneath me; then the sand-cloud swept on to the east, and the van of theRussian army vanished in the distance.
Those rough, uncouth riders formed the head of a procession thatoccupied all the day in filing past.
It was a splendid spectacle, but my eyes grew tired of gazing at it.
Provision-wagons, baggage, ammunition, and stores were followed byfield-guns, large masses of infantry, hussars, lancers, and dragoons;then more guns, wagons, foot-soldiers, and cavalry in what promised tobe an interminable succession.
As they passed I calculated their numbers, making my entriesaccordingly; while, about noon, a sudden stoppage of the procession gaveme a capital opportunity of investigating the interior of the wallet.
The halt lasted two hours, when the march began again, and evening hadfallen before the last stragglers went by.
Then I put away my notebook, strapped the empty wallet to my back, andprepared to descend.
I moved very slowly and with the utmost caution, as my limbs wereterribly cramped, and I was half afraid of missing my footing andslipping to the bottom.
However, I succeeded, and found Nicholas ready to pilot me back to thehouse.
"Your master has not been troubled by the Russians?" I asked.
"A friendly visit from half a dozen officers," replied he; "nothingmore."
"And Mecsey Sandor?"
"Kept in the background while they stayed."
Mecsey ran out from the courtyard at my approach to make sure I hadreturned unhurt; but once certain of that, he became stolid as ever.
"Get the horses saddled," I said, before entering the house. "We shallstart soon."
"Not to-night, captain, surely?" cried my hostess, whom I had notnoticed standing on the steps. "The count will be so disappointed. Hehas reckoned so much on your company this evening."
"And I would very much like to stay; but in a matter of duty a soldierhas no choice."
"That is what Arnim feared you would say. However, you cannot go untilafter dinner."
"It's rather a queer way of entertaining one's guest," laughed the countas we entered--"to set him on a perch all day long. I hope you have notsuffered martyrdom in vain?"
"No. Thanks to your kindness, I can take the general the fullestparticulars of the enemy's force."
"And Captain Botskay wishes to go at once," said my hostess.
The count sighed. "We must not keep him," he said. "His information maybe of the utmost importance to the general. But you will dine beforegoing, captain, will you not?"
Now to this I readily consented, as it gave me a little further timewith my host, for whom I was beginning to feel a warm friendship.
After dinner I sat half an hour longer, while Mecsey got the horsesready, and then I was reluctantly compelled to say farewell.
"Take care of yourself," said the count, "and come and see us wheneveryou have a chance. We are rather lonely here."
"Good-bye, Captain Botskay," said his wife; "and I hope sincerely thatno harm will come to you in this cruel war."
I promised to visit them again should opportunity arise, and, with alast hand-shake, joined Mecsey, who had the horses ready.
Nicholas, too, came to guide us a few miles on the road, and amidst thecheers of the domestics the three of us set off.
Mecsey and Nicholas were good company for each other. I rode a shortdistance behind them, wondering if I should find Goergei in time for myinformation to be of use.
The night was fine, calm, and still. There was no moon, but the starsglittered in myriads overhead, serving to show the route.
In those days our best roads were shocking to a stranger, but the cutsacross country were simply abominable.
Several times that night I escaped a nasty--perhaps fatal--accidentsolely through the intelligence of my horse.
Having accompanied us five or six miles, and given Mecsey fulldirections as to the way, Nicholas pulled up, wished us farewell, andstarted for home.
"He's dreadfully afraid of leaving the count long at a time," saidMecsey. "He looks on himself as a sort of bodyguard."
"He's evidently an affectionate and faithful servant. Now, if you knowthe road, we'll go a little faster. The horses have had a splendid restand plenty of corn; they ought to carry us well."
Of course there was always the danger of falling in with a detachment ofthe enemy's troops, but I thought this less likely to happen at nightthan in the daytime.
From his own knowledge of the district, and helped by some directionsfrom Nicholas, Mecsey found the way with little difficulty, and forseveral hours we rode at a brisk pace over a broad plain.
Thanks to the kindness of the beautiful countess, we had plenty ofprovisions for man and beast, and about six o'clock we stopped for restand breakfast.
By this time I was so tired that my eyes
would hardly stay open, andMecsey pressed me to have an hour's sleep.
"We shall save time in the end," he urged. "The animals will be fresherfor an hour's rest; in fact, they won't travel much farther without."
"And what about yourself?"
"I had a long sleep yesterday."
"Then keep a good lookout for the enemy, give the horses a feed, andcall me in an hour."
I lay down, drew my cloak round me, and lost consciousness almost beforemy head touched the ground.
Mecsey wakened me, according to promise; we then ate a hurriedbreakfast, and started again, now in broad daylight.
The brief halt had done me a world of good. I was much brighter, andfelt capable of riding all day.
As it chanced, however, the Russians did not give me the opportunity oftrying.
We had left the great plain and entered a mountainous district whenMecsey, who was in front, suddenly stopped his horse and held up afinger in warning.
"What is it?" I asked in a whisper, getting close to him.
"Soldiers!" he answered promptly. "Russians!"
We were half-way through a narrow gorge, with huge limestone cliffs oneither side of us, and with no way of escape but by going straight on orturning back.
Mecsey's sharp ears had detected the noise made by the soldiers beforethey were in sight.
"They are behind us," I said quietly.
"And on our right. There must be a regiment."
"Well, there's no going back, so we must keep straight on. If once weget out of the gorge they can whistle for us."
Mecsey shook his head, saying, "We can try."
This did not sound very promising; but Mecsey, though brave as a lion,was not the most cheerful of men.
"Let us go," I said. "It's our only chance."
The Russian leader, unfortunately for us, was a man who knew hisbusiness; and, before the main body of his troops marched through thegorge, he had sent a detachment along the cliffs in search of a possibleambuscade.
A loud shout and the discharge of many muskets proclaimed that we werediscovered.
"Push on!" I exclaimed. "We must get through somehow."
It was a poor place for fast travelling, but we went as rapidly as ourhorses could take us.
The shouts from the cliffs were now repeated in our rear, and severalbullets whistled unpleasantly about our ears.
Still we kept going until Mecsey came in sight of the outlet from thegorge; then he pulled up once more with a gesture of despair.
There was little need for questioning or speech of any kind; a body ofgrey-coated infantry was drawn across the narrow exit.
Just for one moment I thought of making a dash at these stolid warriorsand trying to cut my way through; but I had sufficient sense left torecognize the madness of the scheme.
Without speaking, we turned and rode back in our tracks.
We could now see the head of the column approaching, and I felt like arat in a trap.
The Russians, understanding how completely we were in their power,treated the matter as a rich joke, and the men on the cliffs stoppedfiring.
"Let me have the book for the general," said Mecsey, "and I will try toescape. If you surrender they won't harm you."
"But what can you do?"
"Leave the horse and try to scale the cliffs."
"All right. We'll both try. I mean Goergei to have that list. Swingyourself off. Now!"
I did not like abandoning the gallant animal that had carried me throughso many dangers, but there was no help for it; and, indeed, I had littletime to spend in regrets.
Directly the Russians saw our plan, those on the opposite cliffsdischarged their muskets, while the head of the column quickened itspace.
Whiz! whiz! came the bullets, singing overhead or chipping the rocksbeside us--much too near in either case for comfort.
At first we managed to dodge them pretty well behind the boulders, butwe should soon have to move out into a more exposed position, and it didnot require an extra amount of brains to foretell what would happenthen.
However, we were having a try for our lives, and that was moresatisfactory than sitting still to be killed; but we were rapidlyapproaching the end of our tether.
The men on the opposite cliffs could not fire now for fear of hurtingtheir comrades, who came after us in full cry for all the world likedogs on the track of a boar.
Suddenly Mecsey's foot slipped and he fell, but he was up again in aninstant.
"Hurt?" I asked anxiously.
"It's nothing," he said--"nothing. Look! Look just above us! There isa hole in the rocks. If we could get inside there we might hide."
I did look, and saw a huge fissure in the cliffs several yards in lengthand about six feet in depth.
Certainly it might help us, but I hardly thought so.
The soldiers would see us enter, and would follow. It was not as ifthey numbered only a half-dozen or so.
Still, it might be worth trying for; and we pushed on recklessly,running, climbing, jumping, scrambling--any fashion, so as to get there.
The Russians had been shouting and jabbering behind us, and it was mucheasier to understand the meaning of the bullets than of the words; butnow the noise stopped, and a strong, clear voice shouted in German,--
"Surrender yourselves! I pledge my word that you shall not be hurt."
"Come, captain," cried Mecsey, who did not understand this offer; "herewe are. In you go. It's dark at first, but you'll soon get used toit."
"For the last time," cried the Russian officer; "will you surrender?"
We were inside the cavern now, but I showed myself at the mouth andasked for five minutes' grace.
For myself there was but one course open--to return to Goergei. Deathalone could absolve me from that duty; but there was no need tosacrifice my trusty servant.
Accordingly, I told him of the Russian's offer, and urged him to acceptit.
"You will save your life," I said, "and there is really no sense in yourgetting killed. Let me tell the Russian officer that you surrender."
Mecsey looked at me proudly. "I am a Magyar," he said, as if thatsettled the question.
And it did with me.
I urged him no more, but turned again to the enemy.
They, meanwhile, by command of their leader, had halted, and were gazingat us curiously. It seemed strange to them to be called off their preyat the moment of running it to earth.
The officer was well in advance, and I saw by his face that he wouldgladly save our lives.
"You will surrender?" he questioned; but I shook my head.
"That is stupid. You cannot escape. I shall send my men in there, andyou will be-- Ach! what folly!"
"Many thanks for your offer," I said lightly, "but we must refuse. Nowyou are at liberty to fire," and I sprang back into the shadow.
As far as I could judge, we were in a cavern of vast extent, having alow roof; and I began to think that, after all, we stood a good chanceof escaping.
It was hardly likely that a large body of soldiers would be set tosearch long for two runaways; and, of course, I was well aware that someof these limestone caves extended for miles into the very heart of themountains.
Had this immense rock-chamber a second outlet?
I asked myself this question as we rushed over the damp, uneven floor,and a sharp exclamation of joy from Mecsey answered it.
Just as the Russians entered, we made our exit by way of a narrowpassage, through which a stream ran.
We dashed on, followed by, perhaps, twenty of the enemy, who carriedtorches; the others were searching the cavern.
Gradually the passage became wider, then it contracted once more, andfinally opened into a second chamber, from which two passages branched.
We had little time for choice. The Russians, yelling and waving theirtorches, were not far in our rear. Whatever we did must be done at once.
Mecsey was for turning to the right; but I, pointing to the
stream,said, "Where that goes we can go," which was true, but not in the senseI meant.
Mecsey nodded. It was for me to give orders, for him to obey.
We ran on, with the roar of the water in our ears, the yell of the enemybehind us, but in front a chance of safety.
The Russians had traversed the narrow passage; they were in the secondchamber. I looked back and saw their torches, some turning to theright, but the majority, unfortunately, keeping straight on our track.
They were creeping nearer and nearer, while Mecsey was slackening hispace.
The long ride and the absence of sleep had told upon him; he was tired;he could not keep on; surely he was stopping--had stopped. I sprangforward to catch him in case he fell, and my heart almost ceasedbeating.
The river had taken a sudden dip downwards and disappeared. The chamberhad come to an end; we were caught.
"We can kill three or four," said Mecsey quietly.
At sight of us standing there the Russians set up a yell of triumph,waving their torches wildly; but we were not in their hands as yet.
"Mecsey," I said, "do you hear me?"
"Yes, captain."
"We've come to the end of our tether, and you must give yourself up.That's not advice, but an order from your officer. The Russians willtreat you kindly; and when you are set free, carry news of me to thegeneral and to Colonel Rakoczy."
"Where are you going, captain?"
"To Goergei or to death. I don't know which."
"I am not to fight?"
"No. Put your weapons down, and mine."
The Russian officer must have seen this performance, as I heard himcalling off his men; and though I had not intended to deceive him, hismistake gave me a little extra time. This I utilized to take off myboots, a proceeding which greatly interested Mecsey; and then theRussian leader approached us.
"You have made a plucky attempt," he said in German, "but the luck isagainst you. Now, you yield yourself prisoner, and we will returntogether like good friends."
He was a nice fellow, that Russian officer, and I learned later that hiscourage equalled his generosity.
His German was far from good, but I understood him, and smiled.
Then, with a last word of farewell to Mecsey and a friendly gesture tomy courteous enemy, I jumped into the river, which disappeared beneaththe rocks.
Before striking the water I had filled my lungs with air, and it waswell for me that I had done so.
I was a strong swimmer, but strength could avail nothing in thisdesperate venture.
The waters seized and swept me along, whither I knew not. There was aroar of thunder in my ears; my lungs felt like bursting.
Once, and to my recollection only once, my head was above the water, andI took a good deep breath.
The black flood caught me again and rushed on, swirling and eddying,holding me helpless as an infant in its grasp. Then, when the agonybecame wellnigh insupportable, I was able to breathe again, and, to myastonishment, saw the blue sky above my head.
At this I tried to smile; but all was suddenly blotted out. Somethingseemed to take me under the shoulders, to give me a push forward, andafter that I lost consciousness.
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