The highway wound for the most part along the shores of a succession of lakes and through farm lands in which the corn had already been harvested; but as dusk fell they entered more desolate country in which hills became more frequent and habitations lay farther apart. With the advance of night the gradients grew steeper, and there came longer intervals during which the carriage ceased its violent swaying, so its occupants were able to snatch quite considerable periods of fitful sleep.
When dawn came, they were winding their way down towards another plain, and having crossed it they reached a lake, on the north shore of which lay Falun. At seven o’clock they entered the little town with the satisfaction of knowing that they accomplished their long and wearisome journey in a bare seventeen hours. But, to their intense annoyance, they soon learned they had suffered to no purpose, as Gustavus had left the place three days before.
Having raised a company of volunteers the King had despatched them south-west to Annefors and ridden off himself ahead of them in that direction. After a meal and a change of horses Mr. Elliot and Roger followed, reaching the place at nightfall. But the King was still two days ahead of them, and reported to be fifty miles to the north-west at Malung.
Hugh Elliot, although trained for a soldier, had never been strong and was now suffering from a slight fever; so Roger insisted that they should pass the night where they were. On reaching Malung the following evening they learned that Gustavus had never been there at all so next morning they decided to head for Charlottenburg, on the frontier, as the most likely place that he would choose for his headquarters in an attempt to intercept the Danes.
Their route now lay crosswise to the chains of lakes and mountains, necessitating many lengthy detours, so they did not reach the frontier town until the evening of the 27th. As Gustavus was not there, they pushed on further south next day, only to be met with the news that the Danes had opened hostilities on the 26th and were now pouring through the Friedrikshald gap, some thirty miles distant. Having come upon no indication that any Swedish forces had passed that way, they turned back and spent another night in Charlottenburg.
Fatigue, and the additional strain of knowing that the war he had sought to prevent was now in active progress, had increased Elliot’s fever to such a degree that Roger refused to let him proceed further until they had something definite to go on. That night, the 29th, a courier informed them that Gustavus was at Carlstadt, on Lake Vener; but just as they were about to set out in the morning an officer came riding up, and as they learned later, suspecting that they might be spies, swore to them that the King was further north at Edeback.
Wearily they recrossed the chains of mountains, only to find two days later that they had been deceived, and have it confirmed that Gustavus had made Carlstadt his headquarters. A road down a long winding valley led south directly to the lake; and, making a great effort to catch the King before he moved again, they reached the town at dawn on the 3rd of October. Gustavus’s camp was just outside it, and after eleven gruelling days and nights, on driving up before a little group of tents they found that they had at last run him to earth.
On alighting and stretching his limbs Roger was quite shocked by the appearance of the camp. The brave show that Gustavus’s quarters had made in Finland was entirely lacking. A bare dozen tents were perched upon a knoll, and round about it spread hundreds of wretched-looking bivouacs, among which groups of hairy men clad in jerkins of sober black or grey were eating a meal that appeared to be distinctly scanty.
The guards were few and the formalities of approaching Gustavus of the simplest. Two minutes after their arrival they were shown into his tent. At the sight of them he sprang to his feet and, extending both his hands to Hugh Elliot, cried:
This is a surprise, indeed! But never was I more glad to see any man. Your Excellency’s presence in our camp is worth an Army corps.’ Then he turned to Roger and added: ‘Are you, Mr. Brook, bringer of good tidings. Are you come with Mr, Elliot to tell us that a British fleet is at last upon its way to our assistance?’
Gravely, and as gently as they could, they disabused him of his hopes and told him the bitter truth. For a moment he was silent, then he said: ‘I might have guessed it, when I learned last night that two days since the Danes had taken Uddevalla. The cowardly surrender of Quistrum by Colonel Tranfelt on the 29th left the whole south-east open to them; yet I supposed that they had sent a column to Uddevalla only to secure their flank. ’Tis clear now that the town fell to their main army in its advance on Gothenborg. The city is Sweden’s treasure-chest, and with it I’ll lose my crown. So you find me, gentlemen, in much the same condition as your James the Second; and, like him, it seems that I’ll be left no option but to spend my declining years as a pensioner of France.’
Ill and exhausted as he was, Hugh Elliot rose magnificently to the occasion, and cried with superb self-confidence: ‘Give me your crown, Sire, and I will return it to you with new lustre.’
‘What mean you?’ muttered the despondent King.
Drawing himself up, the soldier-diplomat answered: ‘I pray, Sire, that you will never find yourself compelled to leave your Kingdom against your inclination; but that should you be forced to it you would give the preference to Britain. In fact, I am come to propose that your Majesty should cease to rely further at any time on King Louis’ empty protestations of friendship, and lean henceforth when you have need upon the support of Britain, Prussia and the United Provinces.’
The King gave him a cynical glance. ‘I promised to do so months ago, but what have any of them done for me so far?’
‘ ’Tis not what they have done, Sire, but what they are both capable of and pledged to do, that merits your Majesty’s consideration. France is so enervated from internal unrest that she no longer has the power to help you, whereas the Triple Alliance grows stronger every day, and is actively concerned to aid your Majesty in your difficulties. Before I left Copenhagen I saw the Prussian Minister, Count Von Rhoda, and we were entirely of one mind. The Count declared to me his intention of proceeding to Berlin to urge his government to exert pressure on the Danish court to cease from its attack upon you. My own government is too far removed for me to take a similar step; but, pending the receipt of fresh despatches, I am willing to take it on myself to use the prestige of the British Crown in your Majesty’s interest, should you so desire.’
‘What! You are prepared to exert pressure on the Danes to cease hostilities?’ cried the King, joyfully.
‘I can at least proceed to open negotiations with the Danish headquarters, should your Majesty give me your authority to do so.’
‘Go to it then, and may God prosper your endeavours; for ’tis clear now that an armistice alone will enable me to repair my shattered fortunes. You will be acting, too in a just cause, since their attack upon me was made in most treacherous fashion. In all these years it was never once hinted that they had pledged themselves to aid Catherine should a war break out between Sweden and Russia. Still worse, His Danish Majesty’s brother-in-law, Charles of Hesse-Cassel. who now commands their army, came into Sweden and made a tour of my Southern provinces as an honoured guest, while their forces were already being prepared in Norway for this invasion. For a Prince and a General to have thus come ahead and, while pretending friendship, acted the part of spy is infamous; and I pray you tell him so.
Hugh Elliot shook his head. ‘I fear, Sire, that such matters, however reprehensible, will carry little weight when it comes to their deciding whether or no to carry the conflict to a final issue. The critical factor lies in the degree of loyalty that the garrison of Gothenburg may display to your Majesty; or rather the degree of resistance which the Danes expect to encounter from the city. If they believe that it can be had by a mere summons to surrender I doubt if aught that I can say will dissuade them from taking it, and your prestige among your own subjects will then be lost for good. But if the Danes think they will be put to a long and arduous siege they may be persuaded to give you an honourable
accommodation rather than risk incurring the ill-will of Britain and Prussia.’
‘Your Excellency is right in that!’ Gustavus’s eyes suddenly showed their old fire. ‘While you proceed with these negotiations Gothenburg must be held at all costs. I have taken up my quarters here in order that the constant sight of their King may hearten my loyal Dalesmen, but I have two good regiments billeted in the town, and I will despatch them instantly to reinforce Gothenburg’
‘ ’Tis all of a hundred and seventy miles, Sire.’ hazarded Roger. ‘And if the Danes captured Uddevalla three days ago their advance columns must already have penetrated as far as the outer defences of the city. I trust your Majesty has a reliable commander there, for if not he may be panicked into surrendering before the arrival of this help that you propose to send him.’
Gustavus shot him a shrewd glance. ‘I fear that your apprehensions are well-grounded, Mr. Brook. Having no thought that the place was liable to attack, I left old General Duretz there with but a handful of troops; and he has never been accounted any hero.’
‘Then there is but one thing for it!’ Hugh Elliot cried, his feverish eyes flashing. ‘Your Majesty must instantly to horse, ride at breakneck speed and fling yourself into Gothenburg; that by your example you may hearten the garrison and save both the city and your throne.’
‘One moment!’ Roger intervened, with justifiable apprehension tha Elliot’s sense of the dramatic had carried too far. ‘The south end of the lake is already known to be in enemy hands. His Majesty would have to run the gauntlet of their vedettes, and should he be captured….’
But the impetuous Gustavus had already been fired by the soldier-diplomat’s idea, and he retorted swiftly: ‘Better be captured in an attempt to save one’s crown than sit still while ’tis torn from one’s head. I pray your Excellency to proceed with all speed in your carriage down the western shore of the lake to Uddevalla, or wherever the Danish headquarters are to be found, and do your utmost to procure us a truce; while I get me by the eastern shore to Gothenburg and take measures for the city’s stout defence.’
He paused for a moment, a sudden look of cunning masking his handsome face, then he went on: ‘But my Dalesmen must get no hint that I have left them, or they would become disgruntled and fast melt away to their homes. We will go into the town and there I will have it given out that I am suffering from a slight indisposition. That will cover my disappearance until sufficient store of provisions can be amassed to feed them on their march south. They can then be told that I am but a day ahead of them and impatient for them to rejoin me. The fewer people the less likelihood of betrayal; so I shall confide our plan only to General Armfeldt. I have here, too, so few officers that none can be spared to accompany me; but that has its compensations, in that their sudden disappearance will not arouse comment and, perhaps, be connected with my own.’
Roger’s levelheadedness again caused him to intervene. ‘May it please your Majesty to reconsider your last decision. Twould be the most terrible calamity if you went alone and some accident befell you by night upon the road.’
The King gave him a friendly pat upon the arm. ‘Since you are so concerned for my safety, Chevalier, I would welcome your attendance on me, should you care to give it. Nay, more, on further thought I do request it; for once I am in Gothenburg I may be beleaguered there, and in such a case you would be invaluable to me. It may be of the first importance that I should communicate with Mr. Elliot, and you, as a neutral, would be allowed free passage through the enemy lines.’
‘His Majesty is right, Mr. Brook,’ added Elliot. ‘The presence at his side of an English gentleman who can come and go freely between him and myself may prove the saving of us all.’
But Roger had already bowed his acquiescence, and he said: ‘I will gladly accompany you, Sire. No man could witness a sovereign contemplating so valiant an endeavour without desire to serve him. I am entirely at your Majesty’s disposal.’
‘Come then!’ cried the King. ‘Let us to the town. With so much that is fresh to think upon I had forgot my duties as a host. After your long night’s journey you must both be in sore need of refreshment and rest. The former we can easily provide, but for the latter I fear you will have to go on short commons; as I intend to set out as soon as I have given Armfeldt his orders, and he has made arrangements for our departure.’
The carriage which had brought Elliot and Roger from Stockholm was still outside, so the three of them got into it, drove into the little market-town and pulled up at the entrance to the Guildhouse, which had been taken over as Army headquarters.
There the King turned his guests over to Count Ugglas; one of his intimates, who owed his rise from a simple clerk in the Chancellery to the fact that on the day of Gustavus’s coup d’état, forgetting the distance that separated them, his enthusiasm had led him to clasp the King in his arms and hail him as the saviour of Sweden. The Count himself put cold meat and wine before them, and, when they had eaten, took them to a room that he shared with another officer, where they lay down on the truckle beds. They had had a certain amount of sleep during the night, but they were none the less grateful for the rest and soon fell into a doze.
An hour passed, although it seemed to them that they had only just lain down, when Ugglas returned and roused them. He took them downstairs and out into a courtyard at the back of the building. Their carriage was waiting there with fresh horses and its blinds drawn down. As they got in they saw that Gustavus was already seated inside it, but he now wore no decorations and was dressed as a simple lieutenant of the Yemland Infantry. The moment they were seated the carriage moved off at a trot, and the King said.
‘I regret, Mr. Elliot, that I should have to carry you some five miles out of your way, but I have already despatched my Guards and the Yemland regiment on their march to Gothenburg, and this offered the most convenient means of passing through them undetected. I have arranged for horses to be awaiting Mr. Brook and myself just beyond the village of Skattkarr, and having seen us on our way you can then turn back.’
As the carriage sped on they talked earnestly of the hazardous journey that the King was about to undertake, and the none too rosy prospects of the British Minister proving successful in his mission. Then the vehicle was brought to a halt, and they alighted on the outskirts of a pine wood, in the fringe of which two mounted men were holding six led horses.
‘Tis my groom and body-servant,’ Gustavus explained to Roger. They will accompany us part of the way, leading a pair apiece which we will take for remounts as required, and press on; leaving them to follow with the horses we have exhausted when they are somewhat rested.’
The good-byes were brief but heartfelt on both sides and two minutes later the King’s little cavalcade cantered away with Hugh Elliot waving them good luck from beside the carriage.
The first lap lay round the north-eastern corner of the lake to Christinehamn; a distance of some twenty-five miles from where the carriage had set them down, it was soon clear to Roger that Gustavus had no intention of sparing the horses, and after fifteen miles had been covered at a furious pace their first mounts were badly winded. Pulling up they changed to the two horses led by the groom, leaving him to rub down the whistling sweat-drenched creatures that they had ridden so hard.
They had left Carlstadt as the clocks were striking nine, and at a quarter past ten a bend in the road brought them in sight of Christinehamn. It was at that moment that the horse which had been ridden by the King’s body-servant for the whole twenty-five miles, staggered, neighed loudly, and foundered.
Its rider was still clinging to the reins of his two led horses. Dismounting at once, Gustavus seized one of them and hoisted himself on to it. Roger swiftly followed suit, and, abandoning the horses they had ridden for the past ten miles, they sped on again through the township.
Roger realised then that Gustavus had had the foresight to save his two best mounts till last. Both were splendid animals of over sixteen hands and with powerful quar
ters. In spite of the distance they had already covered unmounted they still responded gamely to whip and spur, but another ten miles saw them flagging badly, and although the rough track along the lake-side still remained flat, their riders were compelled to walk them for a mile between each mile that they could cover at a trot.
Just before mid-day they espied a village in the distance which the King said was Otterbacken; adding that he counted on getting fresh horses there. With feverish impatience he lashed the poor brute he was riding into a canter and Roger, perforce, followed his example. When they drew rein in the village square both beasts stood head down and quivering, their forelegs apart, rasping pitifully and broken-winded.
Ignoring them, Gustavus, white-faced and trembling himself, staggered to the door of the post-house, beat with his crop upon the door and yelled for horses.
An ostler appeared in answer to the impatient summons and, not recognising the King, but scared by his cursing and galvanised into activity at the sight of some gold that Gustavus threw upon the cobbles, speedily furnished them with the two best mounts in the stable.
For another hour and a half they pressed on, now rocking in their saddles, so that when they reached the town of Mariestad at half past one even Gustavus had to admit that the pace was proving too much for him, and that they must rest a while before proceeding further.
At the inn he curtly demanded refreshments, a bedroom to lie down in, and fresh horses to be ready for him at three o’clock. Again he was unrecognised, so after they had munched a piece of sausage and drunk a mug of beer apiece, they were shown up to a room with a big double bed. Flinging himself on it the King insisted that Roger should lie down beside him and for over an hour they relaxed their wearied limbs.
The Shadow of Tyburn Tree Page 48