Tangier, the wildest, quaintest, most savage spot on the face of the
globe, was to me the most enchanting. Our impressions take their
colour from the passing mood; we like or loathe a place according to
the temper in which we view it. I was so utterly and foolishly happy
in this most Eastern city located in the West that I have loved it
deeply ever since. After the trying and eventful episodes of the past
week I had passed into a tranquil haven filled with perfect peace. The
whole tenor of my life had changed, the feverish excitement was gone,
no deep anxiety vexed or troubled me, all my cares were transferred to
stronger shoulders than mine. I could calmly await the issue, content
to enjoy the moment and forget the past like a bad dream.
It was sufficient to bask in the sunshine, revelling in the free air,
rejoicing in the sweetness of my nascent love. We were much together,
Basil and I; we walked together, exploring the recesses of the native
town, and the ancient citadel, with its memories of British dominion;
we lingered in the Soko or native market, crowded with wild creatures
from the far interior; we rode together, for his first care was to
secure horses, and scoured the country as far as the Marshan and Cape
Spartel. I sometimes reproached myself with being so happy, while my
darling Henriette still sorrowfully repined at her past, with little
hope of better days. But even she brightened as the days ran on and
brought no fresh disquiet, while her boy, sweet little Ralph,
developed in health and strength.
A week passed thus, a week of unbroken quiet, flawless as the
unchanging blue of a summer sky; not a cloud in sight, not a suspicion
of coming disturbance and unrest. It could not go on like this for
ever. To imagine it was to fall asleep in a fool's paradise, lulled
into false serenity by the absence of portents so often shrouded and
unseen until they break upon us.
One day a cablegram reached me from Philpotts. She had arrived at
Marseilles on her return voyage from Tripoli, and was anxious that I
should know without delay that we had not shaken off Lord Blackadder.
They had recrossed the Mediterranean together in the same ship, the
_Oasis_.
"So far all well," she said, "but am watched closely, will certainly
follow me--send instructions--better not join you at present."
This message fell on us two poor women like a bolt from the blue.
Basil looked serious for a moment, but then laughed scornfully.
"His lordship can do us no harm. There is not the slightest fear. He
may bluster and bully as much as he pleases, or rather, as far as he
is permitted to go. We will place ourselves under the protection of
the Moorish bashaw. I always intended that."
"Not seriously?"
"Indeed, yes; I have already consulted our Minister. Sir Arthur is an
old friend of mine, and he has advised me, privately, of course, and
unofficially, to be on our guard. He can do nothing for us, but he
will not act against us. If Lord Blackadder should turn up here, and
sooner or later he will, most assuredly he will not assist him. He
promises that. At the same time he can give you no protection. We must
take care of ourselves."
"You believe that Lord Blackadder will find his way to Tangier?"
"Most certainly. He has Philpotts under his hand, but he would not
trust only to her. Diligent inquiry at Marseilles would be sure to
reveal our departure for Gibraltar. He will follow with his men, they
are well-trained detectives, and it will be mere child's play for them
to track us to Tangier. You may look for them here any day. We must be
ready for them at all points."
"There is no saying what Ralph Blackadder may not attempt."
"Indeed, yes, he is equal to anything, guile of course, treachery,
cunning, stratagem, absolute violence if the opportunity offers. It is
of the utmost importance not to play into his hands, not to give him
the smallest chance. The child must be watched continually in the
house, awake and asleep, wherever he goes and whatever he does."
"Then I think Henriette must be warned not to wander about the town
and on the sands in the way she's been doing with Victorine and the
child, all of them on donkey back. I don't think it's at all safe."
But when I cautioned her she was not particularly pleased. Was she to
have no fresh air, no change of scene? I grudged her the smallest
pleasure, while I was racing up and down flirting and philandering
with Basil Annesley all day and every day; she was to sit indoors,
bored to extinction and suffering torments in the unbearable heat.
Basil and I agreed that it was cruel to restrict her movements even
with such a good excuse, and had she been willing to accept the
irksome conditions, which she certainly was not. We arranged a
surveillance, therefore, unknown to her. The Colonel, his man, or
myself invariably accompanied her or followed her within eyeshot; and
we hired two or three stalwart Moors, who were always to be near
enough to render help if required.
Then came confirmations of our worst fears. L'Echelle, who had been
unaccountably absent one morning, returned about midday with news from
the port. Lord Blackadder and his two henchmen had just landed from
the _José Pielago_, the steamer that runs regularly between Cadiz and
Algeçiras, Gibraltar, and Tangier. He had seen them in the
custom-house, fighting their way through the crowd of ragged Jew
porters, the Moorish egg merchants, and dealers in luscious fruit.
They had mounted donkeys, the only means of conveyance in a town with
no wheeled vehicles; and l'Echelle made us laugh at the sorry picture
presented by the indignant peer, with his legs dangling down on each
side of the red leather saddle. Their baggage was also piled on
donkeys, and the whole procession, familiar enough in the narrow
streets of Tangier, climbed the hill to the Soko, and made for the
Shereef Hotel, reputed one of the best in Tangier, and lying outside
the walls in the immediate neighbourhood of the British Legation.
L'Echelle, who seems an honest, loyal fellow, thought he would serve
us best by marking them down, and, if possible, renewing his
acquaintance with the detectives, one or both of whom he knew. After
hanging about the outside of the hotel, he entered the garden boldly
and went up to the shady trellised verandah where they were seated
together, smoking and refreshing themselves after their journey.
L'Echelle was well received. Falfani, my friend of the Calais train,
believed he had suborned him at Aix, and now hailed his appearance
with much satisfaction. L'Echelle might again be most useful; at
least, he could lead them to us, and he wisely decided to let Falfani
know where we were to be found in Tangier. The fact would surely be
discovered without him. It was better, he thought, to appear frank,
and, by instilling confidence, learn all there was to know of their
plans and movements.
My lord had gone to the Legation, Falfani told him at once,
bombastically boasting that everything would yield before him. He had
but to express his wishes, and there would be an end of the hunt. But
my lord came back in a furious rage, and, regardless of l'Echelle's--a
comparative stranger's--presence, burst forth into passionate
complaint against the Minister. He would teach Sir Arthur to show
proper respect to a peer of the realm; he would cable at once to the
Foreign Office and insist on this second-rate diplomatist's recall.
The upshot of it all was that his lordship's demand for help had been
refused pointblank, and no doubt, after what the Colonel had heard, in
rather abrupt, outspoken terms.
All this and more l'Echelle brought back to us at the Atlas Hotel. He
told us at length of the outrageous language Lord Blackadder had used,
of his horrible threats, how he would leave no stone unturned to
recover his son and heir; how he would bribe the bashaw, buy the
Moorish officials, a notoriously venal crew; how he would dog our
footsteps everywhere, set traps for us, fall upon us unawares; and in
the last extreme he would attack the hotel and forcibly carry off his
property. As the fitting end of his violent declamation, Ralph
Blackadder had left the hotel hurriedly, calling upon his creatures to
follow him, bent, as it seemed, to perpetrate some mad act.
I confess I shuddered at the thought of this reckless, unprincipled
man loose about Tangier, vowing vengeance, and resolved to go to any
lengths to secure it. My dear Basil strove hard to console me with
brave words inspired by his sturdy, self-reliant spirit.
But even he quailed at the sudden shock that fell upon us at the very
same moment. Where was Henriette?
After the first excitement, we desired to pass on the news brought by
l'Echelle to her, and renew our entreaties for extreme caution in her
comings and goings; and with much misgiving we learnt that she was not
in the hotel. She had gone out with Victorine and Ralph as usual, but
unattended by any of us. One Moor, Achmet El Mansur, was with her, we
were told, but we did not trust him entirely. It had been l'Echelle's
turn to accompany her, but he had been diverted from his duty by the
pressing necessity of following Lord Blackadder. Basil and I had
ridden out quite early on a long expedition, from which we only
returned when l'Echelle did.
We dismissed our fears, hoping they were groundless, and looking to be
quite reassured presently when she came back at the luncheon hour.
But one o'clock came, and two, and two-thirty, but not a sign of
Henriette, nor a word in explanation of her absence.
Could she have fallen a victim to the machinations of Lord Blackadder?
Was the boy captured and she detained while he was spirited away?