AN ESCAPE FROM PRISON
When he had dressed Dick's wounds, Doctor Bertmann said he would go
down and see the governor. He had already told the lads that he had
received fatal injuries, and was unconscious, and that he might, or
might not, recover his senses before he died. It was an hour before he
returned, accompanied by the other officer. Both looked grave.
"I'm sorry to say, my young friend," the doctor said to Jack, for Dick
had now gone off in a quiet doze, "that the affair has assumed a very
serious aspect. The count is dead. He recovered consciousness before
he died, and denounced you both as having made a sudden and altogether
unprovoked attack upon him. He had, he affirmed, discovered that you
were meditating a breach of your parole, and that he had informed you
that the privileges extended to you would, therefore, be withdrawn.
Then, he said, transported by rage, you sprang upon him. He drew his
sword and attempted to defend himself, but the two of you, closing
with him, hurled him through the window, in spite of his struggles."
The other officer had, while the doctor was speaking, been examining
the writing-table.
"I do not see the papers he spoke of," he said to the doctor.
Then, turning to the sergeants of the guard, he asked if any papers
upon the table had been touched. The sergeant replied that no one had
gone near the table since he had entered the room.
"In that case," the officer said, "his mind cannot have been quite
clear, although he seemed to speak sensibly enough. You heard him
order me, doctor, to fold up a report and attesting statement directed
to the Minister of the Interior, and to post them immediately? It is
clear that there are no such documents here. I entered the room with
the sergeant almost at the moment when the struggle ended, and as no
one has touched the table since, it is clear that they cannot have
been here. Perhaps I may find them on the table downstairs. It is
now," he said, turning to Jack, "my duty to inform you that you are in
custody for the deliberate murder of Count Smerskoff, as sworn to by
him in his last moments."
"He was a liar when he was alive," Jack said, "and he died with a
falsehood on his lips. However, sir, we are at your orders."
A stretcher was brought in, Dick was placed upon it, and under a guard
the midshipmen were marched to the prison, the soldiers with
difficulty keeping back the crowd who pressed forward to see the
English prisoners who had murdered the governor.
Doctor Bertmann walked with Jack to the prison door. Upon the way he
assured Jack that he entirely believed his version of the story, as he
knew the governor to be a thoroughly bad man.
"Singularly enough," he said, "I had intended to see you to-day. I
went back to Sebastopol on the very day after you arrived here, with a
regiment marching down, and left again with a convoy of wounded after
only two days' stay there. I got here last night, and I had intended
coming out to call upon you at Count Preskoff's to-day. You would, no
doubt, like me to see him at once, and inform him of what has taken
place."
Jack said that he would be very much obliged, if he would do so.
"I will return this afternoon to see my patient," Doctor Bertmann
said, as they parted, "and will then bring you news from the count,
who will, no doubt, come to see you himself."
The cell to which the boys were conducted was a small one, and
horribly dirty. Jack shrugged his shoulders, as he looked at it.
"It is not fit for a pig," he said to himself. "After all, Russia is
not such a pleasant place as I thought it yesterday."
When they were left alone, Jack set to work to cheer up his companion,
who was weak, and inclined to be despondent from the loss of blood
which he had suffered.
"At any rate, old boy," Jack said, in reply to Dick's assertion of his
conviction that they would be shot, "we shall have the satisfaction
that we have procured the safety of our friends at the chateau. Now
that their enemy is gone, the count will no doubt be let alone. It was
dreadful to think what would have become of the countess and the three
girls if their father had been sent to Siberia, and they turned out
penniless. Besides, old fellow, we are a long way from being dead yet.
After all, it is only the governor's word against ours, and you may be
sure that the count will move heaven and earth to bring matters
right."
It was dusk before the doctor returned.
"I have seen the count," he said, "and the ladies and he were greatly
distressed at my news. It is plain to see that you are prime
favorites. The young ladies were very Niobes. The count was most
anxious to learn all particulars, but I could only tell him that you
asserted the governor had attacked you first. He drove in at once, and
made no doubt that he should be allowed to see you. In this, however,
he was disappointed, and indeed you have had a most fortunate escape.
The officer second in command here is a relative of the late governor.
Fortunately he was absent this morning, and only returned this
afternoon. Like the late count he is of a violent and passionate
temper, and when he heard the news swore that had he been here, he
would have instantly had you brought out and shot in the square.
Indeed, it was with difficulty that the other officers dissuaded him
from doing so upon his return. He has ordered that a court-martial
shall assemble to-morrow, and that you shall be at once tried and
executed."
"But surely," Jack said, "no court-martial of officers would find us
guilty. The count's violent temper was notorious, and it is against
all reason that two unarmed men should make an attack upon one armed
with a sword, and within call of assistance. You yourself know, Doctor
Bertmann, that the reason which he alleged for the attack is a false
one, as we were not asked for our parole."
"I am, of course, aware of that," the doctor said, "and should attend
to give evidence, but the case is a doubtful one. The officers of our
line regiments are, for the most part, poor and friendless men.
Promotion is almost entirely by favoritism, and it would need a very
considerable amount of courage and independence to give a verdict in
the teeth of their commanding officer. In the next place, for I have
heard them talking it over among themselves, there is a sort of
feeling that, for the honor of the Russian army, it is almost
necessary that you should be found guilty, since it would throw
discredit upon the whole service were it published to the world that
two unarmed young English officers had been attacked with a sword by a
Russian officer of rank."
"Then things look rather badly for us," said Jack. "Well, it can't be
helped, you know, and the count will, no doubt, write to our people at
home, to tell them the truth of the case."
"Oh," said the doctor, "you must not misunderstand me. I only said
that the new commandant had ordered that you should be tried by
court-martial, but that is a very different thing from its being done.
We must get you out of prison to-night."
"You speak very confidently," Jack said, laughing, "but how is it to
be done?"
"Oh," answered the doctor, "there is no great difficulty on that
score. It may be taken as certain that as a rule every Russian
official, from the highest to the lowest, is accessible to a bribe,
and that no prisoner with powerful friends outside need give up hope.
This is a military prison. The soldiers at the gate are open to imbibe
an unlimited amount of vodka, whoever may send it. The officer in
command of them will be easily accessible to reasons which will induce
him to shut his eyes to what is going on. Your warder here can of
course be bought. The count is already at work, and as his means are
ample, and, although under a cloud at present, his connections
powerful, there is little fear that he will fail in succeeding. By the
way I have news to tell you. Do you hear the bells tolling? The news
has arrived that Nicholas is dead. Alexander, our new Czar, is known
to be liberally disposed, and, were there time, the count would go to
St. Petersburg, obtain an audience with him, and explain the whole
circumstances, which, by the way, he has related to me. This, of
course, is out of the question, and even were there time for him to go
and return, it would not be possible for him to obtain an audience
with the new emperor just at present."
"I wish it could have been so," Jack said. "Of course Dick and I will
be glad enough to avail ourselves of the chances of escape, for it
would be foolish to insist upon waiting to be tried by a tribunal
certain beforehand to condemn us. Still, one doesn't like the thought
of making one's escape, and so leaving it to be supposed that we were
conscious of guilt."
"Oh," the doctor said, "you need not trouble yourself upon that score.
The governor was hated by every one, and no one really doubts that he
attacked you first. Upon the contrary, the population are inclined to
look upon you as public benefactors. There will then be no feeling
against you here, but even if there were, it would make but little
difference. At present every one in Russia is talking and thinking of
nothing but the death of the Czar, and of the changes which may be
made by his son, and the details of a squabble in an obscure town will
attract no attention whatever, and will not probably even obtain the
honor of a paragraph in the Odessa papers. The first thing for us to
do is to get your friend into a fit state to walk. How do you feel?"
he asked, bending over Dick and feeling his pulse.
"Ever so much better," Dick said cheerfully, "since I have heard from
you that there is a chance of escape. I have been fretting so at the
thought that I have got Jack into such a wretched mess by my folly in
telling the governor that I knew of his treachery. If it had been only
myself, I shouldn't have cared."
"Why, my dear Dick," Jack said cheerfully, "I never dreamt of blaming
you, and if you hadn't spoken out, I have no doubt I should have done
so. No, no, old fellow, whatever comes of it, don't you blame
yourself."
"Can you stand, do you think?" the doctor asked.
"Oh, I think so," Dick said; and rising, he managed to totter across
the cell.
"That is all right," the doctor said. "In a quarter of an hour you
shall have a good dinner sent in from a restaurant. I have arranged
for that. It is of course contrary to rule, but a few roubles have
settled it. There will be supper, too, at eleven o'clock; there will
also be a couple of bottles of first-rate Burgundy from the count's
cellar. You are to eat two good meals, and drink a third of a bottle
at each of them. Your wounds are not in themselves serious, and the
only thing that ails you is loss of blood. We must risk a little
accession of fever for the sake of giving you strength. When you have
had your supper, you had best both get to sleep, if you can, for an
hour or two. Whatever arrangements we make will be for about two
o'clock in the morning. And now good-bye for the present; keep up your
spirits, and remember that even should any unexpected accident upset
our plans for to-night, we will carry them out to-morrow night, as the
court-martial will not take place till the afternoon, and there will
be at least twenty-four, probably forty-eight hours, between the
sentence and its execution."
So saying, the doctor took his departure, leaving the lads far more
cheerful and confident than they had been when he entered. He seemed
indeed to regard the success of the attempt which would be made for
their evasion as secured. The meal, which consisted of some strong and
nourishing soup, and a dish of well-cooked meat, shortly arrived, and
Dick, after partaking of it, and drinking his prescribed allowance of
Burgundy, announced that he felt a man again, and ready for a tussle
with the commandant. After his meal he dozed quietly, for some hours,
until aroused by the arrival of supper which consisted again of soup
with some poached eggs served on vegetables.
Jack had not tried to sleep, but had enjoyed a pipe which the doctor
had, with tobacco, handed to him, his own having been confiscated upon
his entrance into the prison. After supper, however, he threw himself
upon the straw and slept soundly, until awakened by a hand being
placed on his shoulder. He leaped to his feet, and saw the warder
beside him. The man carried a lantern. The candle with which the boys
had been furnished by the doctor's arrangement had burned out. Jack
aroused his comrade, and the two followed the warder, who led the way
along the corridor and down the stairs into the courtyard of the
prison.
The man did not walk with any particular caution, and the lads judged
from his movements that he had no fear whatever of interruption. The
door of the guard-room stood open, and by the light of the fire which
blazed within, they could see the soldiers lying about in a drunken
sleep. At the gate itself the sentry on duty was sitting on the ground
with his back against a wall, and his musket beside him, in a heavy
drunken sleep.
The warder unlocked the door, the key being already in the lock; the
three issued out; the gate was closed and locked on the outside, and
the key thrust under the gate. The warder then led the way through the
streets, until he reached a small house near the outskirts. The door
opened as their footsteps approached, and Count Preskoff came out.
"My dear boys," he exclaimed embracing them as if he had been their
father, "how much you have suffered for the sake of me and mine!
Here," he continued, turning to the warder, "is the reward I promised
you. Go straight on to the chateau. You will find my coachman with a
light carriage ready for starting. He will drive you twenty-five miles
on your way, and you will then only have fifteen to walk before
morning to the house of the woodman, your brother, where I hear you
intend to remain hidden for the present. You can rely upon my
protection after the affair has blown over. Now come in, lads, this is
the house of a faithful serf of mine, who works here on his own
account as an artisan, and you will be safe from interruption for the
next hour or two."
Upon entering the cottage, the midshipmen were surprised to find the
countess and her daughters, who greeted them no less warmly than the
count had done.
"My husband has told me all that you have done for us," the countess
said, "and how you first discovered the plot between the governor and
that miserable traitor for our ruin. I have blamed him for hiding it
from us at first, for surely a wife should know of the dangers to
which her husband is exposed. Besides, I and my daughters would have
remained ignorant of the obligation we owe you."
"And to think of the way you took us in with the ponies," Olga
laughed. "Papa said that was your invention, Master Jack. That's
another score against you."
"I hope," Dick said, "that you are running no risks on our account,
countess. I fear that there may be suspicions that the count has been
concerned in our escape."
"The deputy-commandant may suspect," the count said, "but he can prove
nothing. All in the chateau are, I believe, faithful, but even were
they not, none know of our absence, as we did not leave until all were
asleep, and shall return before daylight. Alexis will himself drive
the warder to his destination. He has the best pair of horses, and
will do the fifty miles in under four hours so that he will be back
before any one is stirring. The others concerned will hold their
tongues for their own sakes. The soldiers will not admit that they
have been drunk, but will declare that no one has passed the gate. The
lieutenant in charge will hang up the key on its hook in the
guard-room, and will declare that every time he made his rounds he
found the men alert and vigilant. It will therefore be supposed that
the warder has let you out by a rope or in some other way. No doubt
there will be a vigilant hue-and-cry in the morning, and the
commandant will search every house, will keep a sharp watch over the
chateau, and will scour the country for miles round. But it will die
away in time. I wrote yesterday afternoon to my friends in St.
Petersburg, urging them to obtain the appointment of some friend to
this post. The party of reform will be in the ascendency in the
counsels of the emperor, and I have every hope that I shall shortly be
restored to favor at court, a matter, by the way, which I care for
very much more for the sake of my daughters than for myself. The
countess and I are well content with our life in the country, but the
girls naturally look forward to the gayeties of life at the capital.
Beside which," he added, laughing, "I must be looking for husbands for
them, and I fear that I should not find satisfactory suitors in this
neighborhood."
Jack could not help glancing at Olga, for, with a midshipman's usual
inflammatory tendency, he was convinced that he was hopelessly in love
with that damsel. Olga colored, and then turned away, from which Jack
could gain no indication favorable or otherwise for his hopes.
The count now explained the plans that had been adopted for their
escape. "It would," he said, "seem the natural course to aid you, as
we have done the warder, by driving you far into the country. But the
descriptions of you are sure to be sent to every place within fifty
miles. I know no one to whom I could safely entrust you, and the
doctor says that it is impossible that our friend Dick should walk for
any distance for the next two or three days. The doctor has
fortunately received orders to-day to start at daybreak this morning
with a convoy going back to Sebastopol. No doubt the new commandant
had heard that he was prepared to give evidence at the court-martial
contradicting the governor's statement that you were prisoners on
parole, and therefore wished to get him out of the way. There are
several of my carts which have been requisitioned for the service, in
the convoy. I have here peasants' dresses for you. These you will put
on, and when the carts come along from the chateau half an hour before
daybreak it is arranged that you will take the places of two of the
drivers, who will at once return home. There will be no loading to do,
as the carts will be laden with flour for the army before they leave
to-night, so you will only have to go along with the others, and take
your places in the convoy. After starting the doctor will come along
the line, and seeing Dick limping, will order him to take his place in
one of the carts under his immediate charge, with medicines and
bedding for the hospitals. One driver more or less in a team of some
hundreds of wagons all following each other along a straight road will
not be noticed. So you will journey south for a week or so, until Dick
has thoroughly recovered his strength. You had then, we think, better
make to the west by the Odessa road. The doctor will take two
uniforms, there are plenty obtainable in the hospital, for you to put
on. You must of course run the risk of questioning and detection by
the way, but this cannot be avoided, and at least you will be beyond
the range of search from here, and will be travelling by quite a
different road from that which you would naturally take proceeding
hence. And now tell us all about your affair with the governor. We
have only so far heard his version of the affair, which of course we
knew to be false; but why he should have attacked you in the way he
did, we cannot quite understand."
Dick gave an account of the struggle and the causes which led to it,
owning himself greatly to blame for his imprudence in acquainting the
governor with his knowledge of his secret. He also gave full credit to
Jack for his promptness, not only in seizing the governor and so
saving a repetition of the blow, which would probably have been fatal,
but also in destroying the report and forged evidence of Paul before
interruption. The lads gained great credit with all for their
gallantry, and Katinka said, laughing, "It is wrong to say so, I
suppose, now he is dead, but I should like to have seen the count
struggling as Jack carried him along, like a little ant with a great
beetle." They all laughed.
"Oh, come now," Jack said; "there was not so much difference as all
that. He was not over six feet, and I suppose I am only about five
inches less, and I'm sure I was not much smaller round the shoulders
than he was."
"And now about your route," the count said. "You must not lose time.
Do you both quite agree with me that it would be next to impossible
for you to pass through the lines of our army and to gain your own?"
"Quite impossible," Dick agreed. "Jack and I have talked it over again
and again, and are of opinion that it could not be done even in
Russian uniforms. We should be liable to be questioned by every
officer who met us as to the reason of our being absent from our
regiment, and should be certain to be found out. We thought that it
might be possible to get hold of a fishing-boat, and sail down to join
the fleet. There would be of course the risk of being blown off the
shore or becalmed, and it would be difficult to lay in a stock of
provisions."
"Besides," the count said, "there is no blockade at Odessa, and our
small war-steamers cruise up and down the coast, so that you would be
liable to capture. No, I am sure your best way will be to go by land
through Poland. There are still large bodies of troops to the
southwest, facing the Turks, and it would be better for you to keep
north of these into Poland. You can go as wounded soldiers on furlough
returning home; and, being taken for Poles, your broken Russian will
appear natural. I will give you a letter which the countess has
written to the intendant of her estates in Poland, and he will do
everything in his power."
"I would rather not carry a letter," Dick said, "for it would
compromise you if we were taken. It would be better, if I might
suggest, for the countess to write to him direct, saying that when two
persons arrive and give some pass-word, say, for instance, the names
of your three daughters, we shall not forget them, he is to give us
any help we may require."
This was agreed upon, and the party chatted until the count said that
it was time for them to dress. Going into another room, the boys clad
themselves in two peasant costumes, with the inseparable sheepskin
coat which the Russian peasant clings to until the full heat of summer
sets in, and which is, especially during a journey, invaluable. The
count then insisted upon their taking a bundle of rouble notes to the
value of 200 l., and upon their urging that they could have no possible
need of so much money, he pointed out that there was no saying what
emergencies might occur during their journey, and that after passing
the frontier they would require a complete outfit, and would have to
pay the expenses of their journey, either to England or the east,
whichever they might decide upon. They rejoined the party in the front
room just as a rumble of carts was heard approaching. There was a
hasty parting. Father, mother, and daughters kissed the midshipmen
affectionately. Jack squeezed Olga's hand at parting, and in another
minute they were standing in front of the door.
"Yours will be the last two carts," the count said.
When these arrived opposite the house the count stepped forward and
said a word to the drivers, who instantly fell behind, while the boys
took up their places by the oxen and moved along with the procession
of carts.