WHAT THE CZAR FORGOT
I took Zara back to the house of the prince, where I was well known to
every servant of the establishment, for I had been a constant and an
honored guest, there. From it I despatched messengers to O'Malley, and
to Coyle, and presently sent Durnief away to prison, in charge of the
former, while the latter brought a conveyance which took Zara and me to
the home of my princess. It was a much quicker return than I had
anticipated, at the time we departed from that house together, but the
condition in which we found it, told only too plainly what might have
been my sweetheart's fate, had I trusted to appearances, and left her
there. The nihilists had lost no time in searching for her, when they
were made to believe that she had betrayed them. The place was almost a
wreck. It had been searched, and the searchers had not hesitated to
become despoilers, also. Nevertheless it was a happy homecoming for
Zara, for looking upon the devastation that had been wrought in her
absence, she turned to me with a smile, and said:
"I have lost much, this past night, Dubravnik, in shattered idols and
broken toys, but I have gained the whole world, too, for I have found
you."
When I had seen Zara safely inside her own door, and had given her
every assurance of her entire safety, I had myself driven to the
palace.
Although I had promised to see the emperor as soon as I arrived, I felt
that it was my first duty to interview Prince Michael, in the hope that
the events of the preceding day might be reviewed in a better spirit.
Accordingly, I proceeded at once to his apartments, after the captain
of the guard had assured me that his majesty was still sleeping, not
having retired until nearly daylight. When I rapped upon the door of
the room occupied by the prince, as a sleeping apartment, there was no
response, and I repeated the summons, more loudly than before. Still I
waited in vain, and at last, feeling some misgivings, and being assured
by the guard in the corridor that the prince had not left the room
since he had gone to it the preceding evening, I turned the handle and
entered.
I found him there. He was seated in a chair near one of the great
windows through which the lately risen sun was shining full upon him;
and the moment my eyes discovered him I started with horror, for I saw
that he was dead. Instantly I stepped back through the door, and told
the guard to call his captain, pointing out the lifeless form of the
prince, and ordering him to tell nobody but his superior officer of the
fact. Then I reëntered the room and approached the body of my former
friend. There was a pistol beside him on the floor where it had fallen
from his nerveless grasp after the fatal deed was performed, but he
reclined as easily in the chair as though he had dropped asleep
naturally, for a short nap instead of forever.
"Poor Michael!" I murmured. "Did I drive you to this? Would that I had
not spoken."
I turned to glance around the room, professional instinct getting the
best of me even in that moment of sorrow, and I quickly espied a letter
upon the table. It was addressed to his majesty, the emperor, and was
tightly sealed, so I placed it in my pocket and started to leave the
room. At the door I met the captain of the guard with two of his men,
and them I instructed to keep watch, but on no account to touch
anything without his majesty's permission. Then I sought the czar.
"Well, Derrington?" he asked, as soon as I was admitted to his
presence. "What of the night? Is the conspiracy crushed, and have you
been successful?"
"Entirely so. Nihilism is effectually crushed for many years to come.
My work in St. Petersburg is really done, I think. At least I can
assure you that you will have no cause to fear the hand of an assassin
for a long time; until this weed starts up anew."
"We are safe, then. Thank God for that."
"You are perfectly safe. The prisons are full to overflowing. I have
sent many of the less guilty ones over the border with instructions not
to return for many years to come. You will miss a few faces at court.
You will be forced to fill a few vacancies in the army. The next
caravan across Siberia will be a larger one than the last, and the
population of this city will be depleted by nearly three thousand souls
counting all that I have enumerated."
"This is glorious news to awaken to--glorious! I cannot repay you the
debt I owe you, Derrington."
"Now that you have heard the good news, can you bear to hear some that
is not so good, monsieur?"
"What! Is there bad news also?"
"Necessarily, there must have been some fatalities."
"Ah! Some one was killed? Some friend of mine?"
"Yes. Some one has killed himself."
"Durnief?"
"No. He is a prisoner."
"Why keep me waiting? Tell me at once."
"I greatly fear, your majesty, that I am responsible for this death.
Here is the letter he left. Read it. I do not know what it contains. I
only just now discovered the body."
"_Michael!_" He exclaimed as soon as he saw the handwriting. I made no
reply and he broke the seal and read the last words of his lifelong
friend. Presently he returned it to me.
"Read," he said, and I read.
_My Friend_,--
In death, qualities of rank cease, hence I address you as I have
always felt towards you--as my friend. Derrington was right; he
told the truth, and I lied. I am not now and have never been a
nihilist in spirit, but it is true that I am one in fact. I joined
them in a moment of folly, to protect a friend whom I knew to be
one. I have never allied myself to them, and have never attended
one meeting of theirs. The friend for whose sake I joined has been
generous, and no demands have been made upon me; nevertheless, I am
guilty. Yet, believe me my friend, when with my last breath I
assure you that I have never harbored one disloyal thought towards
you or yours, and I should unhesitatingly have betrayed the
nihilists had I ever known of a single circumstance inimical to
you. But I can live no longer under this disgrace, so I die. I
beseech you let not the truth of my dishonor be known abroad. I was
unjust to Derrington, and I crave his pardon. I loved him as a
brother, and as brothers quarrel at times, so did we. He is
faithful; trust him. May God lead you in the right; may He preserve
your life and your empire, and may He have mercy upon me.
MICHAEL.
Alexander was true to his friendship for Prince Michael. He mourned him
sincerely, and nobody ever knew the true cause of the prince's death.
The emperor respected that last wish of his dead friend. There was yet
more mischief to be done, however, by that arch villain Durnief, for
while we were still occupied with the care of Prince Michael's remains,
the czar sent for me in haste.
"This is a day of surprising missives," he said. "Here is another
letter for you to read." I took it in my hand and glanced at the
signature.
"Durnief," I said, with a sneer. "Why should I read it? The man cannot
tell the truth."
"Because I desire you to do so."
The note began in the usual form of addresses to the emperor, and was
as follows:
You have ere this been informed, and supplied with ample proof,
that I am among the ranks of your enemies, the nihilists. I confess
it, but I became one of them for selfish motives, not for political
ones. Never mind that. It is not my intention to intercede for
mercy, for I know that your heart is a stranger to that quality. It
is to tell you a truth that you should know. It is to tell you that
the one most dangerous of all nihilists, is to go free; is to
remain in Russia; is to have access to your palace; is spared by
your trusted spy, Dubravnik; is upheld by him. This nihilist to
whom I refer, has been, ever since the death of my one time rival,
Stanislaus, the most dangerous of all the extremists. This nihilist
leader is a woman, and her name is Zara de Echeveria. Dubravnik
will spare her; he will spare her brother who is as violent as she
is.
One last word. I will never go to Siberia for I have the means to
cheat you out of the pleasure of sending me there, and when you
read this, I shall have been an hour dead.
ALEXIS DURNIEF.
"Well," demanded his majesty, "what have you to say?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing!"
"No."
"Have you arrested her?"
"I have not."
"Where is she now?"
"In her own home. I took her there this morning. Listen for a moment,
and I will tell you how that occurred."
Then I related in detail the story of my struggle with Durnief, the
rescue of Zara, her heroism in assisting me, and I told of the final
capture and imprisonment of the captain. But his majesty shook his head
in a doubt.
"I believe Durnief's letter. She is a nihilist," he said. "She must be
arrested." I shook my head, but he did not see the motion and
continued: "I believe that the princess is the friend to whom poor
Michael referred. He was in love with her and nothing short of the love
of a woman could have made him disloyal to me. Yes, I believe that she
is what Durnief says she is. I order you to place her under arrest at
once."
"She shall not be arrested," I said, coldly.
"What!" he cried, "you dare to disobey me?"
"Yes," I replied, "I _dare_ to disobey such an order as that. It shall
not be."
"Are you a traitor, also? Was Michael right?"
There was that sneering smile upon his face now, but I held my ground.
"I am not a traitor, but I will not carry out your request, and I will
not permit it to be carried out." He was aghast at my effrontery. He
could only gaze at me in amazement, too greatly confounded for speech;
and I continued: "Listen to me one moment, your majesty."
"I will not listen to you. The road to Siberia may be traveled by you
as well as by the friends whom you apprehended last night, and by
heaven, you shall follow it!"
"You forget one thing," I said. "You have forgotten----"
"What have I forgotten?"
"The Fraternity of Silence."
"Bah!"
"I foresaw this moment, your majesty, and my men have their orders to
meet it. If I am molested, every nihilist who was arrested last
night--every one who was in prison in the city before that time--will
be liberated in an hour, and you have not soldiers nor policemen enough
to stop the tide that will flow against you then. Your empire will
crumble like dust, and your life will go out like the snuffing of a
candle. For the present, I am the Czar of Russia, and you are only
Alexander Alexandrovitch." He sat still and looked at me with staring
eyes. "You are only a man, after all, monsieur," I continued more
softly. "In your fears for the safety of your family, for your empire,
and for yourself, you are led to do unjust things. Only an hour ago you
said that you owed me a debt that you could never repay. You do owe me
a debt, and you can repay it if you will forget for a moment that you
are a monarch, and remember that you are a man. You can repay all you
owe me, and more, if you will still be my friend, and forget that this
scene has occurred; and when you have done that, I will tell you that
Zara de Echeveria is to be the wife of Daniel Derrington; is to leave
Russia forever with her husband, and were she the worst nihilist in the
empire--and I know that she is not--she will be far away from any
temptation to do you harm, and under the guidance of one who has proven
his devotion to you. I will tell you more: I will leave the direction
of the affairs of the fraternity in the hands of one of my men who is
as expert as I am, and who is in every way as worthy of your
confidences as I have proven myself to be--Canfield."
The czar rose unsteadily to his feet and came towards me with his right
hand extended.
"Derrington," he said, slowly, "I have been unjust. If I had other
friends like you, who dared to tell me the truth as it is, and not
distort it out of all recognition--if there were others here who dared
to defy me when defiance alone will make me see things in their right
light, Russia would be the better for it. Go to Zara d'Echeveria. Tell
her that I wish her to come here. Tell her that the Czar of Russia will
ask her forgiveness for an act that he could not avoid committing. She
will understand. You shall be married in the palace, and you will both
remain in Russia."
Then he put his arms around me in Russian fashion and bade me go.