Abraham Rotheisel hastened to Vienna as fast as the lumbering diligence
could carry him. He lost no time in presenting himself before the
Emperor.
Before long, the courier was on his way back, furnished with a document
which the Emperor had signed and sealed himself, after he had heard of
the dismal situation in which Raby found himself.
This important missive soon found its way to the governor.
"Eh, what is this?" demanded his Excellency, as he recognised the
superscription and private seal of the Kaiser. He was just in the act of
dictating to his secretary, so put the imperial missive into a basket,
which was filled with documents of all sorts, and went on with his
dictation, pacing up and down the room the while.
He was just trying to finish, when the district commissioner entered
without any announcing.
"Has your Excellency received a courier from his Majesty?" he asked
abruptly.
"I have."
"What does he say?"
"How should I know?"
"Where is the letter?"
"Where all the others are." And he lifted the cover from the basket and
pointed to the collection within of yet unopened correspondence.
The district commissioner raised his hands with a little deprecating
gesture, as he whispered anxiously: "But your Excellency, these are in
the Emperor's handwriting; they should not lie here; they are urgent,
surely?"
His Excellency looked at the speaker as a fencer measures his
antagonist.
"Urgent, are they?"
The district commissioner looked puzzled.
"Your Excellency," he began, "this affair is not done with. His Majesty
has sent a second letter to me by special courier, and I have read it.
He orders me in it to come to you immediately, and express the gravest
disapproval that Mathias Raby, notwithstanding the imperial safe
conduct, has been made a prisoner and placed in the dungeon of the
Assembly House, among the scum of convicted criminals. I am to take care
that he is released, and that he is allowed to defend himself as a free
man without hindrance."
"That procedure won't be according to our laws."
"Perhaps not, but in view of the accusation brought against Raby, his
Majesty orders that he be detained in a place of confinement more
befitting his rank and calling."
"That shall be done," said his Excellency, and therewith he rang the
bell.
The lackey answered it, and he gave him the order:
"Go at once to the Assembly House at Pesth, and tell the lieutenant he
is to wait on me immediately."
Then he turned to his interrupted dictation as a sign his guest could
go.
An hour after this, Mr. Laskoy was announced. He had come to represent
the Council, as the latter was engaged over the vintage.
His Excellency looked ready to eat his visitor.
"What is all this foolery in the dungeon of the Assembly House, pray? Is
this the way you keep order? Mathias Raby has only been imprisoned four
days, yet already the Emperor has had a letter from him, telling him all
about the thieves' den where he is shut up. Could you not manage things
better, and fetter him so that he could not write a letter, even if he
had pencil and paper?"
Mr. Laskoy stammered and stuttered and lamely excused himself, and
finally got enraged, and vowed to himself he would soon find a way out
of this business.
He tramped back to the Assembly House, and after a short confab with the
gaoler, new arrangements were soon made regarding Raby.
Among the underground vaults was a cell where wood was kept, but this
was hastily turned out. The little vault had an iron door, with a tiny
air-hole in the middle, so small it could hardly be seen, and the door
could be locked fast. A more fitting place for Raby could not be found.
Our hero had already passed four days in the company of criminals, and
was counting the minutes and hours till the Emperor's orders should
arrive which were to free him from this frightful hole. And now the time
as it seemed had come.
He was eating his supper of rice soaked in water--the usual prison
fare--when they came to fetch him. But they only rivetted shorter
fetters on his hands and feet alike, led him down into a deeper vault,
and thrust him into a cold, dark, mouldy cellar, wherein not a single
ray of sunlight, nor the sound of a human voice could penetrate.
Yes, this was a worse place than that he had longed to escape from.
Above there, they might be evil men, but at least they had had human
faces. Their words had been hateful indeed, but they had been human
voices that uttered them.
When they clanged the door behind him, and the cold, dark, deathlike
silence closed around him, Raby lost consciousness.
* * * * *
In the afternoon the district commissioner again called on his
Excellency, who was engaged in his favourite game of billiards.
"Dare I venture?" began his visitor.
"It is all right. Raby is transferred into another cell. Now just watch,
my friend, what a good shot I shall make."
"Yes, but perhaps they've put him in a worse one still?"
But his Excellency was looking after his ball, for he knew what he was
about at billiards, and scored heavily.
The next day the district commissioner went to the Assembly House to
investigate the sort of cell Raby had been removed to. But when he could
not find it, and moreover, could, by no means whatever obtain from the
officials where the prisoner might be housed, he went again to the
governor to demand an explanation.
This led to recriminations between the two functionaries as to the
respective limits of their jurisdictions, and they parted on very cool
terms.
"I don't envy his next visitor," whispered the secretary to one of his
colleagues, "whoever it is, he won't get a warm welcome."
And sure enough, one was just then announced.
The governor was busy writing to the Kaiser, and he resented this
intrusion.
"Excellency, it is a petitioner," ventured the secretary timidly.
"Send him to the devil, then!"
"But it is a young lady, Excellency."
"I don't want any young ladies here. What the deuce does she want with
me, I should like to know?"
But the secretary whispered a name that caused the angry governor to
spring up hastily, and ask:
"What is she doing here? Has anyone come with her?"
"Excellency, she is alone."
"Alone? Let her come in, then."
It is easy to guess who the stranger lady was. She wore her ordinary
morning-gown, just as she had slipped out from her household duties,
without anyone knowing, but in her blue eyes lay woe unutterable.
And it was only with those same eyes that she spoke; not a word did she
utter; not a gesture did she make. She sank at the feet of that hard
man, and seized his hands in both of hers, and hid her face and wept at
his feet.
"Come, come, this won't do, little one! I can't have tears! Now, child,
tell me" (he was her godfather), "what brings you here alone? How if
anyone met you in the street? What is it? What is the matter? Can you
not say a word? Shall I have to talk instead? Shall I guess what it is
you want? You come here on behalf of that scoundrel, Raby, eh? Nay,
there's no dungeon deep enough for him, the rogue, the graceless knave,
the good-for-nothing that he is----"
But Mariska--for it was she--suddenly pressed both hands over the
speaker's mouth to stop his denunciations.
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed his Excellency maliciously. "So you've come in
case I am treating him too harshly, have you? Never mind, he shall
carry fifty pounds weight of chains on his feet before we've done with
him."
But at these words the poor girl pressed her hands to her heaving breast
in dumb entreaty, and her breath came in short gasps.
"Come now, don't cry, it's all right," whispered the stern old man, as
softened by her grief, he kindly drew her to him. "Foolish child, were
you really so fond of him? There, there, rest easy, we will deal gently
with him. Eh? if you go on like this, I shall want to throttle the
fellow outright. Silly child, can't you forget him? Ah, Raby, you may
thank your stars you've got such an advocate, otherwise the Emperor
himself hadn't been able to help you."
His visitor uttered a little smothered cry of joy:
"My dear, good, kind godfather!" she murmured, as she covered the horny
hand with grateful kisses.
"Why, how pleased she is! Silly child that you are!"
He rang the bell, and a secretary appeared.
"Sit down and write thus:
"'TO THE LIEUTENANT OF THE PRISON.
"'By this present, I instruct your worship that you
cause the noble prisoner, Mathias Raby, to be released
from the cell where he at present is confined, freed
from irons, and be forthwith put in a place of
honourable custody befitting his rank, till his trial
takes place.'
"You will take the letter immediately to Pesth, and you will remain
there till you have seen with your own eyes that the prisoner is
transferred to proper custody, and further, will say, that I, myself,
shall follow in half an hour's time to see whether my orders have been
executed."
The secretary hastened away to fulfil his commission.
Mariska was beside herself with joy.
"So my foolish god-daughter is satisfied at last, is she? Go back to
your pastry-making, for I want some cakes badly. Yet no more tears,
please! But come back with me," he added, "and I'll take you home. When
your father hears you've been to me to plead for Raby, he'll be mighty
angry. So you had better let me take you back and smooth it over for you
at home. But I tell you, you must promise to put the fellow out of your
thoughts! No, no, I'm not going to say anything against him; for pity's
sake let's have no more weeping. Rest easy, no harm shall happen to him.
He'll soon be set at liberty, and go back to Vienna, and then he'll
cease to trouble us."
The girl's only answer was a deep sigh.
His Excellency led his god-daughter downstairs, and placed her in the
coach which was waiting for them. And little Mariska returned home in
state.
Janosics, the castellan, met his Excellency at the gate of the Assembly
House, and bareheaded, bowed low before him.
"What about the prisoner, Raby?" asked the governor shortly.
"He is already conveyed to number three on the first floor, your
Excellency," was the respectful answer.
His Excellency nodded, took his companion by the hand, and led her
indoors.
Tarhalmy knew nothing, and was astonished beyond measure at seeing the
governor with his daughter.
"I'm bringing your little deserter back," said her god-father,
jestingly. "Don't be angry with her! Judge the case for yourself; she
came upon me unawares with her cause, and who could withstand such
pleading, eh?"
The head-notary now understood. Father and daughter looked for a minute
at each other, then the girl threw her arms round his neck.
He kissed her forehead, and whispered:
"You were the only one who could do it!"
It was a consoling word for her. Yes, if everyone else in the world had
the right to persecute and vex the prisoner, she, at least, had the
equal right to protect and console him.
She said nothing, but ran away into the kitchen.
Their guest could hear that outside a hen was being killed, and guessed
what was going forward. He stopped on chatting with Tarhalmy, so that
Mariska should have time to fulfil her kindly task. When she re-entered
the room, after half an hour's absence, her face was red, as if she had
been standing over the fire--or was it some deeper cause? Her
god-father patted her cheek, and promised to come again, as he took his
leave.
But he would not permit his host to accompany him, for he wanted to go
and see the culprit for himself, so he made his way to cell number
three.
It was a pleasant spacious room, with two beds in it, as well as other
furniture. There was no one else in it but Raby.
He was seated at the table, and eating a freshly cooked fowl, which he
seemed to be relishing mightily.
But when the governor entered, the prisoner rose, and was evidently
anxious to show a brave front.
"Your humble servant," murmured his guest, as he looked round the room.
"Well, is your worship content with your new quarters, pray?"
"As far as any man who is innocent of the crime whereof he is accused
can be content with his prison," answered Raby.
"Ah well, that will be proved at the trial. But at least as long as the
affair lasts you are well lodged here, I hope. Also you have something
to eat, I see, and some clean linen."
"I fancy my former serving-maid must have brought it for me from home.
She was a very devoted servant."
"Oh, you think it's she, do you? Well, there are other devoted people in
the world who remember Mr. Raby's needs, I fancy, as well. Books too, I
see, and well-chosen ones. Well, there's a difference between this and
your earlier lodging at any rate."
Raby felt the blood mount to his head, but he would not betray his
resentment.
"My arrest was a wholly unjust one," he said bitterly. "If no regard is
shown to the Hungarian nobleman, at least, the imperial mandate should
be respected."
"So you think that the turn for the better your affairs have taken is
owing to the Emperor's intervention, do you?"
"I am convinced that his Majesty would not allow his devoted servant to
perish," answered Raby.
"You are right in what you say of our illustrious sovereign; he is,
indeed, gracious. You soon found means, it seems, of advising the Kaiser
of your situation. I admire your promptness! The Emperor did not lose
time either; yesterday, early, I had his despatch in my hands."
Raby's cheeks grew red with indignation.
"And why, then, in spite of this, was I yesterday afternoon cast into a
far worse dungeon than the one I was taken from--a cold, dark hole,
where I fainted."
"Yes, I know all about it. But I suppose you know what happened to the
Emperor's letter?"
And his Excellency brought out of his pocket, the imperial missive, with
its great seal still unbroken, and held it out to the prisoner.
"You have not even opened it!"
"No, nor are any of them opened when they arrive. And I tell you
plainly, that all you write to the Emperor from here avails nothing. If
you have anything to quote from the Hungarian laws in your defence, do
it, and justify yourself. But every effort to act independently of those
same laws is worse than useless. It means only lost time and trouble,
and only rivets your fetters more closely. But at any rate your
captivity is bearable."
Raby shook his head, and as the door closed on his guest, he buried his
face in his hands.