Too stirred within his heart to sleep, Paul paced the lawn, in the
vain hope of seeing her again.
He was walking lightly over the wet grass with almost silent feet, so
occupied with his thoughts that he came near to walking into a couple
talking beneath a tree.
When, however, he beheld them, he came to a sudden standstill, all his
senses alive, his quick intuition telling him he was in the presence
of some matter of moment.
A little portly man with an evident air of authority was talking to a
woman in a flowing cloak. Emphasizing his remarks with true Gallic
gestures, but with all his excitement making an evident effort to be
guarded in his tone, he was all oblivious to Paul's presence.
The girl Paul could not see plainly, but it was with some
unaccountable notion of doing her a service, and not with the remotest
idea of eavesdropping, that he stepped softly and silently to the
further side of a tree trunk.
Then he heard the girl's voice saying in low, quiet, earnest accents:
"Why will you not let me rest? Why do you pursue me in this way?
Surely it is inhuman to adopt these methods. Is it fair to follow me
to a place like this and insult me in this way?"
The man mumbled something which Paul could not catch.
Then he heard the girl utter a little cry.
"Look!" she exclaimed eagerly. "Look! I will make you an offer. Free
me from this horrible nightmare, give me your word that you will not
persecute me further, and I will give you these."
Paul heard the rustle of draperies, and was conscious that the girl
reached out her hands.
The man greedily took something from her. His head was bent over the
object, whatever it might be, long and earnestly.
Then he heard a thick voice say in French: "They are beautiful, very
beautiful. But what are they to us? You think they are worth a hundred
thousand roubles, eh? Suppose they are--what of that? Do you think a
hundred thousand roubles will save you? Bah!"
The man chuckled thickly.
"But they are very pretty baubles," he went on, "and since you offer
them to me, I see no reason why I should not keep them."
"Ah!" cried the girl. "Then Boris will be satisfied?"
"Satisfied!" exclaimed the man, "satisfied, for this much! Not he!
Why, it's ridiculous."
"Then give them back to me," said the girl, quietly, with a quaver in
her voice. "Give them back to me. Would you rob me?"
"I am not robbing you," answered the man, sullenly. "I am taking what
you offered me. I shall not give them back. It is impossible for you
to make me. You would cry out, would you? What good would that do? Cry
out, call for help--do what you like--but think first what will it
mean for you. Give them back? Not I! I--"
But his speech ended suddenly at this point, for Paul, always quick
to action, took quick action now.
Moving round the trunk of the tree, he caught the man deftly by the
collar of his coat, kicked his heels from under him, and brought him
with a heavy crash to the ground.
The man lay still.
In a second Paul was on his knees beside the prostrate figure. With
swift fingers he searched the man's clothing and found a mass of
jewels in the breast-pocket of his outer coat.
In a twinkling he had them out, and, rising to his feet, he held a
heavy string of diamonds towards the girl.
"Madam," he cried, "permit me to befriend you. I do not know who you
are, but--"
His voice trailed away into a little gasp, for the frightened face
that stared at him in the moonlight with starting eyes was the face
of the lady he was seeking.
Paul stood still gazing mutely at the girl and holding out the jewels
towards her.
When he had recovered from his great surprise he moved a step nearer
to her.
"Madam," he said, "permit me to insist that you shall take these
things back."
Without a word she stretched out her hand and took the jewels from
him. She hid them quickly in the folds of her cloak, and all the while
the expression of amaze and fear on her face did not abate.
At last she pointed to the man lying beneath the tree.
"You have not killed him?" she asked, in a low voice.
For answer, Paul turned again and knelt at the fat man's side. He
inserted his hand skilfully over the unconscious man's heart, and
then rose to his feet again.
"No," he said, almost with a laugh. "Just knocked him out; that is
all. He will be all right directly, and I fancy he will be glad to
walk away without assistance. I imagine he is not a character who
would care for much fuss and attention at this time of the night."
Again Paul drew near to the girl and peered gravely and keenly, but at
the same time with all deference, into her face.
"I think," he said quietly, "that it will be better for you to walk
away while we are still undisturbed. If you will allow me, I will
accompany you toward the hotel. If I may be permitted to say so, it is
hardly fitting that a lady carrying so much property about with her
should be strolling here unattended."
His tones were so kind and cheering that the lady smiled back at him.
"At least," she said, "you are a very sturdy escort."
She walked beside him without saying anything more, apparently
satisfied to be in his charge.
Paul said not another word except, "This is the way," and then,
guiding the girl through the trees, he reached the main path and
helped her to step over the low iron railing; thence he piloted her in
silence until the hotel was in sight.
As the building loomed up in the darkness, Paul stopped, and said
earnestly:
"I trust you will permit me to wait and see you safely on your road.
Apparently one never knows what may happen, and, believe me, I have no
wish you should suffer a second adventure such as the one through
which you have just passed."
"Thank you," said the girl in a scarcely audible voice. Then turning
towards him, she stretched out her hand impulsively.
"Thank you," she said. "Thank you. I cannot tell you how much I thank
you. You are a gentleman. It is not necessary to ask you as a
gentleman not to mention to anyone in the world what you have seen or
heard to-night."
Paul bowed.
"You may trust me absolutely," he said. "I give you my word of honour
that not one single word of this shall pass my lips. But may I say
something else? May I be allowed to make an offer of help? I have
money, I have many resources at my command. I would willingly pledge
myself to serve you in any way. I should be only too proud, too glad
to help."
"No, no!" cried the girl, sharply, with a piteous little gesture and
a note almost of agony in her voice.
The distress in her tones was so real that Paul made no further effort
to persuade her. So, lifting his hat, he stood waiting for her to take
leave of him. Once more she stretched out her hand impulsively, and he
took it in his own.
"Thank you," she said, in the same low, earnest voice, "thank you
again and again." Then she turned and walked quickly away.
Paul strolled slowly back to the hotel, in a more perplexed state of
mind than before. Was it possible that he had stepped suddenly into
the midst of some tragic mystery? What sorrow, what terror had made
the eyes of the girl so wistful and so beckoning?
That she might be suffering some profound grief, or might be the
centre of some bit of distressing family history, might well be
conceived. But what extraordinary combination of inappropriate events
could possibly cause her to seek to buy quittance of such a man as he
had left insensible?
He sat far into the night, turning all these things over in his mind.
Obviously it was not some question of personal honour which involved
the necessity of maintaining some sordid and disgraceful secret, or
the lady would not be risking her personal safety, and to a great
extent her reputation, by being present at such a rendezvous.
Whatever it might be--the mystery which embraced her--Paul determined,
whether it pleased her or not, that he would range himself on her
side.
To do this, however, it would be necessary to discover what the
mystery was, and he proceeded to set up and then demolish a thousand
and one theories to account for her plight; and he was still far from
the solution when he fell asleep.