"But you tell me that General Markoff intends that we both shall come to
an untimely end," I said a few moments later.
"He does, Excellency, and the ingenuity of the plot against you both is
certainly one which betrays his devilish cunning," was the fellow's
reply. "I have, I assure you, no love for a man who holds my life in
the hollow of his hand, and whose word I am compelled to obey on pain of
exposure and death."
"You mean Markoff," I exclaimed. "Tell me something of this plot
against me--so that I may be on my guard," I urged.
"I know nothing concerning it. For that very reason I went to Brighton
yesterday, to try and discover something," he said.
"And what did you discover?"
"A very remarkable fact. At present it is only suspicion. I have yet
to substantiate it."
"Cannot you tell me your suspicion?"
"Not until I have had an opportunity of proving it," was his quiet
reply. "But I assure you that the observation I kept upon Her Imperial
Highness and yourself was with no evil intent."
I smiled incredulously. It was hard indeed to believe a man of his
subtle and unscrupulous character. All that Tack had told me crowded
through my brain. As the catspaw of Markoff, it was not likely that he
would tell me the truth.
Hartwig was leaning easily against the wooden mantelshelf, watching us
keenly. Of a sudden an idea occurred to me, and addressing the
informer, I said:
"I believe you are acquainted with my friend Madame de Rosen and her
daughter. Tell me what you know concerning them."
"They were arrested and exiled to Siberia for the attempt in the Nevski
on the return of the Emperor from the south," he said promptly.
Hartwig interrupted, saying gravely:
"And that attempt, Danilo Danilovitch, was conceived by you--conceived
in order to strike terror into the Emperor's heart. You formed the plot
and handed over the list of the conspirators to your employer, Markoff--
you, the person known to the Party of the People's Will as `The One.'"
"I knew of the plot," he admitted. "And though I gave certain names to
the police, I certainly did not include the names of Madame de Rosen or
of Mademoiselle."
"Why was she arrested?"
He was silent for a few moments.
"Because her presence in Petersburg was dangerous to the General," he
said at last sullenly.
"You know this--eh? You are certain of it--you have evidence, I mean?"
asked Hartwig.
"You ask me for the truth," the informer said, "and I tell you. I was
extremely sorry for Madame and the young lady, for I knew them when I
carried on my trade as bootmaker. An hour after their arrest, at about
four o'clock in the morning, the General ordered me to go and search
their house for certain letters which he described to me--letters which
he was extremely anxious to obtain. I went alone, as he did not wish to
alarm the neighbourhood by a domiciliary visit of the police. I
searched the house for nearly nine hours, but failed to discover them.
While still engaged in the investigation I was recalled to the house
where it is my habit to meet the General in secret, when he told me that
by a false promise of release he had extracted from Madame a statement
that the letters were no longer in her possession, and that Her Imperial
Highness the Grand Duchess Natalia held them in safe-keeping. Madame,
perfectly innocent as she was of any connection with the conspirators,
expected to be released after telling the truth; but the General said
that he had only laughed in her face and ordered her and her daughter to
be sent off with the next convoy of prisoners--who were leaving for
Siberia that same night. By this time the ladies are, I expect, already
in the great forwarding-prison at Tomsk."
"And the letters?" I demanded, my blood boiling at hearing his story.
"I was ordered to search for them." Danilovitch replied. "The General
gave me instructions how to enter the palace of the Grand Duke Nicholas
and there to investigate the apartments of the Grand Duchess Natalia. I
refused at first, knowing that if I were detected as an intruder I
should be shot at sight by the sentries. But he insisted," the man
added. "He told me that if I persisted in my refusal he would expose me
as a spy. So I was compelled to make the attempt, well knowing that
discovery meant certain death. The sentries have orders to shoot any
intruder in the Grand Ducal palace. On four occasions I went there at
imminent risk, and on the fourth I was successful. I found the letters
concealed in a room which had once been used as Her Highness's nursery."
"And what did you do with them?"
"I met the General at our usual meeting-place and handed them to him.
He was at first delighted. But a moment later, finding that the seal of
the envelope in which were the letters had been broken, he charged me
with reading them. I denied it, and--"
"Then you did not read them? You do not know what they contained, or
who they were from?"
"They were from General Markoff himself. I looked at the signatures,
but, alas! I had no time to read them. I drove straight to the
meeting-place, where the General was awaiting me."
"They were from the General!" I echoed. "To whom?"
"They bore his signature--one a long letter, closely written," was the
informer's reply. "Seeing that the seal had been broken, the General
flew into a sudden rage and declared that the Grand Duchess Natalia had
learned what they contained. The words he used to me were: `The girl
must be silenced--silenced at once, Danilovitch. And you must silence
her. She knows the truth!'"
"Well?" I asked.
"Well," he said, his mouth drawn and hard, "under compulsion and more
threats of exposure, I launched the bomb, which, alas! killed her
father, while the young lady escaped unhurt."
"Then he still intends that Her Highness shall die? His warning the
other day was no idle attempt to terrorise me?"
"No, Excellency. Take every precaution. The General means mischief,
for he is in hourly fear lest Her Highness should expose certain facts
contained in those fateful letters which have already cost two ladies
their liberty and a Grand Duke and several Cossacks their lives."
"Is this the actual truth?" asked Hartwig in a changed voice, looking
the informer full in the face.
"Yes," he answered solemnly. "I have told you the truth; therefore I
believe your solemn word that you will make no exposure to the Party."
"If you will disassociate yourself from these dastardly actions," he
said.
"Ah!" sighed the other in despair, "that is impossible. The General
holds me always to the compact I made with him. But I beg of you to be
warned," he added. "Her Highness is daily in gravest peril!"