NEENAH
"Selim's wife, Neenah, saved my life." It was the next morning and Chase
was relating his experiences to an eager marvelling company in the
breakfast room. "She has a sister whose husband was one of the leaders
in the attack. Neenah told Selim and Selim told me. That's all. We were
prepared for them when they came last night. Days ago, Selim and I
cached the rope at the top of the cliff, anticipating just such an
emergency as this, and intending to use it if we could reach the château
in no other way. I figured that they would cut off all other means of
getting into your grounds.
"Neenah came up from the village ahead of the attacking party, out of
breath and terribly frightened. We didn't waste a second, let me tell
you. Grabbing up our guns, we got out through the rear and made a dash
across the stable yard. It was near midnight. I had received the
committee at nine and had given them my reasons for not resigning the
post. They went away apparently satisfied, which aroused my suspicions.
I knew that there was something behind that exhibition of meekness.
"The servants, all of whom were up and ready to join in the fight,
attempted to head us off. We had a merry little touch of real warfare
just back of the stables. It was as dark as pitch, and I don't believe
we hit anybody. But it was lively scrambling for a minute or two, let me
tell you." Chase shook his head in sober recollection of the preliminary
affray.
Deppingham's big blue eyes were fairly snapping. His wife put her hand
on his shoulder with an impulse strange to her and Genevra saw a light
blaze in her eyes. "I hope you potted a few of 'em. Serve 'em jolly well
right if----"
"Selim says he stumbled over something that groaned as we were racing
for the back road. I was looking out for Neenah." He glanced
involuntarily from Lady Agnes to the Princess, a touch of confusion
suddenly assailing him. "Selim covered the retreat," he added hastily.
"Instead of keeping the road, we turned up the embankment and struck
into the forest. Dropping down behind the bushes, we watched those
devils from the town race pell-mell, howling and shooting, down the
château road. There must have been a hundred of 'em. Five minutes later,
the bungalow was afire. It was as bright as day and I had no trouble in
recognising Rasula in the crowd. Selim led the way and I followed with
Neenah. It was hard going, let me tell you, up hill and down, stumbles
and tumbles, scratches and bumps, through five miles of the blackest
night imaginable. Hang it all, Browne, I didn't have time to save that
case of cigarettes; I'm out nearly a hundred boxes. And those novels you
lent me, Lady Deppingham--I can't return. Sorry."
"You might have saved the cigarettes and novels if you hadn't been so
occupied in saving the fair Neenah," said her ladyship, with a provoking
smile.
"Alas! I thought of that also, but too late. Still, virtue was its own
reward. Imagine my delight when we stopped to rest to have Neenah divide
her own little store of Turkish cigarettes with me. We had a bully smoke
up there in the wood."
"Selim, too?" asked Browne casually.
"Oh, no! Selim was exploring," said Chase easily.
"Neenah is very beautiful," ventured Lady Agnes.
"She is exquisite," replied Chase with the utmost _sang froid_. "Selim
bought her last winter for a ten karat ruby and a pint of sapphires."
"That explains her overwhelming love for Selim," said the Princess
quietly. Chase looked into her eyes for a moment and smiled inwardly.
"I'll be happy to tell you all about her some other time," he said. "Her
story is most interesting."
"That will be perfectly delightful," chimed in Drusilla. "We shan't miss
those racy novels, after all."
"We finally got to the edge of the cliff and unearthed the rope, which
we already had fastened to the trunk of a tree. It had been securely
spliced in three places beforehand, giving us the proper length. It was
a frightful trip we had over the ridge. Exhibit: the scratches upon my
erstwhile beautiful countenance; reserved: the bruises upon my unhappy
knees and elbows. I was obliged to carry Neenah for the last quarter of
a mile, poor little girl. She was tied to my back, leaving my throat and
chest free, and down we came. Simplest thing in the world. Presto! Here
am I, with my happy family at my heels."
"Well, we can't sit here and dawdle all day," exclaimed Deppingham. "We
must be moving about--arrange our batteries, and all that, don't you
know. Get out a skirmish line, nominate our spies, bolster up our
defences, set a watch, court-martial the prisoners, and look into the
commissariat. We've got to stave these devils off for two or three
weeks, at least, and we'll have to look sharp. Browne, that's the third
cup of coffee you've had. Come along! This isn't Boston."
As they left the breakfast room, Chase stepped to Genevra's side and
walked with her. They traversed the full length of the long hall in
silence. At the foot of the stairs, where they were to part, she
extended her hand, a bright smile in her eyes.
"You were and are very brave and good," she said. He withheld his hand
and she dropped hers, hurt and strangely vexed. "Don't you care for my
approval? Or do you--"
"You forget, Princess, that my hands are still suffering from the
bravery you would laud," he said, holding them resolutely behind his
back.
"Oh, I remember!" she cried in quick comprehension. "They were cut and
bruised by the rope. How thoughtless of me. What are you doing for them?
Come, Mr. Chase, may I not dress them for you? I am capable--I am not
afraid of wounds. We have had many of them in our family--and fatal ones
too." She was eager now, and earnest.
He shook his head, with a smile on his lips. "I thank you. They are
better--much better, and they have been quite properly bandaged
already."
"Neenah?"
"Yes," he replied gently. She seemed to search his mind with a quick,
intense look into his eyes. Then she smiled and said: "I'll promise not
to bruise the wounds if you'll only be so good as to shake hands with
me."
He took her slender hand in his broad, white-swathed palm and pressed it
fervently, regardless of the pain which would have caused him to cringe
if engaged in any other pursuit.
The forenoon was fully occupied with the preparations for defence. Every
precaution was taken to circumvent the plans of the enemy. There was no
longer any doubt as to the intentions of the disappointed islanders. Von
Blitz and Rasula had convinced them that their cause was seriously
jeopardised; they were made to see the necessity for permanently
removing the white pretenders from their path.
Deppingham, on account of his one time position in the British army, was
chosen chief officer of the beleaguered "citadel." A strict espionage
was set upon the native servants, despite Baillo's assurances of
loyalty. Lookouts were posted in the towers and a ceaseless watch was to
be kept day and night. Chase, on his first visit to the west tower,
discovered a long unused searchlight of powerful dimensions. Fortunately
for the besieged, the electric-light plant was located in the château
grounds and could not be tampered with from the outside. A quantity of
fuel, sufficient to last for a couple of months, was found in the bins.
Britt was put in charge of the night patrol, Saunders the day. Strict
orders were given that no one was to venture into that portion of the
park open to long-range shots from the hills. Chase set the minds of all
at rest by announcing that the islanders would not seek to set fire to
the château from the cliffs: such avaricious gentlemen as Von Blitz and
Rasula would never consent to the destruction of property so valuable.
Selim, under orders, had severed the long rope with a single rifle shot;
no one could hope to reach the château by way of the cliff.
Extra precautions were taken to guard the women from attacks from the
inside. The window bars were locked securely and heavy bolts were placed
on the doors leading to the lower regions. It was now only too apparent
that Skaggs and Wyckholme had wrought well in anticipation of a
rebellion by the native shareholders. Each window had its adjustable
grates, every outer door was protected by heavy iron gates.
By nightfall Deppingham's forces were in full possession of every
advantage that their position afforded. In the cool of the evening, they
sat down to rest in the great stone gallery overlooking the sea,
satisfied that they were reasonably secure from any assault that their
foes might undertake. No sign of hostility had been observed during the
day. Japat looked, as observed from the château, to be the most peaceful
spot in the world.
Chase came from his room, still stiff and sore, but with fresh, white
bandages on his blistered hands. He asked and received permission to
light a cigarette, and then dropped wearily into a seat near the
Princess, who sat upon the stone railing. She was leaning back against
the column and looking dreamily out across the lowlands toward the
starlit sea. The never-ceasing rush of the mountain stream came plainly
up to them from below; now and then a cool dash of spray floated to
their faces from the waterfall hard by.
The soft light from the shaded windows fell upon her glorious face.
Chase sat in silence for many minutes, covertly feasting his eyes upon
her loveliness. Her trim, graceful, seductive figure was outlined
against the darkness; a delicate, sensuous fragrance exhaled from her
person, filling him with an indescribable delight and languor; the spell
of her beauty was upon him and he felt the leap of his blood.
"If I were you," he said at last, reluctant to despoil the picture, "I
wouldn't sit up there. It would be a very simple matter for one of our
friends to pick you off with a shot from below. Please let me pull up a
chair for you."
She smiled languidly, without a trace of uneasiness in her manner.
"Dear officer of the day, do you think they are so foolish as to pick us
off in particles? Not at all. They will dispose of us wholesale, not by
the piece. By the way, has Neenah been made quite comfortable?"
"I believe so. She and Selim have the room beyond mine, thanks to Lady
Deppingham."
"Agnes tells me that she is very interesting--quite like a princess out
of a fairy book. You recall the princesses who were always being
captured by ogres and evil princes and afterward satisfactorily rescued
by those dear knights admirable? Did Selim steal her in the beginning?"
"You forget the pot of sapphires and the big ruby."
"They say that princesses can be bought very cheaply."
"Depends entirely upon the quality of princess you desire. It's very
much like buying rare gems or old paintings, I'd say."
"Very much, I'm sure. I suppose you'd call Neenah a rare gem?"
"She is certainly not an old painting."
"How old is she, pray?"
"Seventeen--by no means an antique. Speaking of princesses and ogres,
has it occurred to you that you would bring a fortune in the market?"
"Mr. Chase!"
"You know, it's barely possible that you may be put in a matrimonial
shop window if Von Blitz and his friends should capture you alive. Ever
think of that?"
"Good heavens! You--why, what a horrible thing to say!"
"You won't bring as much in the South Sea market as you would in
Rapp-Thorberg or Paris, but I daresay you could be sold for--"
"Please, Mr. Chase, don't suggest anything so atrocious," she cried,
something like terror in her voice.
"Neenah's father sold her for a handful of gems," said he, with distinct
meaning in his voice. She was silent, and he went on after a moment. "Is
there so much difference, after all, where one is sold, just so long as
the price is satisfactory to all concerned?"
"You are very unkind, Mr. Chase," she said with quiet dignity. "I do not
deserve your sarcasm."
"I humbly plead for forgiveness," he said, suddenly contrite. "It was
beastly."
"American wit, I imagine you call it," she said scornfully. "I don't
care to talk with you any longer."
"Won't you forgive me? I'm a poor brute--don't lash me. In two or three
weeks I'll step down and out of your life; that will be penalty enough,
don't you think?"
"For whom?" she asked in a voice so low that he could scarcely hear the
words. Then she laughed ironically. "I _do_ forgive. It is all that a
prince or a princess is ever asked to do, I'm beginning to believe. I
also forgive you for coming into my life."
"If I had been a trifle more intelligent, I should not have come into it
at all," he said. She turned upon him quickly, stung by the remark.
"Is that the way you feel about it?" she asked sharply.
"You don't understand. A man of intelligence would never have kicked
Prince Karl. As a matter of fact, in trying to kick Prince Karl out of
your life, I kicked myself into it. A very simple process, and yet
scarcely intellectual. A jackass could have done as much."
"A jackass may kick at a king," she paraphrased casually. "A cat may
only look at him. But let us go back to realities. Do you mean to tell
me that they--these wretches--would dare to sell me--us, I mean--into
the kind of slavery you mention?" A trace of anxiety deepened the tone
of her voice. She was now keenly alert and no longer trivial.
"Why not?" he asked soberly, arising and coming quite close to her side.
"You are beautiful. If they should take you alive, it would be a very
simple matter for any one of these men to purchase you from the others.
You might easily be kept on this island for the rest of your days, and
the world would be none the wiser. Or you could be sold into Persia, or
Arabia, or Turkey. I am not surprised that you shudder. Forgive me for
alarming you, perhaps needlessly. Nevertheless, it is a thing to
consider. I have learned all of the plans from Selim's wife. They do not
contemplate the connubial traffic, 'tis true, but that would be a
natural consequence. Von Blitz and Rasula mean to destroy all of us. We
are to disappear from the face of the earth. When our friends come to
look for us, we will have died from the plague and our bodies will have
been burned, as they always are in Japat. There will be no one left to
deny the story. All outsiders are to be destroyed--even the Persian and
Turkish women, who hate their liege lords too well. After to-morrow, no
ship is due to put in here for three weeks. They will see to it that
none of us get out to that ship; nor will the ship's officers know of
our peril. The word will go forth that the plague has come to the
island. That is the first step, your highness. But there is one obstacle
they have overlooked," he concluded. She looked up inquiringly.
"My warships," he said, the whimsical smile broadening.