SURPRISES.
It had been a busy and exciting day for Savrola. He had seen his
followers, had issued orders, restrained the impetuous, stimulated the
weak, encouraged the timid. All day long messages and reports had
reached him about the behaviour of the soldiers. The departure of the
Guard, and the refusal of the supporting brigade to march, were equally
pleasing events. The conspiracy had now been made known to so many
persons that he doubted the possibility of keeping it much longer
secret from the Government agents. From every consideration he felt
that the hour had come. The whole of the elaborate plan that he had
devised had been put into execution. The strain had been severe, but
at length all the preparations were completed, and the whole strength
of the Revolutionary party was concentrated for the final struggle.
Godoy, Renos, and the others were collected at the Mayoralty, whence at
dawn the Provisional Government was to be proclaimed. Moret, to whom
the actual duty of calling the people to arms had been assigned,
instructed his agents at his own house and made arrangements for the
posting of the proclamation. All was ready. The leader on whom
everything depended, whose brain had conceived, whose heart had
inspired, the great conspiracy, lay back in his chair. He needed and
desired a few moments' rest and quiet reflection to review his schemes,
to look for omissions, to brace his nerves.
A small bright fire burned in the grate, and all around were the ashes
of burnt papers. For an hour he had been feeding the flames. One
phase of his life was over; there might be another, but it was well to
have done with this one first. Letters from friends, dead now or
alienated; letters of congratulation, of praise that had inspired his
younger ambitions; letters from brilliant men and some from beautiful
women,--all had met a common fate. Why should these records, be
preserved for the curious eye of unsympathetic posterity? If he
perished, the world might forget him, and welcome; if he lived, his
life would henceforth be within the province of the historian. A
single note, preserved from the general destruction, lay on the table
beside him. It was the one with which Lucile had accompanied her
invitation to the State Ball, the only one he had ever received from
her.
As he balanced it in his fingers, his thoughts drifted away from the
busy hard realities of life to that kindred soul and lovely face. That
episode too was over. A barrier stood between them. Whatever the
result of the revolt, she was lost to him, unless--and that terrible
unless was pregnant with suggestions of such awful wickedness that his
mind recoiled from it as a man's hand starts from some filthy thing he
has by inadvertence touched. There were sins, sins against the
commonwealth of mankind, against the phenomenon of life itself, the
stigma of which would cling through death, and for which there was
pardon only in annihilation. Yet he hated Molara with a fierce hatred;
nor did he care to longer hide from himself the reason. And with the
recollection of the reason his mind reverted to a softer mood. Would
he ever see her again? Even the sound of her name pleased him;
"Lucile," he whispered sadly.
There was a quick step outside; the door opened, and she stood before
him. He sprang up in mute astonishment.
Lucile looked greatly embarrassed. Her mission was a delicate one.
Indeed she did not know her own mind, or did not care to know it. It
was for her husband's sake, she said to herself; but the words she
spoke belied her. "I have come to tell you that I did not betray your
secret."
"I know,--I never feared," replied Savrola.
"How do you know?"
"I have not yet been arrested."
"No, but he suspects."
"Suspects what?"
"That you are conspiring against the Republic."
"Oh!" said Savrola, greatly relieved; "he has no proofs."
"To-morrow he may have."
"To-morrow will be too late."
"Too late?"
"Yes," said Savrola; "the game begins to-night." He took out his
watch; it was a quarter to eleven.
"At twelve o'clock you will hear the alarm-bells. Sit down, and let us
talk."
Lucile sat down mechanically.
"You love me," he said in an even voice, looking at her
dispassionately, and as if the whole subject of their relations was but
a psychological problem, "and I love you." There was no answer; he
continued: "But we must part. In this world we are divided, nor do I
see how the barrier can be removed. All my life I shall think of you;
no other woman can ever fill the empty space. Ambitions I still have:
I always had them; but love I am not to know, or to know it only to my
vexation and despair. I will put it away from me, and henceforth my
affections will be as lifeless as those burnt papers. And you,--will
you forget? In the next few hours I may be killed; if so, do not allow
yourself to mourn. I do not care to be remembered for what I was. If
I have done anything that may make the world more happy, more cheerful,
more comfortable, let them recall the action. If I have spoken a
thought which, rising above the vicissitudes of our existence, may make
life brighter or death less gloomy, then let them say, 'He said this or
he did that.' Forget the man; remember, perhaps, his work. Remember
too that you have known a soul, somewhere amid the puzzles of the
universe, the complement of your own; and then forget. Summon your
religion to your aid; anticipate the moment of forgetting; live, and
leave the past alone. Can you do this?"
"Never!" she answered passionately. "I will never forget you!"
"We are but poor philosophers," he said. "Pain and love make sport of
us and all our theories. We cannot conquer ourselves or rise above our
state."
"Why should we try?" she whispered, looking at him with wild eyes.
He saw and trembled. Then, with the surge of impulse, he cried, "My
God, how I love you!" and before she could frame a resolution or even
choose her mind, they had kissed each other.
The handle of the door turned quickly. Both started back. The door
swung open and the President appeared. He was in plain clothes, his
right hand concealed behind his back. Miguel followed from out of the
darkness of the passage.
For a moment there was silence. Then Molara in a furious voice broke
out: "So, Sir, you attack me in this way also,--coward and scoundrel!"
He raised his hand and pointed the revolver it held full at his enemy.
Lucile, feeling that the world had broken up, fell back against the
sofa, stunned with terror. Savrola rose and faced the President. Then
she saw what a brave man he was, for as he did so he contrived to stand
between the weapon and herself. "Put down your pistol," he said in a
firm voice; "and you shall have an explanation."
"I will put it down," said Molara, "when I have killed you."
Savrola measured the distance between them with his eye. Could he
spring in under the shot? Again he looked at the table where his own
revolver lay. He shielded her, and he decided to stand still.
"Down on your knees and beg for mercy, you hound; down, or I will blow
your face in!"
"I have always tried to despise death, and have always succeeded in
despising you. I shall bow to neither."
"We shall see," said Molara, grinding his teeth. "I shall count
five,--one!"
There was a pause. Savrola looked at the pistol barrel, a black spot
encircled by a ring of bright steel; all the rest of the picture was a
blank.
"Two!" counted the President.
So he was to die,--flash off this earth when that black spot burst into
flame. He anticipated the blow full in his face; and beyond he saw
nothing,--annihilation,--black, black night.
"Three!"
He could just see the rifling of the barrel; the lands showed faintly.
That was a wonderful invention--to make the bullet spin as it
travelled. He imagined it churning his brain with hideous energy. He
tried to think, to take one grip of his philosophy or faith before the
plunge; but his physical sensations were too violent. To the tips of
his fingers he tingled, as the blood surged through his veins; the
palms of his hands felt hot.
"Four!"
Lucile sprang up, and with a cry threw herself in front of the
President "Wait, wait!" she cried. "Have mercy!"
Molara met her look, and in those eyes read more than terror. Then at
last he understood; he started as though he had caught hold of red-hot
iron. "My God! it's true!" he gasped. "Strumpet!" he cried, as he
pushed her from him, striking her with the back of his left hand in the
mouth. She shrank into the far corner of the room. He saw it all now.
Hoist with his own petard he had lost everything. Wild fury took hold
of him and shook him till his throat rattled and ached. She had
deserted him; power was slipping from his grasp; his rival, his enemy,
the man he hated with all his soul was everywhere triumphant. He had
walked into the trap only to steal the bait; but he should not escape.
There was a limit to prudence and to the love of life. His plans, his
hopes, the roar of an avenging crowd, all faded from his mind. Death
should wipe out the long score that stood between them, death which
settled all,--now on the instant. But he had been a soldier, and was
ever a practical man in the detail of life. He lowered the pistol and
deliberately cocked it; single action would make certainty more sure;
then he took good aim.
Savrola, seeing that the moment was upon him, lowered his head and
sprang forward.
The President fired.
But Miguel's quick intelligence had appreciated the changed situation,
and he remembered that there were consequences. He saw that the trick
had become deadly earnest, and he did not forget the mob. He struck
the pistol up, and the bullet, by a very little, flew high.
In the smoke and the flash Savrola closed with his adversary and bore
him to the ground. Molara fell underneath and with the concussion
dropped the revolver. The other seized it, wrenched himself clear, and
sprang back and away from the prostrate figure. For a moment he stood
there and watched, while the hungry lust of killing rose in his heart
and made his trigger-finger itch. Then very slowly the President rose.
The fall had dazed him; he leaned against the book-case and groaned.
Below there was a beating at the front door. Molara turned towards
Lucile, who still cowered in the corner of the room, and began to
revile her. The common, ugly material of his character showed through
the veneer and polish that varied intercourse and the conduct of great
affairs had superimposed. His words were not fit to hear, nor worth
remembering; but they stung her to the quick and she rejoined
defiantly: "You knew I was here; you told me to come! You have laid a
trap; the fault is yours!" Molara replied by a filthy taunt. "I am
innocent," she cried; "though I love him, I am innocent! Why did you
tell me to come here?"
Savrola began to perceive dimly. "I do not know," he said, "what
villainy you have contrived. I have wronged you too much to care to
have your blood on my head; but go, and go quickly; I will not endure
your foulness. Go!"
The President was now recovering his calmness. "I should have shot you
myself," he said, "but I will have it done by a platoon of
soldiers,--five soldiers and a corporal."
"The murder will be avenged in either case."
"Why did you stop me, Miguel?"
"It is as he says, Your Excellency," replied the Secretary. "It would
have been a tactical error."
The official manner, the style of address, the man's composure,
restored the President to his senses. He walked towards the door and
stopping at the sideboard helped himself to a glass of brandy with
ostentation. "Confiscated," he said, and held it up to the light, "by
order of the Government." He swallowed it. "I will see you shot
to-morrow," he added, heedless that the other held the pistol.
"I shall be at the Mayoralty," said Savrola; "you may come and fetch me
if you dare."
"Revolt!" said the President. "Pooh! I will stamp it out, and you
too, before the sun has gone down."
"Perhaps there may be another ending to the tale."
"One or the other," said the President. "You have robbed me of my
honour; you are plotting to rob me of my power. There is not room for
both of us in the world. You may take your mistress with you to hell."
There was a noise of hasty footsteps on the stairs; Lieutenant Tiro
flung open the door, but stopped abruptly in astonishment at the
occupants of the room. "I heard a shot," he said.
"Yes," answered the President; "there has been an accident, but luckily
no harm was done. Will you please accompany me to the palace? Miguel,
come!"
"You had better be quick, Sir," said the Subaltern. "There are many
strange folk about to-night, and they are building a barricade at the
end of the street."
"Indeed?" said the President. "It is time we took steps to stop them.
Good-night, Sir," he added, turning to Savrola; "we shall meet
to-morrow and finish our discussion."
But Savrola, revolver in hand, looked at him steadily and let him go in
silence, a silence that for a space Lucile's sobs alone disturbed. At
length, when the retreating footsteps had died away and the street door
had closed, she spoke. "I cannot stop here."
"You cannot go back to the palace."
"What am I to do, then?"
Savrola reflected. "You had better stay here for the present. The
house is at your disposal, and you will be alone. I must go at once to
the Mayoralty; already I am late,--it is close on twelve,--the moment
approaches. Besides, Molara will send policemen, and I have duties to
discharge which I cannot avoid. To-night the streets are too
dangerous. Perhaps I shall return in the morning."
The tragedy had stunned them both. A bitter remorse filled Savrola's
heart. Her life was ruined,--was he the cause? He could not say how
far he was guilty or innocent; but the sadness of it all was unaltered,
no matter who might be at fault. "Good-bye," he said rising. "I must
go, though I leave my heart behind. Much depends on me,--the lives of
friends, the liberties of a nation."
And so he departed to play a great game in the face of all the world,
to struggle for those ambitions which form the greater part of man's
interest in life; while she, a woman, miserable and now alone, had no
resource but to wait.
And then suddenly the bells began to ring all over the city with quick
impatient strokes. There was the sound of a far-off bugle-call and a
dull report,--the boom of an alarm-gun. The tumult grew; the roll of a
drum beating the _assembly_ was heard at the end of the street;
confused shoutings and cries rose from many quarters. At length one
sound was heard which put an end to all doubts,--_tap_, _tap_, _tap_,
like the subdued slamming of many wooden boxes--the noise of distant
musketry.
The revolution had begun.