That afternoon they went to the palace grounds and inquired for the
chief steward. After a few moments they were shown to his office in a
small dwelling house just inside the gates. The steward was a red-faced
little man, pleasant and accommodating. He could speak German--in fact,
he was a German by birth--and they had no difficulty in presenting their
request. Mr. Fraasch--Jacob Fraasch--was at first dubious, but their
frank, eager faces soon gained for them his consent to see that part of
the great park open to the public. Beyond certain lines they were not to
trespass. Anguish asked how they could be expected to distinguish these
lines, being unacquainted, and the steward grimly informed them that the
members of the royal guard would establish the lines so plainly that it
would be quite clear.
He then wrote for them a pass to the grounds of the royal palace of
Graustark, affixing his seal. In giving this last to them he found
occasion to say that the princess had instructed him to extend every
courtesy possible to an American citizen. It was then that Anguish asked
if he might be permitted to use his camera. There was an instant and
emphatic refusal, and they were told that the pass would be rescinded
if they did not leave the camera outside the gates. Reluctantly Anguish
deposited his luckless box in the steward's office, and they passed into
the broad avenue which led towards the palace.
A guard, who served also as a guide, stepped to their side before
they had taken ten paces. Where he came from they never knew, so
instantaneous was his appearance. He remained with them during the two
hours spent in the wonderful park.
The palace stood in the northwestern part of the grounds, possibly a
half mile from the base of the mountain. Its front faced the mountain
side. The visitors were not permitted to go closer than a quarter of a
mile from the structure, but attained a position from which it could
be seen in all its massive, ancient splendor. Anguish, who had studied
churches and old structures, painted the castles on the Rhine, and was
something of a connoisseur in architecture, was of the opinion that
it had been standing for more than five hundred years. It was a vast,
mediaeval mass of stone, covered with moss and ivy, with towers, turrets
and battlements. There had been a moat in bygone days, but modern ideas
had transformed the waterway into solid, level ground. This they learned
afterwards. Broad avenues approached in several directions, the castle
standing at the far side of a wide circle or parade ground. The open
space before the balconies was fully three hundred yards square, and was
paved. From each side stretched the velvety green with its fountains,
its trees, its arbors, its flowers, its grottos and its red-legged
soldiers.
The park was probably a mile square, and was surrounded by a high wall,
on the top of which were little guard-houses and several masked cannon.
In all their travels the Americans had not seen a more delightful bit of
artifice, and they wandered about with a serene content that would have
appealed to anyone but their voiceless guide. He led them about the
place, allowing them to form their own conclusions, draw their own
inferences and make their own calculations. His only acts were to salute
the guards who passed and to present arms when he had conducted his
charges to the edge of forbidden territory. When they had completed
their tour of inspection their guide rapidly led the way to the wall
that encircled the grounds, reaching it at a point not far from the
castle itself. Here was situated another large gate, through which they
did not pass. Instead, they ascended some steps and came out upon the
high wall. The top of this wall was several feet wide, and walking was
comparatively safe. They soon understood the guide's design. The object
was to walk along this wall until they reached the main gate. Why
this peculiar course was to be taken they could not imagine at first.
Anguish's fertile brain came to the rescue. He saw a number of women in
a distant part of the grounds, and, remembering their guide's haste in
conducting them to the wall, rightly conjectured that it was against
custom for visitors to meet and gaze upon members of the royal
household. The men and women, none of whom could be plainly
distinguished from the far-away wall, were undoubtedly a part of the
castle's family, and were not to be subjected to the curious gaze of
sightseers. Perhaps Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Graustark, was
among them.
They reached the main gate and descended, Anguish securing his camera,
after which they thanked the steward and turned to fee the guide. But he
had disappeared as if the ground had swallowed him.
“Well, it's a fair Versailles,” observed Anguish, as they walked down
the street, glancing back at the frowning wall.
“It all goes to make me wonder why in the name of heaven we have never
heard of this land of Graustark,” said Lorry, still thinking of the
castle's grandeur.
“My boy, there are lots of things we don't know. We're too busy. Don't
you remember that but one-half the world knows how the other half lives?
I'll wager there are not twenty-five people in the United States who
know there is such a country as Graustark.”
“I don't believe that a single soul over there has heard of the place,”
vouchsafed Lorry, very truthfully.
“I'll accept the amendment,” said Anguish. Then he proceeded to take a
snap-shot of the castle from the middle of the street. He also secured
a number of views of the mountain side, of some odd little dwelling
houses, and two or three interesting exposures of red-robed children.
Everybody, from the children up, wore loose robes, some red, some black,
some blue, but all in solid colors. Beneath these robes were baggy
trousers and blouses among the men, short skirts among the women. All
wore low boots and a sort of turban. These costumes, of course,
were confined to the native civilians. At the hotel the garb of the
aristocrats was vastly different. The women were gowned after the latest
Viennese patterns, and the men, except those of the army, wore
clothes almost as smart as those which covered the Americans. Miss
Guggenslocker--or whatever her name might be--and her carriage companion
were as exquisitely gowned as any women to be seen on the boulevards or
in Hyde Park of an afternoon.
It was late in the afternoon when they returned to the hotel. After
dinner, during which they were again objects of interest, they strolled
off towards the castle, smoking their cigars and enjoying the glorious
air. Being a stranger in a strange land, Lorry acted on the romantic
painter's advice and also stuck a revolver in his pocket. He laughed at
the suggestion tha there might be use for the weapon in such a quiet,
model, well-regulated town, but Anguish insisted:
“I've seen a lot of these fellows around town who look like genuine
brigands and cutthroats, and I think it just as well that we be
prepared,” asserted he, positively, and his friend gratified what he
called a whim.
At ten o'clock the slender moon dropped behind the mountain, and the
valley, which had been touched with its tender light, gradually took on
the somberness and stillness of a star-lit night. The town slumbered at
eleven, and there were few lights to be seen in the streets or in the
houses. Here and there strolled the white-uniformed police guards;
occasionally soldiers hurried barracksward; now and then belated
citizens moved through the dense shadows on the sidewalks, but the
Americans saw still life in its reality. Returning from their stroll
beside the castle-walls, far to the west of where they had entered the
grounds that afternoon, they paused in the middle of Castle Avenue, near
the main gate, and looked down the dark, deserted street. Far away could
be seen the faint glare from their hotel; one or two street-lamps burned
in the business part of the city; aside from these evidences of life
there was nothing but darkness, silence, peacefulness about them
everywhere.
“Think of Paris or New York at eleven o'clock,” said Lorry, a trifle
awed by the solitude of the sleeping city.
“It's as dead as a piece of prairie-land,” said his friend. “'Gad, it
makes me sleepy to look down that street. It's a mile to the hotel, too,
Lorry. We'd better move along.”
“Let's lie down near the hedge, smoke another cigar and wait till
midnight. It is too glorious a night to be lost in sleep,” urged Lorry,
whose heart was light over the joys of the day to come. “I can dream
just as well here, looking at that dark old castle with its one little
tower-light, as I could if I tried to sleep in a hard bed down at the
hotel.”
Anguish, who was more or less of a dreamer himself, consented, and,
after lighting fresh cigars, they threw themselves on the soft, dry
grass near the tall hedge that fenced the avenue as it neared the castle
grounds. For half an hour they talked by fits and starts; long silences
were common, broken only by brief phrases which seemed so to disturb the
one to whom they were addressed that he answered gruffly and not at
all politely. Their cigars, burnt to mere stubs, were thrown away,
and still the waking dreamers stretched themselves in the almost
impenetrable shade of the hedge, one thinking of the face he had seen,
the other picturing in his artist eye the painting he had vowed to
create from the moon-lit castle of an hour ago.
“Some one coming,” murmured the painter, half rising to his elbow
attentively.
“Soldiers,” said the other briefly. “They'll not disturb us.”
“They'll not even see us, I should say. It's as dark as Egypt under this
hedge. They'll pass if we keep quiet.”
The figures of two men could be seen approaching from the city, dim
and ghostly in the semi-blackness of the night. Like two thieves the
Americans waited for them to pass. To their exceeding discomfiture,
however, the pedestrians halted directly in front of their resting
place and seated themselves leisurely upon a broad, flat stone at the
roadside. It was too dark to see if they were soldiers, notwithstanding
the fact that they were less than fifteen feet away.
“He should be here at twelve,” said one of the new comers in a low
voice and in fairly good English. The other merely grunted. There was a
silence of some duration, broken by the first speaker.
“If this job fails and you are caught it will mean years of servitude.”
“But in that case we are to have ten thousand gavvos apiece for each
year we lie in prison. It's fair pay--not only for our failure, but
for our silence,” said the other, whose English was more difficult to
understand.
Anguish's fingers gripped Lorry's leg, but there was no sound from
either of the thoroughly aroused dreamers. “A plot, as I live,” thought
each, with a thrill.
“We must be careful to speak only in English. There are not twenty
people in Edelweiss who understand it, but the night has ears. It is the
only safe tongue. Geddos speaks it well. He should be here.” It was
the first speaker who uttered these words, little knowing that he had
listeners other than the man to whom he spoke.
A dark figure shot across the roadway, and, almost before the Americans
were aware of it, the party numbered three.
“Ah, Geddos, you are punctual.”
“I have found it ever a virtue.” responded the newcomer.
“Have you secured your men?”
“I have, your--”
“Sh! Call me Michael, on your life! They are ready and willing to
undertake the venture?”
“Yes, but they do not understand the true conditions. I have told them
that we are to rob the castle and carry the booty to Ganlook before
morning.”
“They do not know the real object of the raid, then. That is as I
desired. Are they trusty and experienced men?”
“The best--or the worst--that I could find in Vienna. Not one
understands our language, and they are so ignorant of our town that
they are entirely dependent on me. They know nothing whatever of the
Princess, Michael, and will do only as they are told, realizing that if
caught they will be guillotined. I have told them it is the royal palace
we are to rifle. Ostrom, here, and I are the only ones, except yourself
and the men who will aid us inside the castle, who know the truth, sir.”
“It cannot fail, unless those inside prove false or unworthy,” said the
hoarse-voiced Ostrom. Anguish's fingers were gripping Lorry's leg so
fiercely that the blood was ready to burst out, but he did not feel
the pain. Here, then, was some gigantic plot in which the person of the
Princess herself was to be considered. Was it an assassination?
“You have five of these Viennese?”
“Yes. Two to stand beneath the window to receive the booty as we lower
it to the ground, one to stand guard at the west gate and two to attend
the carriage and horses in the ravine beyond the castle.”
“When did these men arrive?”
“This morning. I kept them in my sister's home until an hour ago.
They are now in the ravine, awaiting Ostrom and myself. Are you sure,
Michael, that the guards and the cook have been made to understand every
detail? The faintest slip will mean ruin.”
“They are to be trusted fully. Their pay is to be high enough to make
it an object to be infallible. The guard, Dushan, will leave the gate
unwatched, and you will chloroform him--with his consent, of course. You
will enter, as I have explained before, crawl along in the dark shadow
of the wall until you reach the arbor that leads to the kitchen and
scullery. Here another guard, Rabbo--known to Ostrom as a comrade in Her
Royal Highness's service not more than a year ago--will be encountered.
He will be bound and gagged without the least noise or struggle. Just
as the clock strikes two the cook will walk past the scullery window, in
the basement, thrice, carrying a lighted candle. You will see this light
through the window, and will know that all is well inside the castle.
Ostrom, you will then lead the two Viennese to a place directly beneath
the third window in the Princess's sleeping apartment. There are several
clumps of shrubbery there, and under these they will hide, protected
from the gaze of any watchman who is not with us. You and Geddos will be
admitted to the scullery by the cook, who will conduct you to the hall
leading to Her Highness's bed-room. The man who guards her door is
called Dannox. He will not be at his post, but will accompany you when
you leave the castle. You will understand how carefully you must enter
her room and how deeply she must be chloroformed. In the adjoining room
her lady-in-waiting, the Countess Dagmar, sleeps. If her door is ajar,
you are to creep in and chloroform her, leaving her undisturbed. Then
the Princess is to be wrapped in the cloth you take with you and lowered
from the window to the men below. They are to remain in hiding until
you have left the castle and have reached their side. It will not be
difficult, if caution is observed, for you to get outside of the wall
and to the carriage in the ravine. I have given you this plan of action
before, I know, but I desire to impress it firmly upon your minds. There
must not be the slightest deviation. The precision of clock-work is
necessary.”
The man named Michael hissed the foregoing into the ears of his
companions, the palsied Americans hearing every word distinctly. They
scarcely breathed, so tremendous was the restraint imposed upon their
nerves. A crime so huge, so daring as the abduction of a Princess, the
actual invasion of a castle to commit the theft of a human being just as
an ordinary burglar would steal in and make way with the contents of a
silver chest, was beyond their power of comprehension.
“We understand fully how it is to be done, and we shall get her to
Ganlook on time,” said Geddos, confidently.
“Not a hair of her head must be harmed,” cautioned the arch-conspirator.
“In four days I shall meet you at Ganlook. You will keep her in close
confinement until you hear from me. Have you the guard's uniforms that
you are to wear to-night?”
“They are with the carriage in the ravine; Ostrom and I will don
them before going to the castle. In case we are seen they will throw
observers off the track long enough for us to secure a good start in our
flight.”
“Remember, there is to be no failure. This may mean death to you;
certainly a long prison term if you are apprehended. I know it is a
daring deed, but it is just of the kind that succeeds. Who would dream
that mortal man could find the courage to steal a princess of the
realm from her bed and spirit her away from under the very noses of her
vaunted guardsmen? It is the bold, the impossible plan that wins.”
“We cannot fail if your men on the inside do their work well,”
said Geddos, repeating what Ostrom had said. “All depends on their
faithfulness.”
“They will not be found wanting. Your cut-throats must be sent on to
Caias with the empty carriage after you have reached Ganlook in safety.
You will need them no more. Ostrom will pay them, and they are to leave
the country as quickly as possible. At Caias they will be able to join
a pack-train that will carry them to the Great Northern Railroad. From
there they will have no trouble in reaching Vienna. You will explain to
them, Geddos. All we need them for, as you know, is to prove by their
mere presence in case of capture that the attempt was no more than a
case of burglary conceived by a band of Viennese robbers. There will be
no danger of capture if you once get her outside the walls. You can be
half way to Ganlook before she is missed from the castle. Nor can she be
found at Ganlook if you follow the instructions I gave last night. It is
now nearly one o'clock, and in half an hour the night will be as dark
as Erebus. Go, men; you have no more time to lose, for this must be
accomplished slowly, carefully, deliberately. There must be no haste
until you are ready for the race to Ganlook. Go, but for God's sake, do
not harm her! And do not fail!”
“Failure means more to us than to you, Michael,” half whispered the
hoarse Ostrom.
“Failure means everything to me! I must have her!”
Already the two hirelings were moving off toward the road that ran
west of the castle grounds. Michael watched them for a moment and then
started swiftly in the direction of the city. The watchers had not been
able to distinguish the faces of the conspirators, but they could never
forget the calm, cold voice of Michael, with its quaint, jerky English.
“What shall we do?” whispered Anguish when the men were out of hearing.
“God knows!” answered Lorry. “This is the most damnable thing I ever
heard of. Are we dreaming? Did we really see and hear those men?” He had
risen to his feet, his companion sitting weakly before him.
“There's no question about it! It's a case of abduction, and we have it
in our power to spoil the whole job. By Gad, but this is luck, Gren!”
Anguish was quivering with excitement as he rose to his feet. “Shall we
notify old Dangloss or alarm the steward? There's no time to be lost if
we want to trap these fellows. The chief devil is bound to escape, for
we can't get him and the others, too, and they won't peach on him. Come,
we must be lively! What are you standing there for? Damn it, the trap
must be set!”
“Wait! Why not do the whole job ourselves?”
“How-what do you mean?”
“Why should we alarm anybody? We know the plans as well as these
scoundrels themselves. Why not follow them right into the castle,
capture them red-handed, and then do the alarming? I'm in for saving the
Princess of Graustark with our own hands and right under the noses
of her vaunted guardsmen, as Michael says.” Lorry was thrilled by the
spirit of adventure. His hand gripped his friend's arm and his face was
close to his ear. “It is the grandest opportunity two human beings ever
had to distinguish themselves!”
“Great heaven, man! We can't do such a thing!” gasped Anguish.
“It's the easiest thing in the world. Besides, if we fail, we have
nothing to lose. If we succeed, see what we've done! Don't hesitate, old
man! Come on! Come on! We'll take 'em ourselves, as sure as fate. Have
you no nerve? What kind of an American are you? This chance won't
come in ten lifetimes! Good God, man, are we not equal to those two
scoundrels?”
“Two? There are at least ten of them!”
“You fool! The three guards are disposed of in advance, two of the
Viennese are left with the horses, two are chucked off under the
princess' window, and one stands at the gate. We can slug the man at the
gate, the fellows under the window are harmless, and that leaves but our
two friends and the cook. We have every advantage in the world. Can't
you see?”
“You are right! Come on! I'll risk it with you. We will save the
Princess of Graustark!”
“Don't you see it will be just as easy for us to enter the castle as for
these robbers? The way will be clear, and will be kept clear. Jove, man,
we need not be more than thirty seconds behind them. Is your pistol all
right?”
By this time the two men were speeding along the grassy stretch toward
the road that ran beside the wall. They looked to their pistols, and
placed them carefully in outside coat pockets.
“We must throw away these heavy canes,” whispered the painter to his
friend, who was a pace or so ahead.
“Keep it! We'll need one of them to crack that fellow's head at the
gate. 'Gad, it's dark along here!”
“How the devil are we to know where to go?”
“We'll stop when we come to the gate where we climbed up the wall
to-day. That is the only entrance I saw along the west wall, and it is
near the castle. Just as soon as the gang enters that gate we'll crawl
up and get rid of the fellow who stands watch.” It was so dark that
they could barely see the roadway, and they found it necessary to cease
talking as they slunk along beside the wall. Occasionally they paused to
listen, fearing that they might draw too close upon the men who had gone
before. At last they came to a big gate and halted.
“Is this the gate?” whispered Anguish.
“Sh! Yes, I'm quite sure. We are undoubtedly near the castle, judging
by the distance we have come. Let us cross the road and lie directly
opposite. Be careful!”
Like panthers they stole across the road and down a short, grassy
embankment. At Anguish's suggestion Lorry wrapped his handkerchief
tightly about the heavy end of his cane, preparing in that way to deaden
the sound of the blow that was to fall upon the Vienna man's head. Then
they threw aside their hats, buttoned their coats tightly, and sank down
to wait, with bounding hearts and tingling nerves, the arrival of the
abductors, mutely praying that they were at the right gate.