Whoever has witnessed Kean's superb delineation of the ruthless Richard
in the scene where, in the illusion of his dying agony, swordless, he
continues to lunge and feint, may comprehend the frightful mental
overturn which prompted Raikes to sink inertly into a chair near the
table, and with foam-flecked lips fall to counting, one by one, the
miserable coals in the dull heap before him.
A silly smile overspread his sharp features like an apologetic sunbeam
intruding upon a bleak landscape.
A gleam of shrewd transaction shone in his eyes.
The clutch of unwonted acquisition contracted his hands.
Slowly he made partition of the large from the small coals; regretfully
he acknowledged the presence of the lesser bits as, with a chuckle of
greedy appreciation, he grouped the relative piles.
"Ha, ha! ha, ha! ha, ha!" What a laugh! What a frightful mockery of
mirth! "Ha, ha! ha, ha!" and raising both hands above his head he
brought them down upon the table with the lax inertia of utter collapse,
and fell forward upon his extended arms, his face buried in the squalid
heap beneath.
For a dreary hour he lay there without the twitch of a muscle, the well
of a sigh.
Like a Cyclop's eye the button at the bottom of the concave in the wall
seemed to stare with wonder upon this unfamiliar Raikes, who could thus
permit the radiator to swing open so heedlessly, and the inner recess to
expose its golden glut.
Suddenly there came a sharp rap upon the door, then a pause; but its
quick reverberations were unheeded by the prostrate man.
Again the thuds were administered to the echoing panels, and still no
response.
"Uncle, I say, uncle!" cried a man's voice. "Uncle!" and the shout was
followed by a vigorous kick upon the woodwork; "Uncle! Uncle!"
At this last appeal Raikes stirred uneasily, and as the assault was
continued with still greater stress, he managed finally to stagger
uncertainly to his feet.
As he raised his head to listen to the clamor without, the meanness of
his face, emphasized by the smudges of the coal in which it had so
recently reposed, presented itself to the scandalized eye in the wall.
The miserable creature depicted the last degree of absurdity, and yet
the ugly pathos of it all would have moved to pity.
"Uncle, I say!" and at the sound of the voice, which he recognized as
that of his lusty nephew, Raikes, with a return of his accustomed
intelligence, which had received its kindly repairs at the hands of
nature during his brief coma, cried sharply: "Well, well!"
"Ah!" exclaimed the voice outside with an unmistakable accent of relief
in its tone as it added, with unlettered eagerness: "It's me--Bob!"
However, if his reawakened animation had revived his deadened spirit,
it also restored the appreciation of his disaster, as, with a glance of
vivid comprehension, he looked from the coal heap to the register,
toward which he leaped with astonishing agility.
In an instant the inner recess was secure; in another the radiator was
replaced, and Raikes, proceeding to the door, raised the bar, unlocked
the catches and exclaimed, "Enter!"
As the breezy Bob crossed the threshold, the question of his eyes was
instantly transformed to an expression of utter astonishment as he
beheld the extraordinary blend of soil and pallor upon the countenance
of his uncle.
"For the Lord's sake!" he cried, "what ails your face?" and strongly
tempted to laugh at the absurd spectacle, and as urgently impelled to
restrain himself by the glittering eyes of the raging Raikes, he added,
by way of apology for his noisy intrusion:
"We knew that you were in here, but could not make you hear us. You are
almost two hours beyond your usual time."
Directly in the rear of the young man stood the spinster, who gazed
with widened eyes and parted lips upon her brother's soiled visage.
"Well," snarled Raikes, "I am all right, you see; now leave me until I
get myself in shape to make an appearance."
As the door closed behind the pair, Raikes hurried to the mirror, and
above the crack which extended, like a spasm, diagonally across its
surface he beheld his bloodless cheeks and forehead, and below, the dry
slit of his mouth and his chin spattered with black and white.
As he witnessed the sorry sight, the unhappy man, unable for the moment
to account for his plight, stood aghast, until his gaze, penetrating to
the rear of his smudged physiognomy, beheld the reflection of the coal
heaps upon the table.
At once a savage grin distorted his features into the degree of ugliness
not already accomplished by its dusky resting place of the hour
previous. A grin that was scarcely human and almost diabolical, as if
the miserable creature had caught sight of the shriveled soul peering
through the chinks which imprisoned his rat eyes and found a malignant
enjoyment in the contemplation of its contemptible littleness.
From this debasing inspection Raikes turned slowly to the washstand to
remove the grime from his face, with an impersonal deliberation that was
not only unnatural under the circumstances, but which awakened the eerie
suggestion that he was expending his effort upon another than himself.
From this moment he became strangely calm; the sharp decision of his
lips was never so pronounced.
A baleful, unwavering gleam distinguished his glance. He had evidently
arrived at some determination, one that levied upon the last limit of
his endurance.
All that day the unhappy man sat in his room, sullen and pondering.
The timid offers of nourishment made by his sister were either ignored
or refused with such an ill grace that she finally forbore further
overtures and left him to his morose reflections, to improve her
opportunities of enjoying, unrebuked, the privileges of the table,
until, by nightfall, an indigestion, which she welcomed on account of
its occasion, disturbed her with its unfamiliar pangs.
In response to his nephew's concern as to his condition Raikes replied
by saying: "I may have something to tell you by eleven o'clock to-night;
will you be on hand?"
"Sure!" answered Bob with breezy goodwill.
From time to time Raikes glanced at the clock.
His last scrutiny had revealed the hour of nine. Sixty interminable
minutes more remained ere he could see the Sepoy.
Slowly the leaden hands crawled over the indifferent face.
At last the half hour struck.
A strange impatience possessed him.
Perhaps the Sepoy might begin a little earlier than usual. He could, at
least, suggest such a courtesy by his precipitation; it was far better
than this unendurable wait.
With this anticipation he decided to proceed to the apartment of this
singular narrator.
After taking his usual precautions, which seemed more or less of a
mockery in view of the succession of disasters which had overtaken him,
and again establishing the spinster in a position where she could
maintain an unobstructed view of the entrance to his room, Raikes
proceeded hurriedly along the various passageways, which finally
concluded in his point of destination.
He rapped gently upon the door, which he discovered to be slightly ajar.
There was no response.
His second attempt to attract attention was pronounced enough to urge
the door aside and enable him to make a comprehensive survey of the
interior.
It was unoccupied; and of his last assault upon the panel the only
recognition was a sullen echo in the hallway.
About to retire, his glance fell upon the table in the center of the
room.
At once a sudden trembling seized him.
A burning fever surged through his veins; an irresistible impulse
overwhelmed; for there, in inconceivable negligence, lay the shagreen
case which he had so reluctantly returned to its owner only the night
before.
And then--the malign agreement of his outward husk with his inner
degradation was revealed.
His eyes, already criminal, reflected the kaleidoscopic succession of
temptation and surrender; desire and thievery.
He scanned the passageway without in either direction.
No one was in sight.
A silence of respectable retirement prevailed that enabled him to hear
his heartbeats almost, which surged along his veins to his ears and
stifled the final gasp of the still, small voice within.
The next instant, with a lithe animal leap of astonishing quickness,
Raikes, darting into the apartment, grasped the precious case and
retreated as rapidly over the threshold.
Scarcely had the stealthy rogue vanished from the room when the door of
a closet in the rear opened softly and revealed the Sepoy.
Upon his face a smile, surely evil, otherwise inscrutable, appeared, as
he proceeded to the chair by the table, turned down the light in the
lamp a trifle, and abstracted from his waistcoat pocket a small red
case, the contents of which he examined with absorbed attention.
Arrived at his room, Raikes was elated to discover that he was not due
at the Sepoy's apartment until twenty minutes later.
"What a providence!" he murmured.
He would arrive late; he would make his approach as ostensible as
possible; he would apologize for his tardiness.
His alibi would be perfect.
During these proposed depravities Raikes had closed and fastened the
door, seated himself at the table, and pressed the spring which detained
the lid of the shagreen case.
In a dazzling instant it flew open.
"Ah!" A very riot of irradiation and gleam met his eyes.
Here was rehabilitation! Here was amendment!
The diamond was a liberal equivalent for his losses.
Another glance at the clock revealed to him that he had exhausted ten
minutes in his exultation.
This left a balance of ten minutes for a compunction or two.
Apparently he did not realize his opportunity, for half of the remaining
time was consumed in the intoxication of the facets and the glamor, the
thrill of intelligent valuation; and the other half to a grim
calculation as to the usury that might accrue after the account with his
losses was balanced.
These perjured figures were scarcely arranged to his satisfaction when
the clock struck ten.
The strokes seemed like as many separate accusations.
"Bah! what are they to me?" he asked himself. He had been robbed; he had
found a way to restitution; a man's providence must measure to his
necessities.
To arrive at these conclusions put him five minutes in arrears. Five
more for a leisurely arrival would be ten; enough to apologize for;
sufficient for his purposes.
He consumed as much time as possible secreting the stone in the recess.
That accomplished, Raikes emerged from his room and proceeded down the
hallway.
When he reached the apartment occupied by the Sepoy he breathed a sigh
of relief.
The door was closed.
In response to his rap upon the panel, a voice which he recognized as
that of the Sepoy cried: "Come in!"
With a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, where, with him, the
only conscience he had was located, Raikes complied with these
instructions, and, closing the door softly, established himself, in his
customary expectant attitude, in the chair indicated by his host.
"I have been told," began the latter abruptly, "that there is a flaw in
the sapphire."
"What!" exclaimed Raikes with genuine concern. Two things he could
comprehend: a loss and the abuse of property. The announcement of the
Sepoy awakened the same misgiving which commonly affected his mind at a
suggestion of defective title.
"Yes," continued the Sepoy; "it was pointed out to me. But I am not
convinced, or it may be that I refuse to be. A man often elects to be
blind when confronted with a suggestion of disaster. I want to be candid
with myself. I require your assistance. While I continue the narrative,
kindly see if you can discover any sign of blemish."
Raikes, only too willing to engage himself upon anything which would
assist his attempt at outward poise, seized the glass offered him and
began a close inspection of the gem, as the Sepoy, with an indescribably
insinuating modulation, resumed:
* * * * *
"As the prince advanced, Lal Lu, advised of his approach by the hasty
exit of the waiting-woman and the soft alarm of the gong in the
passageway, stood ready to receive him.
"A slight flush suffused her cheeks, a brighter luster beamed from her
eyes.
"With a fervor which was evidently unembarrassed by any anticipation of
denial, the prince approached the trembling Lal Lu, who seemed to his
enamored glance unspeakably bewitching in the graceful attitude, of
which she was thoroughly unconscious, which she had naturally assumed,
and which gave unmistakable expression to the hope, trepidation and
regard awakened by his presence.
"And yet his eagerness was not reflected.
"There was little in the demeanor of the beautiful girl that was
responsive; no indication of the sweet surrender that doubly endears,
and which makes such irresistible appeals for protection and sensitive
understanding to a man worthy of the name; and what evidences of
confusion she betrayed were rather those which commonly prelude the
execution of unwelcome resolution; a suggestion of a lurking disposition
to readmit the Peri into Paradise, restrained by a knowledge of
conditions unfulfilled.
"With the rapid interchange and subtle apprehension characteristic of a
passion which has no definite assurances as to its right to monopolize
the regard of the object of jealous consideration, the prince was
compelled to acknowledge, in these vague suggestions, an intangible but
no less real succession of barriers opposed to his ardent advances, and
with a scarcely concealed and certainly undiplomatic irritation he
paused before Lal Lu and demanded:
"'What is it, Lal Lu? Thou art not glad to see me. I expected a
reception other than this.'
"'My father?' demanded Lal Lu, ignoring the question and the yearning
intonation of his address, each word of which was like a caress; 'my
father, what of him?'
"'Ah!' muttered the prince with deepening choler at the disturbing
conditions introduced by the name, and a gleam strangely suggestive of
menace. 'Why speak of him now? Is not the present enough?'
"Lal Lu gazed upon the speaker with astonishment. How could he so easily
forget what he had said the day before? And with a scarcely perceptible
tightening of her beautiful lips, she said:
"'Dost remember thy promise to give me news of him to-day?'
"'I do,' replied the prince. 'I received word that he will not be here
to-day.'
"'Who told thee so?' demanded Lal Lu.
"'A writing so informed me.'
"'Is it with thee?'
"'No,' replied the prince. 'It is in my cabinet. Is not my word
sufficient?'
"To this Lal Lu did not reply, but searched his countenance with a
scrutiny which he found it difficult to endure, as he cried with renewed
animation:
"'Oh, Lal Lu, be not so cold! Hearken! The native regiments of Meerut
are in revolt and on their way to Delhi.
"'It is their purpose to re-establish Dahbur Dhu, my grandfather, upon
the throne of the moghuls.
"'As thou knowest, I am next in succession, and Dahbur Dhu is feeble and
decrepit.
"'The British are not in sufficient force to withstand a combined
attack.
"'See, then, Lal Lu, what this means for me; what it means for thee.'
"'Oh!' repeated the girl with curious emphasis, 'what it means for thee,
I know; but what it means for me'--and she paused with disconcerting
deliberation as she added--'thou hast not said.'
"'Everything, my own!' exclaimed the prince with generous
ardor--'everything! Thou hast but to command and thy will is done.'
"'Everything?' re-echoed Lal Lu with a questioning stress which the
prince could not ignore--'everything?'
"'I have said,' replied the prince.
"'Am I then to be thy queen?'
"For a moment, a vital moment, the prince hesitated, but brief as the
pause, scarcely the durance of an eye-flash, Lal Lu saw it, and gazed
upon the prince with a disconcerting directness as he added, with the
haste we note in the accused who attempt to distract suspicion by the
utterance of glib generalities:
"'My queen! Thou art always that!'
"'Hold, Prince Otondo!' exclaimed Lal Lu as the prince seemed about to
surrender to an impulse to clasp her in his arms--'hold! Thy answers
suit me not. Reply, then, to this: Thy wife--am I to be thy wedded
wife?'
"An expression like that of a peevish child tantalized by obstacles
intruded to enhance its appreciation of favor withheld brightened his
eyes and sent sullen lines converging in his forehead.
"His hands clenched and opened; a faint suggestion of disdain curled his
thin lips; the amiable inclination of his figure was transformed to an
erect intolerance--and Lal Lu was answered.
"When the unfortunate girl could no longer doubt the unlovely evidence
provided by the prince, and apprehended the humiliating significance of
his hesitation, a majesty surer than his own, a presence superb in its
elevation, encompassed her, and she gazed upon the perturbed man with an
expression from which every trace of tenderness appeared to have
vanished.
"With an angry sweep of his arm, as if to banish with a peremptory
gesture the kneeling envoys of compunction, manliness and nobility, the
prince stepped forward.
"'What is that?' At this moment the gong in the passageway responded to
three measured strokes.
"'Confusion!' muttered the prince. 'What does this mean?' and turning
abruptly, he hastened to the doorway, swept aside the curtains, and
revealed the trembling figure of the wrinkled crone who had quitted the
apartment at his entrance.
"'What now?' cried the exasperated prince as he fixed his eyes, vivid
with rage at the unwelcome interruption, upon the miserable creature.
"In reply the woman raised her shriveled hand, with a gesture that was
not without its weird impressiveness, and pointed to his apartments.
"'Speak!' he demanded with a modification of his intensity, which he
perceived deprived the waiting-woman of the power of speech.
"'A messenger,' she croaked, 'from the palace of the moghul; he must
speak with thee at once.'
"With one long glance of such concentrated determination that it caused
the beautiful girl to tremble anew, the prince vanished through the
portal and hastened along the passageway.
"Scarcely had he departed when the demeanor of the waiting-woman
underwent a startling transformation.
"An incredible degree of energy quickened in the recoil of her bent form
to a disproportionate erectness of stature.
"Beneath level, unwavering lids, her eyes emitted gleams which had
pierced the retreating figure with deadly viciousness had they been
poniards.
"The servile vanished, the abject; and she stood, the silent embodiment
of evil, restrained purpose.
"The next instant, with an angry gesture that was vaguely significant of
future requital and present impotence, the vindictive creature swept
aside the curtains and re-entered the room leading to the apartment
occupied by Lal Lu.
"As she approached the disturbed beauty, the tension in her mien
relaxed, and she regarded the _distrait_ countenance before her with a
glance that was anything but unfriendly, in so far as it was possible to
determine the nature of the sentiment in hiding behind that austere
visage.
"Directly she stood by the table which Lal Lu had interposed as a sort
of barricade against advances of her impetuous lover, and with an
attempt at a smile, which could as readily find acceptance as a
repentant scowl, this singular being inserted her hand in the folds of
the tunic which defended her parchment bosom, and produced from that
barren demesne a folded missive, which she placed in the hands of the
astonished Lal Lu.
"With trembling haste she exposed the inner surface of the paper, and
with a glad heart and filial trust read:
"'Be not afraid; relief is at hand.'
"There was no signature; none was needed.
"In a moment Lal Lu recognized her father's familiar chirography, and as
she reflected upon his well-known sagacity and resourceful boldness, her
hope and courage renewed their belated assurances.
"'Who gave you this?' she asked.
"The waiting-woman, after a brief hesitation, in which inclination and
restraint left their disturbing traces, replied:
"'That I must not reveal.'
"'At least,' insisted Lal Lu, whose quick glance had detected the
irresolution of the instant preceding, 'at least, tell me this: Was it
my father?'
"'No,' replied the other promptly. With a barely perceptible grin of
amusement at this ingenuous betrayal of the author of the few words
which had awakened such animation, she added:
"'One sent by him, it may be.'
"'True,' assented the girl.
"'And now,' exclaimed the woman with a return of her vindictive aspect,
which the harassed beauty, unaware of its inspiration, witnessed with
vague misgiving and a futile attempt to associate herself with its ugly
manifestation; 'and now, I would ask a question of you.'
"'Yes?' responded Lal Lu, perplexed at the baleful emphasis which
preceded this announcement.
"'Well, then,' continued the woman with startling and uncompromising
abruptness, 'am I wrong in thinking that you would defend your honor
with your life?'
"Before the astonished Lal Lu could reply, or encouraged, it may be, by
some subtle confirmation in the look which shot from the distended eyes
of the young girl, the eccentric speaker, again inserting her hands in
the folds of her tunic, withdrew a short, slender poniard, at sight of
which Lal Lu recoiled.
"'Ha, ha!' laughed the withered creature mirthlessly as she gazed with
unsmiling eyes upon the shrinking beauty. 'Be not afraid; this weapon is
intended for you, but not to your hurt.'
"'What, then?' asked Lal Lu breathlessly, unable to adjust the peaceful
assurance of the grim-visaged woman with the menace of the glittering
blade.
"'Listen!' exclaimed the woman impressively: 'I know Prince Otondo of
old; he meditates no good for you. Were I in your place, I would receive
his detested advances upon the point of this blade. Your protestations
he will not heed, but this'--and the speaker advanced the dagger with a
savage gesture which caused a shudder to pervade the trembling frame of
Lal Lu--'this is an argument he can understand.'
"'Oh,' cried the terrified girl, 'I could not!'
"'You could not?' repeated the other with chilling emphasis. 'Ha, ha!
you could not! But you will submit to the advances of this monster!
"'Believe me, you are not the sole object of his regard.
"'There have been others caged within these walls who have been less
obdurate than you, or whose resistance has availed them nothing.'
"'Alas!' exclaimed Lal Lu with an inexpressibly melancholy accent, as she
considered the empty pedestal from which her ideal had fallen, and
recalled with a shudder the caress which she had permitted and bestowed
in that fervid interview with the prince. 'Can this be true?'
"'Aye!' exclaimed the woman with savage affirmation. 'Do not doubt it.
Sooner than submit to the embraces of that wretch I would turn that
weapon against myself.'
"'Oh!' exclaimed Lal Lu with a superb gesture and the light of
unmistakable resolution in her eyes, 'that I can do; but the other----'
And the poor girl trembled at the spectacle pictured in her mind.
"'Well,' exclaimed the woman, 'I will leave this dagger here; do as you
will; I have done for you what I could,' and she turned to depart,
unmindful, apparently, of Lal Lu's tremulous 'And I am grateful to you.'
* * * * *
"When the prince arrived at the apartment in which he accorded his
audiences, if the attention he bestowed upon the meager assemblages
which presented themselves occasionally can be dignified by that
description, he found awaiting him a Hindoo, whom he recognized at once,
and whose presence invariably preceded the recital of important
information.
"To the degree that Prince Otondo had reason to suspect that his
grandfather had certain of his servants subsidized at the Kutub, he
measured secretly by similar secret embassies at the Delhi palace.
"The egotistical old moghul, with a vanity which even his anomalous
situation with the British had not impaired, wished to assure himself
that he would be worthily succeeded, and the prince was equally
solicitous concerning the advancing senility of the moghul.
"In such bloodless intrigues this picturesque pair kept their servants
engaged, until this germ of mutual distrust infected every dependent in
the two households with that singular propensity to conspire which the
studious historian of this mysterious country cannot have failed to
record.
"On this basis certain shrewd spirits among the British intruders at
this period were able to discover more of the character of the people
under their unwelcome rule, in a single establishment of native
servants, than in the general observations of a hundred English
households.
"Awaiting, therefore, the conclusion of the ceremonies of approach, upon
which he always insisted and which were shortly to be rendered so
absurd, the prince at last, calling the Hindoo by name, demanded the
occasion of his presence.
"'It is an ill service, O prince,' replied the Hindoo, 'which I am about
to render you.'
"'What, then?' exclaimed the prince. 'To the point, to the point!'
"'Your grandfather----'
"'Is dead?' inquired the prince with badly disguised eagerness.
"'Nay; worse.'
"'Proceed!' demanded the prince. 'What can be worse?'
"'Your grandfather,' replied the messenger, in evident haste to conclude
a disagreeable task, 'has taken to himself a young wife.'
"'Ah!' cried the prince, startled into a degrading abandonment of his
customary elevation of demeanor. 'The dotard, the imbecile! Married? To
whom?'
"'A daughter of the house of Nadis Shah, Rani Rue.'
"'I know her!' cried the prince savagely. 'Implacable, ambitious,
unscrupulous. What will she not attempt with that old driveller?' Then,
evidently impressed by something shadowed in the expression of his
ill-omened Mercury, he exclaimed: 'You have more to tell me?'
"The Hindoo bowed his head in perturbed affirmation.
"'Quickly, then!' demanded his august listener.
"'The British forces have concentrated at the cantonment without the
walls of Delhi; a detachment is even now on the way to your palace,
which they propose to seize and garrison.'
"'Ah!' murmured the prince, 'the freshet is turning to a deluge. Is
there more?'
"'Yes, O prince,' returned the Hindoo; 'the British intend to hold you as
a hostage for the safety of the English resident, who is a prisoner at
the palace in Delhi.'
"'So!' exclaimed this royal reprobate as he reflected upon the
picturesque possibilities to himself, in view of the sanguinary
temptation which the helpless resident would present to the ambitious
Queen Rani Rue. 'How far in advance of the detachment are you?'
"'About one hour's march.'
"'This is short reckoning. You have hastened with leaden feet.'
"'Nay, your highness,' cried the Hindoo, 'I came the instant I heard.
There is still time to escape, and the way is known to you alone.'
"'So be it,' returned the prince as an expression of savage
determination compressed his thin lips and ignited baleful fires in his
restless eyes. 'Await me without; I will join you presently.'
"As the Hindoo turned to obey, the prince darted, with lithe haste, into
the inner room and pressed the spring in the wall.
"Slowly the panel rolled aside and revealed the glittering pyramid of
gems within.
"From the depths, just in the rear of the priceless heap, he withdrew a
sort of jacket, separated upon its upper edge into a series of openings
similar to the partitions of a cartridge-belt.
"Into these, with a sort of clumsy trepidation, he began to pack the
almost elusive portions of the gleaming mass of brilliants from the
recess.
"At the conclusion of fifteen vital minutes the prince had deposited the
last of the gems in the receptacles of this curious jacket, and, if the
reports of the Hindoo were to be credited, the advancing British were
that much nearer the Kutub.
"With desperate rapidity he disengaged the folds of the delicate cambric
which covered the upper portion of his body, inserting the precious
jacket beneath, and after adjusting it to his figure, strapped it
securely in place and rearranged his attire into non-committal contours.
"'And now,' he cried with an expression of savage determination, 'and
now for the rarest gem of all!' and darting through the silken hangings
which concealed his extreme of the passageway leading to the apartments
of Lal Lu, he hastened along that dingy bypath and presently reached the
threshold from which he had issued but a short time before with such
little credit to himself.
"Without pausing to announce himself or consider the impropriety of his
abrupt intrusion and its possible influence upon Lal Lu, the impetuous
heir-apparent swept aside the curtains and rushed into the room.
"Startled at the rattling rings which held the hangings in place, and
the impetuous swish of its folds, Lal Lu sprang to her feet and gazed
with indignant rebuke upon the inconsiderate prince.
"Heedless of the unconcealed disdain of her glance and ignoring the
presence of the furtive-eyed waiting-woman, he cried:
"'Lal Lu, the time for further parley is past. The Kutub is shortly to
be attacked by the British. We must fly--come!' and the speaker advanced
with unreflective haste to the side of the palpitating girl.
"In an instant, however, his headlong progress was checked as Lal Lu,
with a superb gesture, raised the gleaming dagger above her head and
cried, encouraged by the lowering eyes of the evilly-expectant
waiting-woman: 'With thee--never! I will die first!'
"As the prince recoiled a step at sight of the flashing blade, Lal Lu,
with contemptuous emphasis, exclaimed: 'Be not afraid, Prince Otondo,
this is not for thee. Advance but a step and it will be but an empty
casket that awaits thee!'
"Never had Lal Lu appeared so desirable in the eyes of this royal rogue,
and never had he been more resolute to possess her.
"With misleading quiet, therefore, he gazed upon the upraised hand which
menaced the one unattained object of his desire. Quickly he measured
the distance between them. Slowly he removed one foot behind the other.
Lightly he pressed the slipper's point upon the tessellated floor, and
then with a leap of incredible quickness, he darted forward, caught the
descending arm of Lal Lu in his grasp, and, with his disengaged hand,
wrenched the dagger from her and threw it away from him into the center
of the apartment.
"But as rapidly as he had moved, the prince had not been able to prevent
the incision which the dagger's point made in his wrist and from which a
thin stream of blood issued.
"'Ah, ha, my beauty!' he cried as he released the struggling girl and
retreated a step, the better to enjoy her discomfiture; 'ah, ha! I like
thy spirit. I would not have thee mar the lovely casket which contains
it. Here!' he called to the waiting-woman, who had witnessed the episode
and into whose quick eyes, which had detected the slight wound upon the
wrist of the prince, there crept a strange, inexplicable expression of
leering triumph, 'here, guard this maiden for a space. Your life shall
pay the penalty if aught befalls her in my absence.
"'I shall return presently with the help I need to overcome such
elevated objection'; and turning abruptly, the prince hastened toward
the doorway, pausing a second to regain possession of the dagger which
he had cast from him during the brief struggle.
"'Alas!' cried the unhappy girl, 'what shall I do? He has gone to get
some of his creatures to help him in his evil purposes.'
"For a moment a tense silence prevailed.
"The next instant, with eerie, jubilant interruption, the waiting-woman
made the very air shudder with a laugh of such shrill exultation and
riotous abandon that Lal Lu, for a moment forgetful of her own
extremity, gazed with unconcealed amazement and alarm upon the almost
hysterical creature.
"'Ha, ha!' she raved; 'be not afraid, Lal Lu. This royal pest, this
insolent prince, will trouble you no more; you will never see him
again.'
"'Ha!' exclaimed Lal Lu. 'You seem strangely positive. What do you
mean?'
"'Did you see that scratch which the point of your dagger made upon the
wrist of the prince?'
"'No,' replied Lal Lu, shrinking from the picture presented to her mind.
"'Well,' returned the grim-visaged woman with a return to her customary
austerity, 'I did. The wound was slight; only a few easily subdued drops
of blood followed; but, believe me, maiden, it will be sufficient.'
"'What do you mean?' demanded Lal Lu.
"'This,' returned the weird creature with repulsive, evil joy, which she
made no attempt to disguise: 'The point of that dagger was steeped in
the most deadly poison known in India. In twenty minutes, ha, ha! it is
the prince who will be the empty casket.'"
* * * * *
As the Sepoy reached this point in his narrative he paused with
startling abruptness.
Raikes, no longer under the influence of the seductive cadences, looked
up sharply.
"Well?" inquired the Sepoy as he met the inquiring glance of his furtive
auditor, "what of the flaw in the sapphire? Can you trace the blemish?"
"Devil seize me!" exclaimed Raikes, as he offered, by this apostrophe,
an invitation which was certain, at no distant date, to be accepted.
"Devil seize me if I have thought of the sapphire!" and he began at once
an apologetic inspection of the brilliant with the magnifying glass.
"Ha, ha!" laughed the Sepoy. "I must congratulate myself upon my powers
of narration."
"Aye!" replied Raikes, as he continued his examination of the flaming
bauble, "and also upon your irritating habit of concluding at the
anxious moment. But see here," and he held the sapphire up to view; "I
can see nothing wrong; possibly the light is bad. The searching glare of
day is required to discover a blemish such as you speak of."
"Suppose you return to-morrow, then, directly after breakfast?"
suggested the Sepoy.
"I want your judgment. I dare not trust my own; my blindness may be
voluntary."
"Very well, then," assented Raikes, who, now that he had nothing upon
which to fasten his eyes, felt an easily comprehended uneasiness to
leave the Sepoy. "I will be here at that time"; and with his customary
emotionless adieux the guilty creature slipped through the doorway and
speeded like a shriveled shadow along the various passages.
As he was about to enter his room he was hailed by his nephew.
"Uncle, you wanted to see me."
"True," replied Raikes, with a start of recollection, "I do; but suppose
we postpone the interview until to-morrow."
"Very well," replied the young man easily, and Raikes, entering his
room, fastened the door with his usual elaborate precaution.
His first movement was to disclose the interior of the recess containing
his coin and his conscience.
A rapid examination convinced him that no further depredations had been
committed upon the former, and the latter he secreted in the pocket of
his waistcoat along with the diamond, which flashed its unregarded
rebuke into his eager eyes.
At this juncture the singular drowsiness which had overtaken him so
persistently in the past few days began to steep his dulling senses.
Warned by its approach, Raikes began to put into execution a newly
conceived plan of retiring for the night and effective vigil over his
treasure-trove.
Hastily drawing a chair before the radiator, and placing directly in
front of that the table, from which with a savage sweep of the arm he
swept the dull heap of coals rattling to the floor, Raikes established
himself in the seat so provided and, leaning forward, awaited the final
blandishments of the drowsiness which was not long in lulling him into
that profound degree of slumber which is commonly supposed to be the
reward of sound morals and Christian resignation.
(To be continued on Dickey No. 3, Series B.)
* * * * *
During the reading of this impossible helter-skelter of unrestrained
imagination and composite style, the expression in the countenance of
the listening woman had developed from its original sadness to an
unmistakable geniality.
The pensive droop of her lips, little by little, nestled away into a
smiling seriousness, and when Dennis, confronted with the habitual
conclusion in italics, looked up with a grimace of recognition, his
glance was met by a pair of kindly blue eyes, in which he believed he
traced a charming suggestion of unaffected good fellowship.
Altogether unsuspected by himself, Dennis, with his intent, intelligent
countenance, and the contrasting vivacity of his rich, Irish accent, had
awakened an interest in the mind of his companion which months of adroit
approach could not have achieved.
His genuineness was unquestionable.
His entire absorption in the story, his delightful and unconscious
elimination of self, supplied this tired woman with elements of mental
refreshment and genuine enjoyment which circumstances had compelled her
to decide no longer existed.
Encouraged, therefore, by this unmistakable interest and the amiable
attitude of attention which Dennis, with characteristic ingenuousness,
accepted as a tribute to the narrative, he exclaimed:
"An' isn't it great, now? Did you ever hear such a tale as that?"
"I never did," was the smiling reply.
"An' wasn't that Raikes a div--a tight one, I mean?"
"He was, indeed," assented the lady, as she reviewed this sordid
character and the incidents surrounding him, and contrasted the tumult
of phrase and situation with her genial Addison and her placid Irving.
"An' would you like to hear the rest?" asked Dennis, as he produced the
remaining bosom of Series B.
"Yes," replied the lady, "I believe I would. But just a moment before
you begin," and regarding this oblivious young man with an expression in
which a degree of speculation still lingered to tantalize its suggestion
of frank indorsement, she hazarded:
"You have not lived in New York long?"
Wondering at the acuteness of this observation, Dennis responded by
according to her the exact time of his brief residence.
"Ah!" exclaimed the lady, "I thought so."
"May I ask," inquired Dennis, wondering if, like the visitor from the
bucolic district, he supplied unconscious data in his appearance for
classification, "may I ask how you are able to tell that I'm here for a
short time only?"
"Well," returned his companion with a degree of hesitation exquisitely
refined as it shadowed through her fine countenance, and which she
presently conquered as she replied to his question with that shade of
frankness which, in the well-bred, can never be mistaken for anything
else: "It requires about a year's residence in this bedlam to replace
the genuine with the artificial; I see no evidence of such an unhappy
transformation in you."
"Oh, I see," responded Dennis. "An' you never will, either."
"I am almost prepared to believe that," answered the lady with a
reassuring cordiality which somehow indicated to this young man that she
had already become convinced of more than she was willing to
acknowledge.
"You may do so entirely," said Dennis simply.
"Now, one question more," continued his companion, "and do not consider
me inquisitive, since I may have something to suggest to your advantage
if your reply is satisfactory. What is your business?"
Dennis blushed.
"My business?" he repeated with a droll accent and an amusing grimace;
and then, encouraged by the friendly invitation and subtle encouragement
in the manner of his sweet-faced listener, with a straightforward
recital which the lady had expected from him, and which advanced him
several leagues in her estimation, Dennis recounted his experiences from
the time of his arrival up to the present moment.
"It isn't much," he concluded apologetically, "not anywhere as
interesting as the dickey back; but it's all there is, an' it's true,
every word."
"It is more than you suspect," dissented his hearer. "You have enabled
me to come to a decision, at least, and may help me to solve a vexed
problem. In the meantime, let us finish the story. While you are reading
my mind will clear; I will make my suggestion when you conclude."
Wondering, and yet with a prompt confidence which conveyed an agreeable
flattery which the cleverest diplomacy could not have achieved, Dennis,
holding his absurd medium at a level which permitted him to receive the
stimulation of a sympathetic glance now and then, began.