THE ABDUCTION.
Mrs. Everingham passed the afternoon in Aneth’s company. The girl was
visibly nervous and excited, but made pitiful attempts to conceal her
weakness. In no way did she allude to Kāra or to the fact that the hour
had arrived when she was to consummate the sacrifice of her own
happiness to maintain her grandfather’s integrity and the honor of her
family’s name.
Her friend ventured one or two remarks about the folly of her promise
and the absurdity of keeping it; but these so distressed Aneth, and had
so little visible influence upon her decision, that Mrs. Everingham
abandoned the topic and turned the conversation into more cheerful
channels. When she mentioned Gerald Winston she noticed that Aneth’s
cheeks flamed scarlet and then turned deathly white; so here was another
subject to be avoided, if she did not wish to make the girl’s position
unbearable. Indeed, those last days of association with Gerald had
taught Aneth the full extent of her martyrdom, and now she began to
realize that she was losing all that might have rendered her life’s
happiness complete, had it not been for the advent of Kāra and his
terrible threat to destroy the family honor and send her loving
grandfather to prison.
Early in the evening Mrs. Everingham kissed her friend and returned to
her own room across the corridor, there to complete her simple
preparations for the proposed voyage.
Meantime Winston had been busy with Lord Roane. The young man was
fortunately a prime favorite with Aneth’s grandsire, and he listened
attentively to Gerald’s explanation of a plot to rescue his darling
grandchild from the slough of despondency into which she had fallen.
“Mrs. Everingham is confident a Nile voyage would do much to cheer her
up and keep her from dwelling upon her troubles,” he suggested. “What do
you think of the idea, sir?”
“Capital,” said Roane--“if Aneth can be induced to consent. I asked her
to run over to Helwan the other day, for a few weeks’ change of scene;
but she declared she would not listen to such a proposal.”
“That is our difficulty,” acknowledged Winston, speaking in a
confidential tone. “She has told Mrs. Everingham she would not leave
Cairo, but we think her decision is based upon the fear that you would
be unable to accompany her; so we have decided to engage in a little
conspiracy, for the morbid condition into which she has fallen has made
us all anxious. Is there any reason, my lord, why you should not leave
Cairo for a month or so?”
“None whatever, if my going will benefit Aneth in any way.”
“Very good! Now, here is our plan. I have fitted my private dahabeah for
a cruise. Mrs. Everingham will go along to chaperone your granddaughter,
and you will join us to complete her happiness and keep her contented.
Only one thing stands in our way--the young lady’s refusal to embark.
That barrier will be surmounted by Mrs. Everingham, who is a woman of
experience and who loves Aneth as well as if she were her own daughter.
So this evening you and I will get aboard quietly, without declaring our
intentions to anyone, and rely upon Mrs. Everingham’s promise to join us
with Aneth at nine o’clock. Do not ask me, sir, how she will succeed in
overcoming your granddaughter’s scruples against leaving Cairo. We will
trust to woman’s wit. When the party is embarked, we go up the Nile, to
find roses for your grandchild’s pale cheeks and have a jolly good time
as well.”
Roane accepted the program with enthusiasm. He himself was in a
dreadfully nervous state, expecting hourly to be accused of a crime the
proof of which would separate him forever from Aneth. To get away from
Cairo just now, without Kāra’s knowing where he had gone, would be to
gain a few weeks’ respite. Eagerly he availed himself of the
opportunity.
Winston knew there was no danger of the old man’s betraying their plans,
but he could not divine what Kāra’s next move might be, and resolved to
take no chances; so he clung fast to Roane until he had put him and his
light luggage aboard the dahabeah, whereupon he sent a messenger to
apprise Mrs. Everingham of his success.
So far, all had gone well; but Mrs. Everingham’s anxiety grew as the
hour of nine approached. Lord Roane had sent word to Aneth that he would
be out for dinner and might not return to the hotel until late that
night; so the girl, glad of this fortunate chance, had her dinner served
in her own room, and the Arab servant, being intercepted by Mrs.
Everingham, declared that she ate little and wept continually, as if
overcome by some hopeless sorrow.
All depended now upon the faithfulness of Tadros the dragoman, and Mrs.
Everingham, finding nothing more for her woman’s ingenuity to devise,
entered a carriage at half past-eight o’clock and was driven quietly to
the embankment. Within sight of the three red lights Winston had
displayed, she halted her vehicle to await the arrival of the dragoman.
Tadros, meantime, being fully instructed by Kāra as to the conduct of
his mission, drove in the Egyptian’s private carriage to the hotel. The
coachman had been instructed to obey the dragoman’s orders implicitly,
so he suspected nothing when Tadros, having alighted at the Savoy,
commanded him to drive to the citadel and remain in the shadow of the
mosque until midnight.
The dragoman then hired another carriage that was driven by a sleepy and
stupid-looking Arab, after which he immediately entered the hotel and
went directly to Aneth’s room.
She opened the door in person, having dismissed all her attendants.
“It is nine o’clock, miss,” announced Tadros, as he entered.
The girl clasped her hands with a gesture and look of terror.
“Where is--is--Prince Kāra?” she asked, vaguely.
“At his villa, awaiting, with the bridal party, your arrival. You must
understand that the wedding is to be very quietly conducted, yet
strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Christian faith. My
master desires me to say that every consideration and courtesy shall be
shown you, his highest ambition in the future being to promote your
happiness.”
She shuddered.
“Is that all he said?”
“Except that his promises to you shall be faithfully kept, and Lord
Roane’s comfort and safety carefully provided for.”
“Let us go,” she said, hastily. “I am ready.”
“Any luggage, miss?” he asked.
She pointed to a small traveling-case that stood beside her, and Tadros
stooped and picked it up.
With a frightened glance around her, she placed a note directed to Lord
Roane upon the table and then hurriedly left the room, leaving the door
unlocked.
The dragoman escorted her to the side entrance, reserved for ladies, and
they were fortunate in finding it almost deserted at that moment. Aneth
entered the carriage quickly, as if fearful of being interrupted in her
escape, and Tadros closed the door and took his seat beside the driver.
“To the opera house,” he said, for the benefit of the few loungers who
stood upon the pavement.
After driving a couple of blocks, he made the Arab driver stop in front
of a tobacco shop, and sent him in to purchase some cigarettes. The
moment the fellow disappeared, Tadros started the horse and applied the
whip, and the carriage had whirled swiftly around the comer before the
wondering Arab returned to the street, to find his equipage and his
passengers missing.
Aneth, as soon as she had leaned back against the cushions, had fallen
into a sort of stupor. Her weary brain refused to think or to speculate
upon the doubtful fate to which she was rushing. She felt the carriage
bumping over the crossings and saw vaguely the lights flash by; but she
noted neither the direction in which they were proceeding nor the length
of their journey. Across the Nile bridge the horses abated their speed;
but then through the darker lanes of the west embankment they dashed
along at a wild pace, that might have frightened the girl, had she been
capable of realizing the actual conditions.
Suddenly, with a jolt that almost threw her into the opposite seat, the
carriage halted. She looked out of the window and saw three dim red
lights burning, and beyond these the glint of a stray moonbeam upon the
river.
When Tadros came to assist her in alighting, she saw Mrs. Everingham
standing behind him.
“Where am I?” asked the girl, wildly.
“Hush, dear,” said her friend, taking her in her arms to kiss her
tenderly. “Am I not welcome at your wedding?”
“But why are we here?” asked Aneth, pleadingly. “Why are we at the
river, and where is Prince Kāra?”
“Come and let me surprise you,” answered Mrs. Everingham, soothingly,
leading the young girl, who was still half dazed and thoroughly
mystified, aboard the dahabeah and into the brightly lighted little
cabin. There sat Lord Roane and Gerald Winston.
Aneth stared, and then, looking wildly around, she gave a plaintive cry
and threw herself into her grandfather’s arms.
“I don’t understand!” she wailed, sobbing hysterically. “What does it
all mean? Why are you here, and where is Prince Kāra?”
Roane was puzzled by her speech, as well as distressed by her agitation.
“Prince Kāra!” he repeated. “Confound it, Aneth, you don’t want that
rascally nigger, do you?”
“No, no!” she replied; “but he wants me, and I have promised; I must go
to him. Why am I here? What have you done?”
By this time the dragoman had tied his horses to a palm and come aboard,
just as Hassan drew in the gangplank and Abdallah started the wheezy
engine. Tadros stood in the cabin doorway and listened intently to
Aneth’s protests.
“See here, miss,” he exclaimed, with assumed sternness, “you are in my
charge, for I am Prince Kāra’s dragoman, and you have promised to obey
me. Is it not so?”
She turned to look at him.
“Are you obeying Prince Kāra’s orders?” she demanded.
“To be sure! He wished to surprise you. He says he merely intended to
test your honesty, being interested in knowing whether an English girl
would keep her promises. But he does not desire to make you unhappy. He
is a prince, and generous; therefore, he releases you from your compact,
and you are free from this time forth to do exactly as you please.”
She was white and trembling now.
“But my grandfather--” she began, eagerly.
Tadros cut her short.
“He also is safe, in proof of which you see him at your side. You need
have no fears in the future that--”
He stopped abruptly, for the overwrought nerves of the girl could not
withstand this sudden revulsion of fate. Gerald caught her swaying form
and carried her to her berth, where Mrs. Everingham tended her lovingly
and applied restoratives to relieve her faintness.
As for Lord Roane, he swore loudly and glared upon the dragoman.
“What cursed nonsense is this?” he cried.
Tadros smiled, and Gerald came up and seized the dragoman by both hands,
pressing them warmly.
“Thank you, my man!” said he. “You are a loyal ally, and I shall not
forget how you have lied to save us from an embarrassing position.” Then
he turned to Lord Roane. “If there is anything your lordship does not
understand,” he said, “I will gladly endeavor to explain it. Prince Kāra
has been playing a deep game, with you and Aneth as pawns; but I think
we have him checkmated at last.”
The old nobleman did not reply at once. Any questioning on his part
would necessarily be a very delicate matter. He turned his eyes
thoughtfully toward the shore, where the lights of Cairo were slowly
disappearing from their view.