GETTING ACCESS TO ISABEL
It was almost exactly half an hour later, when the _Betty's_ gig,
skilfully piloted by the second officer, drew up alongside the jetty.
Tony, Jimmy, and Molly scrambled out in turn--the latter carrying a
small prayer-book in her hand and lending a pleasant air of
respectability to the party.
Braxa still lay bathed in a rich tranquillity: the only other
occupants of the sun-warmed causeway being a couple of nondescript
gentlemen, who had been leaning over the low rail, watching the
approach of the boat and spitting thoughtfully into the sea. These
two eyed the new arrivals with a certain languid curiosity, but
beyond that they betrayed no apparent interest in their proceedings.
"It's amazing to me," said Tony, looking round, "that any one could
have had the bad taste to start a revolution here. It's like
brawling in a mortuary."
"Oh, you mustn't judge Livadia by this place," protested Jimmy.
"There are enough scoundrels in Portriga to make up for any shortage
elsewhere." He took out a small rusty key from his pocket. "Come
along," he added. "If we hang about admiring the view we shall
probably have Saltero's policemen after us."
He led the way down the jetty towards a roughly built wooden shed
which stood a few yards back on the beach, and unfastening the
padlock, threw open the door. Inside, amongst a medley of fishing
nets and other nautical obstructions, stood a large travel-stained
motor car with steel studded tyres. It was evidently in good order,
for it started with the first pull up of the handle, and having
seated himself at the steering-wheel, Jimmy brought it deftly out on
to the hard beaten sandy track which ran up into the main road.
"One penny all the way," he observed encouragingly. "Any more for
Chancery Lane or the Bank of England?"
Tony closed and locked the door of the shed. "I shall sit behind
with you, Molly," he announced. "Then we can hold hands under the
rug."
They settled themselves comfortably in the tonneau, and starting on
his second speed Jimmy shot off up the beach with surprising and
rather disconcerting velocity.
At the top of the track, where it joined the road, several of Braxa's
more energetic citizens were sheltering from the rays of the sun. As
the car approached they all moved forward in a desultory fashion to
scan its occupants; and one of them, a stout gentleman in uniform,
with a sword trailing by his side, stepped out officiously into the
roadway and held up his hand.
If he was under the impression that his action would cause the car to
pull up, he must have been bitterly disappointed. Without faltering,
or even slackening speed, its driver swerved round him at a distance
of about two inches, and left him shouting and gesticulating wildly
in the centre of a cloud of dun coloured dust.
A few yards further on, the road turned away inland, and as soon as
they had negotiated the corner, Jimmy glanced back over his shoulder.
"We've torn it now," he observed complacently. "That was one of the
policemen."
Tony nodded. "I thought it must be," he said. "He looked so well
fed."
"Is there anything he can do?" inquired Molly; "except to try and
arrest the _Betty_?"
"He might send a message to Portriga asking for instructions,"
answered Jimmy. "It all depends on whether he's got a suspicious
nature."
He turned back to concentrate his attention on the steering, for they
were passing through the main street of Braxa, and one or two small
carts, with sleepy-looking pairs of oxen attached to them, were
straggling amiably about the roadway.
"I'm sorry now that we didn't run over him," said Molly regretfully.
"We might go back and do it," replied Tony; "but I think on the whole
we had better trust to Providence. If Providence is really with us
one policeman can't make very much difference."
This argument seemed to convince Molly, for she attempted no further
conversation until they were clear of the village, and travelling
rapidly along the sandy and ill kept road which ran northwards
towards Portriga.
Then, with a smile, she turned again towards Tony.
"I'm thinking of the ambush at Valona," she said. "I hope it's a
nice comfortable one, because they'll have to stop there a long time
if they are going to wait for me."
Tony sat up suddenly in his seat. "By Jove!" he said, slowly, "we
never settled that point, did we! What are you going to do about it?"
"Well, if things turn out anything like right," returned Molly
cheerfully, "I shall simply tell the escort that they had better find
some other way of getting me into Portriga. I don't want to be mixed
up in a free fight just before I'm married." She laughed gently. "I
should like to hear what Saltero says about you, Tony," she added.
"He'll shove everything down to your account, you know."
Tony nodded. "I hate to treat him like this," he observed sadly,
"but it really can't be helped. In a big crisis the lesser virtues
always have to give way to the greater."
"You must explain that to him," said Molly, "if you ever run up
against him again. It will probably console him quite a lot."
By this time the last traces of Braxa were already some distance in
the rear, and the countryside had assumed that forlorn and neglected
aspect which forty years of misgovernment have so successfully
impressed upon the greater part of Northern Livadia. Here and there
they came across an occasional peasant woman, slouching along under a
heavy burden: presumably carrying on the family business while her
lord and master was assisting to make history in the Capital. With
these exceptions, however, the road was absolutely deserted, a fact
of which Jimmy took full advantage by pushing the car along at the
utmost limit of speed which the deplorable surface would permit.
The only relief to the monotonous landscape was the long range of
hills towards which they were steadily making their way. These rose
sharply in the near distance against the cloudless blue sky, and
somewhere amongst them, as Tony knew, lay the Château of Saint Anna
and the goal of their expedition.
At last Jimmy slackened down, and looked round again from the driving
seat.
"You'd better get ready for trouble," he said. "The turning's about
half a mile on from here, and it's a hundred to one they'll have a
patrol out at the corner."
Tony acknowledged the information with a reassuring wave of his hand;
while Molly, after settling herself into a decorous attitude, opened
her prayer-book at random and commenced to study "The Publick Baptism
of Infants" with a deep and absorbed interest.
Jimmy proceeded forward at the same leisurely pace, until, bit by
bit, the branch road that he had spoken of crept into view, turning
off to the right, and then winding its way up through the hills, like
a piece of yellowish ribbon dropped down carelessly from the sky.
At the point where it joined the main road stood a straggling coppice
of stunted oak trees. To the unsuspicious eye there was nothing
about it to suggest the least danger; but quite suddenly, while the
car was still about a hundred yards distant, the apparently peaceful
prospect underwent a startling change. With the crash and swirl of
breaking undergrowth, a number of uniformed figures scrambled out
hastily into the sunlight, and running forward with their rifles in
their hands, formed up into an irregular cordon across the roadway.
It was a well planned manoeuvre, for even if the occupants of the car
had wished to escape, it would have been practically impossible for
them to do so. As it was Jimmy thrust on his brake and slowed down
immediately into a mere crawl. Then turning round to Tony he
observed with an air of respectful apology: "I'm afraid we shall have
to pull up, Lord Haverstock. I expect they have got the steam-roller
at work round the corner."
Before Tony could reply, a savage-looking gentleman, who appeared to
be an officer, detached himself from the rest, and barked out some
instruction in a hoarse and unintelligible voice, then followed by
several subordinates, all gripping their rifles ready for immediate
action, he strode rapidly forward towards the now stationary car.
Its three occupants awaited its approach with commendable dignity.
Jimmy sat stiff and upright, still holding the steering-wheel, Tony
lolled back in his seat with an air of slightly annoyed boredom,
while Molly, after one incurious glance at the situation, had resumed
her interrupted study of the Publick Baptism of Infants.
A few yards distant, the officer, who at closer quarters looked like
a rather dog's eared edition of Kaiser Wilhelm the Second, halted his
men in the roadway. Then advancing by himself to the side of the
car, and dropping the point of his scabbard with a menacing clink on
the ground, he addressed himself to Jimmy.
As he spoke in Livadian, Tony was unable to follow what he said.
From his manner, however, it was pretty easy to guess that he was
demanding to know who they were and what business had brought them
into the neighbourhood. It was also fairly plain that he had made up
his mind not to be trifled with, and that the first sign of any
attempt to escape, would be the signal for a volley of bullets from
the soldiers.
Jimmy listened in silence, until the harsh string of words which were
showered at his head had come to an end. Then with a significant
glance at the soldiers he leaned towards his questioner, and made
some low reply in the same language. It evidently had something to
do with the inadvisability of treating the matter to too public a
discussion, for after hesitating a moment, the officer wheeled round
and ordered his henchmen to withdraw three paces into the background.
Then, still looking extremely stern and suspicious, he turned back to
Jimmy.
Exactly what the latter said was of course as unintelligible to Tony
as the previous questions had been. It was evident, however, from
the occasional introduction of such phrases as "Lord Haverstock of
London," and "the Château of Saint Anna," that he was telling the
story they had agreed upon in the yacht and judging by his manner he
was letting off this romantic fiction with the convincing
plausibility that one would expect from anybody who for several years
had been intimately connected with the motor trade.
Of its effect upon the officer there could be no doubt. The
threatening hostility on his face gave way gradually to an expression
of surprise, not untinged with a certain dawning respect, and when he
spoke again it was in an altogether different if still slightly
suspicious tone.
For several minutes the dialogue continued its course, and then,
breaking off suddenly, Jimmy leaned back over the seat, and addressed
himself to Tony.
"This gentleman," he said, "is Major Paqueta of the King's army."
Tony inclined his head in the polite if somewhat haughty fashion of a
true English nobleman--a salute which Major Paqueta acknowledged by a
stiff military bow.
"He would like to have a look at the King's letter," continued Jimmy.
"I've explained the position to him, but he has orders not to allow
any one to pass this corner."
With a slight air of aristocratic condescension Tony took out the
document in question from his pocket and handed it to Jimmy, who in
turn passed it on to the Major.
The gallant soldier unfolded it and carefully scrutinized its
contents. One could see from his face that he was deeply impressed,
but even so there were still distinct traces of doubt and hesitation
in his manner when he looked up and again addressed himself to Jimmy.
A brief discussion followed, and then once more the latter turned
round to explain.
"It's like this, Lord Haverstock. Major Paqueta believes that the
letter is genuine, but his orders are very strict. He says that if
we want to go on to the Château we must take him with us."
"Why, certainly," replied Tony without an instant's hesitation.
"Tell Major Paqueta that I shall be delighted, and that if he wishes
to return here we can give him a lift back. At least," he added
drily, "I hope we shall be able to."
Jimmy passed on this communication--or at all events the first part
of it--and for a second time the Major clicked his heels and
genuflected stiffly. Then after a word or two of apparent
explanation, he collected his three soldiers and proceeded up the
road as far as the corner, followed at a dignified pace by the car.
Here he handed over his command to a bloodthirsty-looking sergeant,
and having given the latter some careful instructions, clambered up
into the front seat alongside of Jimmy.
Turning down the branch road the now personally conducted expedition
sped along rapidly towards its goal. There was little conversation,
for Jimmy was too occupied in avoiding the ruts to return anything
but the briefest answers to their new friend's occasional remarks,
while Molly, despite the jolting of the car, still remained buried in
her baptismal studies. She looked up once at Tony, who winked at her
gravely, but this familiarity only met with a chilling clerical
reserve that did not encourage further advances.
About every half mile they came across small parties of soldiers,
patrolling the road, all of whom drew up across their path as they
approached. On each occasion, however, the sight of Major Paqueta,
sitting up like a ramrod in the front seat, was sufficient to insure
their undisputed passage: that obliging gentleman being evidently the
senior officer in command of the district.
As the road gradually began its ascent into the hills, these patrols
increased in numbers, and Tony realized that Congosta's statement
about the difficulty of rushing the place by force was by no means an
exaggerated one. A very small body of well-armed and determined men
could indeed have held the track against an army corps, for the great
rocky boulders that towered up on either hand afforded admirable
cover, and offered a ready means of blocking up the road if such a
course were rendered necessary.
At last, after about two miles of this upward progress, they came out
over the crest of a long narrow gorge, and with startling abruptness
the Château of Saint Anna suddenly swept into view. It stood on the
summit of the next hill--a large castle-like looking building of
white stone, with a number of small attendant cottages straggling
down into the valley below. It was not more than a mile distant, and
despite Tony's constitutional calmness a momentary thrill ran through
his heart as he gazed across the short intervening space which was
all that now separated him from Isabel.