UNDER THE GROUND
Day and night were the same to the occupant of the little room. They
passed with equal slowness and impartial darkness. Five days that he
could account for crawled by before anything unusual happened to break
the strain of his solitary, inexplicable confinement. He could tell when
it was morning by the visit of a bewhiskered chambermaid with a deep
bass voice, who carried a lighted candle and kicked him into
wakefulness. The second day after his incarceration began, he was given
food and drink. It was high time, for he was almost famished.
Thereafter, twice a day, he was led into the larger room and given a
surprisingly hearty meal. Moreover, he was allowed to bathe his face and
hands and indulge in half an hour's futile stretching of limbs. After
the second day few questions were asked by the men who had originally
set themselves up as inquisitors. At first they had treated him with a
harshness that promised something worse, but an incident occurred on the
evening of the second day that changed the whole course of their
intentions.
Peter Brutus had just voiced the pleasure of the majority by urging the
necessity for physical torture to wring the government's secrets from
the prisoner. King, half famished, half crazed by thirst, had been
listening to the fierce argument through the thin door that separated
the rooms. He heard the sudden, eager movement toward the door of his
cell, and squared himself against the opposite wall, ready to fight to
the death. Then there came a voice that he recognised.
A woman was addressing the rabid conspirators in tones of deadly
earnestness. His heart gave a bound. It was the first time since his
incarceration that he had heard the voice of Olga Platanova, she who had
warned him, she who still must be his friend. Once more he threw himself
to the floor and glued his ear to the crack; her voice had not the
strident qualities of the other women in this lovely company.
"You are not to do this thing," she was saying. King knew that she stood
between her companions and the door. "You are not to touch him! Do you
hear me, Peter Brutus? All of you?"
There followed the silence of stupefaction, broken at last by a voice
which he recognised as that of old man Spantz.
"Olga! Stand aside!"
"No! You shall not torture him. I have said he is no spy. I still say
it. He knows nothing of the police and their plans. He has not been
spying upon us. I am sure of it."
"How can you be sure of it?" cried a woman's voice, harsh and strident.
"He has played with you," sneered another.
"I will not discuss the point. I know he is not what you say he is. You
have no right to torture him. You have no right to hold him prisoner."
"God, girl, we cannot turn him loose now. He must never go free again.
He must die." This was from Spantz.
"We cannot release him, I grant you," she said, and Truxton's heart
sank. "Not now, but afterward, yes. When it is all over he can do no
harm. But, hear me now, all of you. If he is harmed in any way, if he is
maltreated, or if you pursue this design to starve him, I shall not
perform my part of the work on the 26th. This is final."
For a full minute, it seemed to King, no one spoke.
"You cannot withdraw," exclaimed Peter Brutus. "You are pledged. You are
sworn. It is ordained."
"Try me, and see if I will not do as I say. He is to be treated kindly
so long as we hold him here and he is to be released when the committee
is in power. Then he may tell all that he knows, for it will be of no
avail. He cannot escape, that you know. If he were a spy I would offer
no objection to your methods. He is an American gentleman, a traveller.
I, Olga Platanova, say this to you. It is not a plea, not a petition; it
is an ultimatum. Spare him, or the glorious cause must suffer by my
defection."
"Sh! Not so loud, girl! He can hear every word you say!"
"Why should it matter, madam? He is where he can do no harm to our
cause. Let him hear. Let him understand what it is that we are doing.
Are we ashamed of our duty to the world? If so, then we are criminals,
not deliverers. I am not ashamed of what God wills me to do. It is
horrible, but it is the edict of God. I will obey. But God does not
command us to torture an innocent man who happens to fall into our
hands. No! Let him hear. Let him know that I, Olga Platanova, am to hurl
the thing that is to destroy the life of Prince Robin. I am not afraid
to have him know to-day what the world will know next week. Let him hear
and revile me now, as the world will do after it is over and I am gone.
The glory will be mine when all the people of this great globe are
joined to our glorious realm. Then the world will say that Olga
Platanova was not a beast, but a deliverer, a creator! Let him hear!"
The listener's blood was running cold. The life of Prince Robin! An
assassination! "The thing that will destroy!" A bomb! God!
For half an hour they argued with her, seeking to turn her from the
stand she had taken; protesting to the last stage, cursing her for a
sentimental fool. Then they came to terms with her. Truxton King owed
his life to this strange girl who knew him not at all, but who believed
in him. He suffered intensely in the discovery that she was, in the end,
to lend herself to the commission of the most heartless and diabolical
of crimes--the destruction of that innocent, well-worshipped boy of
Graustark.
"You must be in love with this simple-minded American, who comes--"
Peter Brutus started to say at one stage of the discussion, when the
frail girl was battling almost physically with her tormentors.
"Stop! Peter Brutus, you shall not say that! You know where my love
lies! Don't say that to me again, you beast!" she had cried, and Brutus
was silenced.
Truxton was brought into the room a few minutes later. He was white with
emotion as he faced the Committee of Ten. Before a word could be
addressed to him he blurted out:
"You damned cowards! Weak as I am, I would have fought for you, Miss
Platanova, if I could have got through that door. Thank you for what you
have done to convince these dogs! I would to God I could save you from
this thing you are pledged to do. It is frightful! I cannot think it of
you! Give it up! All of you, give this thing up! I will promise
secrecy--I will never betray what I have heard. Only don't do this awful
thing! Think of that dear little boy--"
Olga Platanova cried out and covered her eyes with her hands, murmuring
the words "dear little boy" over and over again. She was led from the
room by William Spantz. Peter Brutus stood over King, whose arms were
held by two stalwart men.
"Enough!" he commanded. "We spare you, not for her sake, but for the
sake of the cause we serve. Hear me: you are to be held here a prisoner
until our plans are consummated. You will be properly fed and cared for.
You have heard Miss Platanova say that she will cook the food for you
herself, but you are not to see her. Do not seek to turn her from her
purpose. That you cannot do. She is pledged to it; it is irrevocable. We
have perhaps made a mistake in bringing you here: it would have been far
wiser to kill you in the beginning, but--"
King interrupted him. "I haven't the least doubt that you will kill me
in the end. She may not be here to protect me after--after the
assassination."
"She is prepared to die by the same bomb that slays the Prince," was all
that Brutus would say in response to this, but King observed the sly
look that went round amongst them. He knew then that they meant to kill
him in the end.
Afterward, in his little room, he writhed in the agony of helplessness.
The Prince, his court, the government--all were to be blasted to satisfy
the end of this sickening conspiracy. Loraine! She, too, was doomed! He
groaned aloud in his misery and awe.
Food and water came after that, but he ate and drank little, so
depressed had he become. He sought for every means of escape that
suggested itself to him. The walls, the floors, the doors, the stairway
to the armourer's shop--all were impassable, so carefully was he
guarded. From time to time he heard inklings of the plot which was to
culminate on the fatal 26th; he did not get the details in particular,
but he knew that the bomb was to be hurled at the Prince near the
entrance to the plaza and that Marlanx's men were to sweep over the
stricken city almost before the echo died away.
There was a telegraph instrument in the outer room. He could hear it
ticking off its messages day and night, and could hear the discussion of
reports as they came in or went out. It soon became clear to him that
the wire connected the room with Marlanx's headquarters near Balak in
Axphain, a branch instrument being stationed in the cave above the
Witch's hut. He marvelled at the completeness of the great conspiracy;
and marvelled more because it seemed to be absolutely unknown to the
omnipresent Dangloss.
On his third night he heard the Committee discussing the failure of one
of Marlanx's most cunning schemes. The news had come in over the wire
and it created no small amount of chagrin among the Red conspirators.
That one detail in their mighty plot should go contrary to expectations
seemed to disturb them immeasurably. King was just beginning to realise
the stupendous possibilities of the plot; he listened for every detail
with a mind so fascinated by horror that it seemed hardly able to grasp
the seriousness of his own position.
It seemed that Marlanx deemed it necessary--even imperative--to the
welfare of the movement, that John Tullis should be disposed of
summarily before the crucial chapter in their operations. Truxton heard
the Committee discussing the fiasco that attended his first attempt to
draw the brainy, influential American out of the arena. It was clear
that Marlanx suspected Tullis of a deep admiration for his wife, the
Countess Ingomede; he was prepared to play upon that admiration for the
success of his efforts. The Countess disappeared on a recent night,
leaving the court in extreme doubt as to her fate. Later a decoy
telegram was sent by a Marlanx agent, informing Tullis that she had gone
to Schloss Marlanx, never to return, but so shrewdly worded that he
would believe that it had been sent by coercion, and that she was
actually a prisoner in the hands of her own husband. Tullis was expected
to follow her to the Castle, bent on rescue. As a matter of fact, the
Countess was a prisoner in the hills near Balak, spirited away from her
own garden by audacious agents of the Iron Count. Tullis was swift to
fall into the trap, but, to the confusion of the arch-plotter, he was
just as swift to avoid the consequences.
He left Edelweiss with two secret service men, bound for Schloss
Marlanx. All unknown to him, a selected company of cutthroats were in
waiting for him on the hills near the castle. To the amazement of the
conspirators, he suddenly retraced his tracks and came back to Edelweiss
inside of twenty-four hours, a telegram stopping him at Gushna, a
hundred miles down the line. The message was from Dangloss and it was in
cipher. A trainman in the service of Marlanx could only say, in
explanation, that the American had smiled as he deciphered the dispatch
and at once left the carriage with his men to await the up-train at six
o'clock.
Peter Brutus repeated a message he had just received from Marlanx at
Balak. It was to the effect that he had reason to believe that his wife
had managed, through an unknown traitor, to send word to the Tower that
she was not at Schloss Marlanx, nor in any immediate danger. He felt
himself supported in this belief by the obvious fact that no further
efforts had been made by Tullis or the police since that day. The
authorities apparently were inactive and Tullis was serenely secure at
the Royal Castle. The guard about the Prince, however, had been largely
increased.
Tullis was known to be re-organising the Royal Guard, supported by the
ministry to a man, it was said; not even the Duke of Perse opposed him.
"The Count is more afraid of this man Tullis than of all the rest,"
averred Peter Brutus. "He has reasons to hate and fear the Americans.
That is why he desires the death of our prisoner. He has said, time and
again, over the wire that King will in some way escape and play the
deuce with our plans. It does not seem possible, however. We have him
absolutely secure, and Olga--well, you know how she feels about it."
"I don't see why he should be so disturbed by Tullis," growled one of
the men. "He has no real authority at court and he is but one man
against an unseen army that will not strike until everything is ready.
There can be no--"
"That is what I have said to my master, Julius, but he will not be
convinced. He says that he has had experience with one American, Lorry,
and he knows the breed. Tullis has more power at court than the people
think. He is shrewd and strong and not to be caught napping. As a matter
of fact, the Count says, Tullis has already scented danger in the air
and has induced the ministry to prepare for an uprising. Of course, he
cannot know of the dynamiting that is to open the way to success, but it
is true that if anybody can upset our plans, it is this meddling
American. He is a self-appointed guardian of the Prince and he is not to
be sneered at. The regents are puppets, nothing more."
Julius Spantz agreed with Brutus. "I know that the guard is being
strengthened and that certain precautions are being taken to prevent
the abduction of the Prince. It is common rumour among the soldiers that
Count Marlanx will some day seek to overthrow the government and take
the throne. The air is full of talk concerning this far-distant
possibility. Thank God, it is to be sooner than they think. If Tullis
and General Braze were given a month or two longer, I doubt if we could
succeed. The blow must catch them unprepared."
"This is the 22d, Saturday is the 26th. They can do nothing in four
days," said one of the women.
"Count Marlanx will be ready on the 26th. He has said so. A new strike
will be declared on the railroad on the 25th and the strikers will be in
the city with their grievances. Saturday's celebration will bring men
from the mountains and the mines to town. A single blow, and we have
won." So spoke Brutus.
"Then why all this fear of Tullis?" demanded Anna Cromer.
"It is not like the Iron Count," added Madame Drovnask with a sneer.
Olga Platanova had not spoken. She was not there to talk. She was only
to act on the 26th of July. She was the means to an end.
"Well, fear or no fear, the Count lies awake trying to think of a way to
entice him from the city before the 26th. It may be silly, madam, but
Count Marlanx is a wiser man than any of us here. He is not afraid of
Dangloss or Braze or Quinnox, but he is afraid of what he calls
'American luck!' He is even superstitious about it."
"We must not--we cannot fail," grated William Spantz, and the cry was
reiterated by half a dozen voices.
"The world demands success of us!" cried Anna Cromer. "We die for
success, we die for failure! It is all one!"
The next morning, after a sleepless night, Truxton King made his first
determined attempt to escape. All night long he had lain there thinking
of the horrid thing that was to happen on the black 26th. He counted the
days, the hours, the minutes. Morning brought the 23d. Only three days
more! Oh, if he could but get one word to John Tullis, the man Marlanx
feared; if he could only break away from these fiends long enough to
utter one cry of warning to the world, even with his dying gasp!
Marlanx feared the Americans! He even feared him, a helpless captive!
The thrill of exultation that ran through his veins was but the genesis
of an impulse that mastered him later on.
He knew that two armed men stood guard in the outer room day and night.
The door to the stairway leading into the armourer's shop was of iron
and heavily barred; the door opening into the sewer was even more
securely bolted; besides, there was a great stone door at the foot of
the passage. The keys to these two doors were never out of the
possession of William Spantz; one of his guards held the key to the
stairway door. His only chance lay in his ability to suddenly overpower
two men and make off by way of the armourer's shop.
When his little door was opened on the morning of the 23d, Truxton
King's long, powerful figure shot through as if sped by a catapult. The
man with the candle and the knife went down like a beef, floored by a
blow on the jaw.
The American, his eyes blazing with hope and desperation, kept
onward--to find himself face to face with Olga Platanova!
She was staring at him with frightened eyes, her lips apart, her hands
to her breast. The tableau was brief. He could not strike her down. With
a curse he was turning to the man on the floor, eager to snatch the keys
from his belt. A scream from her drawn lips held him; he whirled and
looked into the now haggard face of the girl he had considered
beautiful. The penalty for her crime was already written there. She was
to die in three days!
"He has not the key!" she cried. "Nor have I. You have no chance to
escape. Go back! Go back! They are coming!"
A key rattled in the door. When it swung open, two men stood in the
aperture, both with drawn pistols. The girl leaped between them and the
helpless, defeated American.
"Remember!" she cried. "You are not to kill him!"
Peter Brutus had risen from the floor, half dazed but furious. He made a
vicious leap at King, his knife ready for the lunge.
"I'm glad it's you," roared King, leaping aside. His fist shot out and
again Brutus went down. The men in the doorway actually laughed.
"A good blow, even if it avails you nothing," said one of them drily.
"He is not an especial favorite with us. Return to your room at once.
Miss Platanova, call your uncle. It is now necessary to bind the
fellow's hands. They are too dangerous to be allowed to roam at large in
this fashion."
All day long Truxton paced his little prison, bitterly lamenting his
ill-timed effort. Now he would be even more carefully guarded. His hands
were bound behind his back; he was powerless. If he had only waited!
Luck had been against him. How was he to know that the guard with the
keys had gone upstairs when Olga brought his breakfast down? It was
fate.
The 23d dragged itself into the past and the 24th was following in the
gloomy wake of its predecessors. Two days more! He began to feel the
approach of madness! His own death was not far away. It would follow
that of the Prince and of Olga Platanova, his friend. But he was not
thinking of his own death; he was thinking of the Prince's life!
The atmosphere of suppressed excitement that characterised the hushed
gatherings in the outer room did not fail to leave its impression upon
him; he knew there was murder in the hearts of these fanatics; he could
feel the strain that held their hitherto vehement lips to tense
whisperings and mutterings. He could distinguish the difference between
the footsteps of to-day and those of yesterday; the tread was growing
lighter, unconsciously more stealthy with each passing hour.
Forty-eight hours! That was all!
Truxton found himself crying bitterly from time to time; not because he
was in terror but because he knew of the thing that hourly drew nearer
despite the fact that he knew!
Olga Platanova's voice was heard no more before the Committee of Ten.
Something told him that she was being groomed and primed in an upstairs
room! Primed like a gun of war! He wondered if she could be praying for
courage to do the thing that had been set down for her to do. Food now
came irregularly to him. She was no longer preparing it.
She was making herself ready!
Early that night, as he lay with his ear to the crack of the door, he
heard them discussing his own death. It was to come as soon as Olga had
gone to her reward! She was not there to defend him. Spantz had said
that she was praying in her room, committing her soul to God! Truxton
King suddenly pricked up his ears, attracted by a sentence that fell
from the lips of one of the men.
"Tullis is on his way to the hills of Dawsbergen by this time. He will
be out of the way on the 26th safe enough."
"Count Marlanx was not to be satisfied until he had found the means to
draw him away from Edelweiss," said another. "This time it will work
like a charm. Late this afternoon Tullis was making ready to lead a
troop of cavalry into the hills to effect a rescue. Sancta Maria! That
was a clever stroke! Not only does he go himself, but with him goes a
captain with one hundred soldiers from the fort. Ha, ha! Marlanx is a
fox! A very exceptional fox!"
Tullis off to the hills? With soldiers, to effect a rescue! Truxton sat
up, his brain whirling.
"A wise fox!" agreed Peter Brutus, thickly. His lips were terribly
swollen from King's final blow. "Tullis goes off chasing a
jack-o'-lantern in the hills; Marlanx sits by and laughs at the joke
he's played. It is good! Almost too good to be true. I wonder what our
fine prisoner will say to it when the new prisoner comes to keep him
company over the 26th."