CHAPTER XXIII
WHAT THE CZAR FORGOT
I took Zara back to the house of the prince, where I was well known toevery servant of the establishment, for I had been a constant and anhonored guest, there. From it I despatched messengers to O'Malley, andto Coyle, and presently sent Durnief away to prison, in charge of theformer, while the latter brought a conveyance which took Zara and me tothe home of my princess. It was a much quicker return than I hadanticipated, at the time we departed from that house together, but thecondition in which we found it, told only too plainly what might havebeen my sweetheart's fate, had I trusted to appearances, and left herthere. The nihilists had lost no time in searching for her, when theywere made to believe that she had betrayed them. The place was almost awreck. It had been searched, and the searchers had not hesitated tobecome despoilers, also. Nevertheless it was a happy homecoming forZara, for looking upon the devastation that had been wrought in herabsence, she turned to me with a smile, and said:
"I have lost much, this past night, Dubravnik, in shattered idols andbroken toys, but I have gained the whole world, too, for I have foundyou."
When I had seen Zara safely inside her own door, and had given herevery assurance of her entire safety, I had myself driven to thepalace.
Although I had promised to see the emperor as soon as I arrived, I feltthat it was my first duty to interview Prince Michael, in the hope thatthe events of the preceding day might be reviewed in a better spirit.Accordingly, I proceeded at once to his apartments, after the captainof the guard had assured me that his majesty was still sleeping, nothaving retired until nearly daylight. When I rapped upon the door ofthe room occupied by the prince, as a sleeping apartment, there was noresponse, and I repeated the summons, more loudly than before. Still Iwaited in vain, and at last, feeling some misgivings, and being assuredby the guard in the corridor that the prince had not left the roomsince he had gone to it the preceding evening, I turned the handle andentered.
I found him there. He was seated in a chair near one of the greatwindows through which the lately risen sun was shining full upon him;and the moment my eyes discovered him I started with horror, for I sawthat he was dead. Instantly I stepped back through the door, and toldthe guard to call his captain, pointing out the lifeless form of theprince, and ordering him to tell nobody but his superior officer of thefact. Then I reentered the room and approached the body of my formerfriend. There was a pistol beside him on the floor where it had fallenfrom his nerveless grasp after the fatal deed was performed, but hereclined as easily in the chair as though he had dropped asleepnaturally, for a short nap instead of forever.
"Poor Michael!" I murmured. "Did I drive you to this? Would that I hadnot spoken."
I turned to glance around the room, professional instinct getting thebest of me even in that moment of sorrow, and I quickly espied a letterupon the table. It was addressed to his majesty, the emperor, and wastightly sealed, so I placed it in my pocket and started to leave theroom. At the door I met the captain of the guard with two of his men,and them I instructed to keep watch, but on no account to touchanything without his majesty's permission. Then I sought the czar.
"Well, Derrington?" he asked, as soon as I was admitted to hispresence. "What of the night? Is the conspiracy crushed, and have youbeen successful?"
"Entirely so. Nihilism is effectually crushed for many years to come.My work in St. Petersburg is really done, I think. At least I canassure you that you will have no cause to fear the hand of an assassinfor a long time; until this weed starts up anew."
"We are safe, then. Thank God for that."
"You are perfectly safe. The prisons are full to overflowing. I havesent many of the less guilty ones over the border with instructions notto return for many years to come. You will miss a few faces at court.You will be forced to fill a few vacancies in the army. The nextcaravan across Siberia will be a larger one than the last, and thepopulation of this city will be depleted by nearly three thousand soulscounting all that I have enumerated."
"This is glorious news to awaken to--glorious! I cannot repay you thedebt I owe you, Derrington."
"Now that you have heard the good news, can you bear to hear some thatis not so good, monsieur?"
"What! Is there bad news also?"
"Necessarily, there must have been some fatalities."
"Ah! Some one was killed? Some friend of mine?"
"Yes. Some one has killed himself."
"Durnief?"
"No. He is a prisoner."
"Why keep me waiting? Tell me at once."
"I greatly fear, your majesty, that I am responsible for this death.Here is the letter he left. Read it. I do not know what it contains. Ionly just now discovered the body."
"_Michael!_" He exclaimed as soon as he saw the handwriting. I made noreply and he broke the seal and read the last words of his lifelongfriend. Presently he returned it to me.
"Read," he said, and I read.
_My Friend_,--
In death, qualities of rank cease, hence I address you as I have always felt towards you--as my friend. Derrington was right; he told the truth, and I lied. I am not now and have never been a nihilist in spirit, but it is true that I am one in fact. I joined them in a moment of folly, to protect a friend whom I knew to be one. I have never allied myself to them, and have never attended one meeting of theirs. The friend for whose sake I joined has been generous, and no demands have been made upon me; nevertheless, I am guilty. Yet, believe me my friend, when with my last breath I assure you that I have never harbored one disloyal thought towards you or yours, and I should unhesitatingly have betrayed the nihilists had I ever known of a single circumstance inimical to you. But I can live no longer under this disgrace, so I die. I beseech you let not the truth of my dishonor be known abroad. I was unjust to Derrington, and I crave his pardon. I loved him as a brother, and as brothers quarrel at times, so did we. He is faithful; trust him. May God lead you in the right; may He preserve your life and your empire, and may He have mercy upon me.
MICHAEL.
Alexander was true to his friendship for Prince Michael. He mourned himsincerely, and nobody ever knew the true cause of the prince's death.The emperor respected that last wish of his dead friend. There was yetmore mischief to be done, however, by that arch villain Durnief, forwhile we were still occupied with the care of Prince Michael's remains,the czar sent for me in haste.
"This is a day of surprising missives," he said. "Here is anotherletter for you to read." I took it in my hand and glanced at thesignature.
"Durnief," I said, with a sneer. "Why should I read it? The man cannottell the truth."
"Because I desire you to do so."
The note began in the usual form of addresses to the emperor, and wasas follows:
You have ere this been informed, and supplied with ample proof, that I am among the ranks of your enemies, the nihilists. I confess it, but I became one of them for selfish motives, not for political ones. Never mind that. It is not my intention to intercede for mercy, for I know that your heart is a stranger to that quality. It is to tell you a truth that you should know. It is to tell you that the one most dangerous of all nihilists, is to go free; is to remain in Russia; is to have access to your palace; is spared by your trusted spy, Dubravnik; is upheld by him. This nihilist to whom I refer, has been, ever since the death of my one time rival, Stanislaus, the most dangerous of all the extremists. This nihilist leader is a woman, and her name is Zara de Echeveria. Dubravnik will spare her; he will spare her brother who is as violent as she is.
One last word. I will never go to Siberia for I have the means to cheat you out of the pleasure of sending me there, and when you read this, I shall have been an hour dead.
ALEXIS DURNIEF.
"Well," demanded his majesty, "what have you to say?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing!"
"No."
"Have you arrested her?"
"I have not."
"Where is she now?"
"In her own home. I took her there this morning. Listen for a moment,and I will tell you how that occurred."
Then I related in detail the story of my struggle with Durnief, therescue of Zara, her heroism in assisting me, and I told of the finalcapture and imprisonment of the captain. But his majesty shook his headin a doubt.
"I believe Durnief's letter. She is a nihilist," he said. "She must bearrested." I shook my head, but he did not see the motion andcontinued: "I believe that the princess is the friend to whom poorMichael referred. He was in love with her and nothing short of the loveof a woman could have made him disloyal to me. Yes, I believe that sheis what Durnief says she is. I order you to place her under arrest atonce."
"She shall not be arrested," I said, coldly.
"What!" he cried, "you dare to disobey me?"
"Yes," I replied, "I _dare_ to disobey such an order as that. It shallnot be."
"Are you a traitor, also? Was Michael right?"
There was that sneering smile upon his face now, but I held my ground.
"I am not a traitor, but I will not carry out your request, and I willnot permit it to be carried out." He was aghast at my effrontery. Hecould only gaze at me in amazement, too greatly confounded for speech;and I continued: "Listen to me one moment, your majesty."
"I will not listen to you. The road to Siberia may be traveled by youas well as by the friends whom you apprehended last night, and byheaven, you shall follow it!"
"You forget one thing," I said. "You have forgotten----"
"What have I forgotten?"
"The Fraternity of Silence."
"Bah!"
"I foresaw this moment, your majesty, and my men have their orders tomeet it. If I am molested, every nihilist who was arrested lastnight--every one who was in prison in the city before that time--willbe liberated in an hour, and you have not soldiers nor policemen enoughto stop the tide that will flow against you then. Your empire willcrumble like dust, and your life will go out like the snuffing of acandle. For the present, I am the Czar of Russia, and you are onlyAlexander Alexandrovitch." He sat still and looked at me with staringeyes. "You are only a man, after all, monsieur," I continued moresoftly. "In your fears for the safety of your family, for your empire,and for yourself, you are led to do unjust things. Only an hour ago yousaid that you owed me a debt that you could never repay. You do owe mea debt, and you can repay it if you will forget for a moment that youare a monarch, and remember that you are a man. You can repay all youowe me, and more, if you will still be my friend, and forget that thisscene has occurred; and when you have done that, I will tell you thatZara de Echeveria is to be the wife of Daniel Derrington; is to leaveRussia forever with her husband, and were she the worst nihilist in theempire--and I know that she is not--she will be far away from anytemptation to do you harm, and under the guidance of one who has provenhis devotion to you. I will tell you more: I will leave the directionof the affairs of the fraternity in the hands of one of my men who isas expert as I am, and who is in every way as worthy of yourconfidences as I have proven myself to be--Canfield."
The czar rose unsteadily to his feet and came towards me with his righthand extended.
"Derrington," he said, slowly, "I have been unjust. If I had otherfriends like you, who dared to tell me the truth as it is, and notdistort it out of all recognition--if there were others here who daredto defy me when defiance alone will make me see things in their rightlight, Russia would be the better for it. Go to Zara d'Echeveria. Tellher that I wish her to come here. Tell her that the Czar of Russia willask her forgiveness for an act that he could not avoid committing. Shewill understand. You shall be married in the palace, and you will bothremain in Russia."
Then he put his arms around me in Russian fashion and bade me go.