By Right of Sword

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  THE FOUR ALDER TREES.

  I was up very early on the morning of the Czar's visit. We had aparade at 6.30 to receive final instructions; and as I walked to thebarracks I was in high spirits, buoyant, self-confident, andalert--much as I had felt on the morning of my duel with Devinsky. Icould not have been in better tone.

  The morning air was very fresh and clear and the sunlight felleverywhere upon flags, decorations, triumphal arches, and the rest ofthe festal preparations for the great holiday to which work people werebusy putting the final touches.

  Everybody seemed in the highest spirits. Laughter and jest and apleasant interchange of greetings rang on the air on all sides of me;and the whole city seemed to be already wreathed in smiles.

  My brother officers came straggling up after I had reached the ground,and more than one of them shewed abundant signs of the previous night'scarouse; looking as though a couple more hours' sleep were sadlywanted. Headaches abounded among them, and more than one regarded mewith a sort of comical envy because I was not dull-eyed, pale, norunrested. They took it for granted that I had drunk as deeply as they,and set down my steady head as one more proof of my prowess. Some mencan always see something of a hero in the man who can drink heavily andyet shew no signs of his dissipation.

  When the Colonel came and we fell in, there was a disappointment forme. My new plan was based on the correctness of the Nihilistinformation--that I should have the command of the troops guarding thesection of the line where were four alder trees; and I reckonedconfidently upon hearing from the Colonel of the alteration in theoriginal plans.

  But no announcement of the sort was made. On the contrary, as soon asthe troops had fallen in, the arrangements which had been announced onthe previous day were repeated; and I found that instead of being toldoff to take charge of the railway to the north of the city, I had topass the whole day in guarding the Western Gate and the road for somedistance on either side of it. I was ordered to parade my men at eighto'clock and to march straight to the place of guard.

  I went home to breakfast, disappointed and disgusted. I didn't care ajot about missing the sightseeing, but I was angry that the plan onwhich I had now set my heart had failed; and that instead of being ableto strike a vigorous blow for my own freedom I should have to pass thehours dawdling about doing nothing more than a sort of police work inkeeping order among a crowd of gaping, staring, gawky, country yokels.

  I was in an exceedingly ill temper therefore when I returned to theparade ground to start on my most unwelcome and unpalatable task.

  But I found the whole place in complete confusion and uproar, and thefirst words I heard were that the whole plan of the day's work had beenaltered; that the troops had been changed and interchanged in a mostperplexing manner; that regiments and companies and even odd files ofmen had been mixed up in the greatest apparent confusion; and that notone of the original commands remained unaltered.

  I hurried to the Colonel for my orders, and found him cursing volublyand with tremendous energy at the infinite confusion the alterationshad caused. But he found me my orders readily--he was a splendiddisciplinarian--and when I read them I marvelled indeed at theextraordinary exactness with which the Nihilists had been able toanticipate matters.

  My command was changed to the guarding of the three mile stretch ofline outside the Vsatesk station, commencing a thousand yards to thenorth of that point. I was to train out at once; post my men at 25yards distance; and allow no one to approach the line for two hoursbefore the coming of the Imperial train, and until half an hour afterit had passed; the time of its passing being given confidentially as2.45--two hours later than had been originally fixed for the actualarrival in Moscow. More than that, the men under my command were notto be drawn solely from my own regiment, but from no less than threeothers, all specified, who were to meet me at the station.

  As I read these instructions I saw in them the influence of someone whomust be both near to the Throne and intimately acquainted with thewhole Nihilist plot. The object of classing together under one commandmen taken suddenly from different regiments was a master-stroke oftreachery for this particular work. Apparently it prevented anycollusion among any disaffected regiments, but in reality it opened theway for the five assassins to get into the ranks without the leastsuspicion; while the meeting at the railway station, probably urged asa necessity to save time at the moment when the plans had been allchanged, must have been in fact designed solely for the purpose of theplot.

  He who was secretly behind all this was no ordinary man. That wasclear. And I saw that in pitting my wits against his, seeing that healready had the Imperial ear, I should have to be wary indeed, if Iwished to avoid a fall. But I did not shirk the contest: and now thatI knew I was really to have the chance, I clenched my teeth indesperate resolve.

  After incalculable trouble and much irritating delay, I got togetherthe small company that came from my own regiment and marched them tothe railway station. I halted them and looked round for thedetachments that were to join me. I posted my men in a place thatwould lend itself well to the Nihilists joining them. The threedetachments of men reported soon after my arrival, each in charge of asergeant; and when I had ascertained the train by which we were totravel--a matter of no small difficulty in the indescribable confusionthat prevailed, I moved the whole two hundred to the platforms.

  I had seen nothing of the Nihilists, so far, and this caused me somesurprise. But on the platforms the order of the ranks could not bemaintained and when about half of my command were entrained, I wasaddressed by one of a file of five men who reported that he and hiscomrades had been told off to accompany me; and he produced writteninstructions to that effect.

  I glanced at the order and saw that it was sufficiently in form toenable me to take the men with me, and while pretending to study thepaper I looked searchingly at each of the men. They were a daredevilset, in all truth, but they stood in their uniforms with as muchmilitary air as the average Russian rankers.

  I assumed an air of great vexation, and rapping out an oath, loudenough for all about me to hear, I called up the sergeant of my ownregiment and telling him the men had been sent to join me, and cursingthem and everybody in general for the interruption, told him to findplaces in the train for them. In this way everything went smoothly,and we were soon gliding out of Moscow for the short run, while I satback alone in the first-class compartment which I had had reserved formyself.

  I had still some slight preparations to make, and wished to be alone tothink. First I examined my arms carefully. I looked to every chamberof my revolver. Each bullet might mean a life before the day was threehours older. Next, I looked to my sword. It was the same that hadseen me through my trouble with Devinsky and I knew it as a man learnsto know the feel of his walking stick. Lastly, I had a long deadlylooking dagger; the sheath fastened to the right hip of my trouserswhere it could be drawn with the greatest ease. As a final reserve Ihad in a small secret pocket a couple of pills--poison enough to killhalf a dozen men. I meant to make a quick end of things if they wentwrong with me.

  Satisfied that everything was in order, I lay back and mapped out againthe exact disposition of the men in my charge: and the precise course Imeant to take at the critical moment. I was still occupied in thiswhen the train drew up at the little station, Vsatesk; and in less thanhalf an hour later, I had reached my section and begun to post my menand was looking about me for the four alder trees and the exact spotwhere I had been warned to take my post.

  Knowing what I did about the Nihilist intentions, it was obviouslyunnecessary to pay much heed to any part of the line except that whereI knew the "accident" would happen. So I sent out a couple ofsergeants to dispose the men on that part of the line which lay to thenorth of the four trees.

  These were easily found, and I carried out to the letter the Nihilistinstructions to post the five men who were to kill the Czar,immediately to the right, or south, of the line
formed by the threetrees as described to me.

  I did this for the simple reason that it was my cue to deceive everyoneright up to the last moment. Had I altered the disposition of thesemen they would have known that I meant treachery to them and to thecause; and what the consequences would have been it was impossible toforesee. As it was they took their places with a grim readiness, and asignificant glance that spoke to me eloquently.

  As soon as all the troops were placed I took my own position and,girding up my patience to wait for the coming of the Imperial train andwith it my opportunity, I scanned every inch of the line for someevidence of the Nihilists' preparations. I could not detect a sign ofany change in the road or of any preparation of any kind. The trackwas not very well laid, and in several spots it bore signs of recentrepairs; but beyond that there was nothing. This fact may have helpedto conceal the work of the Nihilists, of course; but although I knewalmost the very spot where it had been carried out, I could detectnothing.

  The suspense was trying indeed; and while I was waiting, it was naturalenough, perhaps, that my imagination should be chiefly busy insuggesting many reasons why I was almost bound to fail in my desperateventure.

  I did not know in which train the Emperor would travel. I knew ofcourse that there would be first the pilot engine; there would also bethe baggage train; probably also a special train for the suite andservants; and the Imperial train. But this might be first, second, orthird of the three. I had not been told as to this. So far as myNihilist work was concerned, it was not necessary that I should knowit. That work began when the train had left the line; and I had beenposted near where that must happen. I concluded therefore, that I hadnot been trusted with a single jot more of information than it wasdeemed necessary for me to have.

  I should have to depend upon the Nihilists who were to move the leverbeing accurately informed on this point. But this troubled me. If theworst happened, of course the "accident" must take place and the trainbe sent off the line, and I must use my opportunity then. What Iwished to do was to stop the train in which the Emperor would travel;but if I did not know which that was, I might easily make an uglyblunder that would expose me to danger from the Nihilists and not onlydo me no good with the Court, but mark me out as an object for ridiculeand suspicion.

  This uncertainty did not present itself to disturb me until I wasactually on the line waiting for the coming of the trains, and face toface with the necessity for action.

  The point where I stood was about a mile and a half to the north of thestation and the line was so dead straight, that it could be watched forfive or six miles farther north, and I should thus have ample notice ofthe approach of the trains. It was a very clear day moreover; and asmy sight was exceedingly keen and good, I knew I should be able tocatch the earliest glimpse of the trains whose passing meant so much tome.

  I managed to get the whole of the company under my command posted morethan two hours before the Emperor was timed to pass; and after I hadmade a show of inspecting those who were guarding that part of thesection which I knew to be outside the sphere of danger, I did the workvery thoroughly with those who were in that part where the grim,hazardous drama was to be played.

  I had been careful to keep the men of my own regiment close to me andon both sides of the five Nihilist spies; and I was glad to see thatmany of them were among my staunchest admirers. They would havefollowed me to death without a word; and the sergeant, whose name wasGrostef, the most athletic fellow in the ranks, was my sworn champion,on the ground that I was the only man in the regiment who could outrun,and outjump him, and beat him with any weapon he liked to pick. Ibelieve the fellow loved me for my strength and skill.

  The time dragged a bit for the patient fellows on guard who were notnear enough to exchange a word without the sergeants being pretty sureto hear it; and the eyes of all soon began to be cast longinglynorthward in impatient desire to catch a glimpse of the trains. Almostthe only men who shewed no signs of feeling were the five to whom thecoming of the train meant, as they knew and were content to know, thecoming of death also. They stood like stone figures: impassive,immovable and stern: the type of men to whom death in the cause of dutyis welcome.

  An hour before the time, I took up my position finally exactly in theline of the three alder trees, and resolved not to move again nor tohave my attention drawn away from the rails until the work was over;and I only lifted my eyes now and then from the track to send a sharp,quick glance along the line to see if the train were yet in sight.

  The first intimation I had that the trains were getting near came fromthe opposite direction. Between us and the Vsatesk station about halfa mile distant, was a signal box, and the light wind which was blowingfrom the south carried to my ears the sharp smack of the signal arm asit fell from the danger point, and signalled the line all clear.

  I knew then it was a matter of minutes. My pulse began to quicken upslightly; and my scrutiny of the track and rails increased inintentness. But the minutes dragged on and the announced time came andpassed. I knew of the Czar's passion for punctuality, and after thisdelay had lasted some time I began to think a genuine accident musthave caused it. In this weary suspense, a quarter of an hour, half anhour, three quarters passed, and my watch shewed 3.30, and still not asign of even the pilot engine was visible.

  Then a tiny black speck in the far straight distance, topped by a smallwhite steam cloud told me the pilot engine was coming at last; and inthe swift glances spared from my scrutiny of the rails, I saw it growlarger and blacker as it covered the intervening space, until itthundered up, and crashed and lumbered by us and began to fade in theopposite direction disappearing round the slight curve which wasbetween us and Vsatesk station.

  What the interval would be between the pilot engine and the firsttrain, and what that first train would be, I did not know. Theintervals always differed; sometimes five minutes, sometimes ten,sometimes as much as twenty minutes were allowed to elapse. But theinterval was nothing compared with the question--which train wouldfollow. On that might turn the whole result of the affair.

  All the men had now straightened up, and even the five on my rightshewed signs of being interested. I saw them looking up with stealthy,longing, deadly fixedness for the coming of their prey.

  But on the line itself there was no sign of change.

  I had understood that at some point the rails would be shifted so as tothrow the train off the line. But search as closely as I would, Icould not detect the least sign of any preparation for this. Theuncertainty which this circumstance caused added to my excitement andthe suspense became doubly trying. It quickened up to a climax when Isaw once again in the distance the growing black speck with the whitecrown, that told me the second train was at hand.

  I kept my eyes glued to the rails and my ears strained to catch thefirst notification either by sight or sound that the trap had beenlaid. Without such a sign, I dared not do anything.

  Yet nothing happened; and the black speck in the distance developedinto a distinct shape, and increased quickly in size, and a slight humcame vibrating along the rails. The hum grew into the sound of muffleddrums; then swelled to a heavy threatening rumble; and rapidly climaxedto a crashing, rattling, reverberating roar, as the clattering clangingjolting baggage train lurched heavily by, and roared away southward.

  It passed safely every point on the line; and the old question whichwould be next recurred with greater strain than before, and drummeditself in on my brain like a sharp throbbing shoot of pain.

  When for the third time the little warning speck in the distance toldme that either the Czar or his suite must now be coming, my excitementwaxed well nigh out of control; my hand stole on to the hilt of mysword and loosened it in the scabbard, my fingers played on the stockof my revolver, and my eyes never for an instant left the rails, butran up and down them with swift eager searching glances, hungry for asign.

  As the distance between me and the on-coming train lessened, thetension
increased and my sense of baffled impotence, when I detected nosign anywhere on the rails, was staggering. By a great effort onlycould I prevent myself from doing something to stop the approach of thetrain and my eagerness was multiplied infinitely when, in a glancewhich I could not keep from straying to the murderous gang on my right,I saw them one and all making ready stealthily for their deadly work.

  But no sign on the track gave me my cue for action, and I could onlywait, full of my resolve to do all that had to be done should this bethe train to be thrown off the line.

  It came thundering up and passed me without my being able to take astep of any sort. Like the other it passed along the whole section ofthe line in safety, though I saw, with an astonishment that for themoment bewildered me, that the Imperial saloon was the central carriage.

  Obviously the Czar had passed in safety. And I jumped instantly to theconclusion that for some reason the mechanism, which was to havederailed the train, had failed to act.

  But an incident which occurred almost as soon as the train had passed,shewed me the falseness of this conclusion.

  I was still staring fixedly at the track, when at a point that wasexactly opposite me, and thus in a direct line with the three aldertrees, I saw the two rails swing aside from the track, just enough toturn a train off the rails that was travelling over the place. Therewas scarcely a click of sound: and, after a moment they swung back assilently into position.

  I read the whole thing in a moment.

  The operator knew that the moment had come for action and wished tomake quite sure that the mechanism was in due order. The sightincreased infinitely the oppressive weight and strain of the suspense.I knew now that the Czar was in the third train, and that the Imperialcarriage had been sent on with the second as a ruse.

  I knew too, that the supreme hour of my struggle was at hand, in allgrim reality.

  I could now relieve my eyes from the straining task of watching thetrack, and I looked about me. The five men to my right were also onthe alert. They had not been misled by the ruse of the empty courtcarriage, and were waiting in deadly readiness to strike the blow whichthey had come out to deal.

  Then I turned my eyes northward along the straight level track, andjust as I did so I caught in the distance the first glimpse of thethird train, in which I knew, as certainly as if I could already seehim, that the Czar was travelling.

  As the train loomed nearer and the moment for action approached, myspirits rose also. Uncertainty was at an end. A few minutes woulddecide whether I was to live or die.

  I braced myself for the biggest effort of my life.

  I was like a man whose nostrils expand as they breathe in the scent ofdeadly fight.