XV
RETROSPECTIVE
Show me those invisible, imperceptible steps by which a man's honorfirst descends; show me the way back to the serene altitude of cleanconscience, and I will undertake to enlighten you upon the secret ofevery great historical event, tragic or otherwise. If you will searchhistory carefully, you will note that the basic cause of all greatevents, such as revolutions, civil strifes, political assassinations,foreign wars, and race oppressions, lay not in men's honor so much asin some one man's dishonor. A man, having committed a dishonorable act,may reestablish himself in the eyes of his fellow-beings, but ever andever he silently mocks himself and dares not look into the mirror ofhis conscience.
Honor is comparative, as every one will agree. It is only in the highlydeveloped mind that it reaches its superlative state. Either this manbecomes impregnable to the assaults of the angel of the pitch robes, orhe boldly plunges into the frightful blackness which surrounds her. Thegreat greed of power, the great greed of wealth, the great greed ofhate, the great greed of jealousy, and the great greed of love, onlythese tempt him.
Now, of dishonors, which does man hold in the greatest abhorrence? Thisquestion needs no pondering. It may be answered simply. The murderer,the thief, and the rogue--we look upon these callously. But Judas!Treachery to our country! This is the nadir of dishonor; nothing couldbe blacker. We never stop to look into the causes, nor does history,that most upright and impartial of judges; we brand instantly. Who cantell the truth about Judas Iscariot, and Benedict Arnold, and the hostof others? I can almost tolerate a Judas who betrays for a great love.There seems to be a stupendous elimination of self in the man whobetrays for those he loves, braving the consequences, the ignominy, thedishonor, the wretchedness; otherwise I should not have undertaken towrite this bit of history.
To betray a friend, that is bad; to betray a woman, that is stillworse; but to betray one's country!-to commit an act which shall placeher at the mercy of her enemies! Ah, the ignoble deaths of the men whowere guilty of this crime! And if men have souls, as we are told theyhave, how the souls of these men must writhe as they look into theminds of living men and behold the horror and contempt in which eachtraitor's name is held there!
Have you ever thought of the legion of men who have been thrust backfrom the very foot of this precipice, either by circumstances or by therevolt of conscience? These are the men who reestablish themselves inthe eyes of their fellow-beings, but who for ever silently mockthemselves and dare not look into the mirror of their consciences.
In this world motive is everything. A bad thing may be done for a goodpurpose, or, the other way around. This is the story of a crime, themotive of which was good.
Once upon a time there lived a soldier, a gentleman born, a courtier, aman of fine senses, of high integrity, of tenderness, of courage; hepossessed a splendid physical beauty, besides estates, and acomfortable revenue, or rather, he presided over one. Above all this,he was the father of a girl who worshiped him, and not without reason.What mysterious causes should set to work to ruin this man, to thrusthim from light into darkness? What step led him to attempt to betrayhis country, even in times of peace, to dishonor his name, a name hishonesty had placed high on the rolls of glory? What defense can heoffer? Well, I shall undertake to defend him; let yours be the verdict.
Enforced idleness makes a criminal of a poor man; it urges the man ofmeans to travel. Having seen his native land, it was only natural thatmy defendant should desire to see foreign countries. So, accompanied byhis child, he went abroad, visited the famous capitals, and was theguest of honor at his country's embassies. It was a delightful period.Both were as happy as fate ever allows a human being to be. The fatherhad received his honorable discharge, and till recently had held aresponsible position in the War Department. His knowledge had proved ofno small value to the government, for he was a born strategist, and hishobby was the coast defenses. He never beheld a plan that he did notreproduce it on the back of an envelope, on any handy scrap of paper,and then pore over it through the night. He had committed to memory thesmallest details, the ammunition supplies of each fort, the number ofguns, the garrison, the pregnable and impregnable sides. He knew theresource of each, too; that is to say, how quickly aid could besecured, the nearest transportation routes, what forage might be had.He had even submitted plans for a siege gun.
One day, in the course of their travels, the father and daughterstopped at Monte Carlo. Who hasn't heard of that city of fever? Whothat has seen it can easily forget its gay harbor, its beautiful walks,its crowds, its music, its hotels, its white temple of fortune? Now, mydefendant had hitherto ignored the principality of Monaco. The tales ofterror which had reached his ears did not prepossess him in its favor.But his daughter had friends there, and she wanted to see them. Therewould be dances on the private yacht, and dinners, and teas, andfireworks. On the third night of his arrival he was joined by the ownerof the yacht, a millionaire banker whose son was doing the honors ashost. I believe that there was a musicale on board that night, and asthe banker wasn't particularly fond of this sort of entertainment, heinveigled his soldier friend to accompany him on a sight-seeing trip.At midnight they entered the temple of fortune. At first the soldierdemurred; but the banker told him that he hadn't seen Monte Carlounless he saw the wheel go around. So, laughing, they entered the halls.
The passion for gaming is born in us all, man and woman alike, and isconceded by wise analysts to be the most furious of all passions andthe most lasting. In some, happily, the serpent sleeps for ever, thefire is for ever banked. But it needs only the opportunity to rouse thedull ember into flame, to stir the venom of the serpent. It seems asimple thing to toss a coin on the roulette boards. Sometimes the actis done contemptuously, sometimes indifferently, sometimes in thespirit of fun and curiosity; but the result is always the same.
The banker played for a while, won and lost, lost and won. The soldierput his hand into a pocket and drew forth a five-franc piece. He placedit on a number. The angel in the pitch robes is always lying in waitfor man to make his first bad step; so she urged fortune to let thisman win. It is an unwritten law, high up on Olympus, that the gods mustgive to the gods; only the prayers of the mortals go unanswered.
So my defendant won. He laughed like a boy who had played marbles for"keeps" and had taken away his opponent's agates. His mind wasperfectly innocent of any wrong-doing. That night he won a thousandfrancs. His real first bad step was in hiding the escapade from hisdaughter. The following night he won again. Then he dallied about theflame till one night the lust of his forebears shone forth from hiseyes. The venom of the serpent spread, the ember grew into a flame. Hisdaughter, legitimately enjoying herself with the young people, knewnothing nor dreamed. Indeed, he never entered the temple till after hehad kissed her good night.
He lost. He lost twice, thrice, in succession. One morning he woke upto the fact that he was several thousand dollars on the wrong side ofthe book. If the money had been his own, he would have stopped, andgone his way, cured. But it was money which he held in trust. He _must_replace it. The angel in the pitch robes stood at his side; she evenlaid a hand on his shoulder and urged him to win back what he had lost.Then indeed he could laugh, go his way, and gamble no more. This wasexcellent advice. That winter he lost something like fifteen thousand.Then began the progress of decline. The following summer his losseswere even greater than before. He began to mortgage the estates, forhis authority over his daughter's property was absolute. He dabbled instocks; a sudden fall in gold, and he realized that his daughter wasnearly penniless. Ah, had he been alone, had the money been his, hewould have faced poverty with all the courage of a brave man. But thegirl, the girl! She must never know, she must never want for thoseluxuries to which she was accustomed. For her sake he must make onemore effort He _must_ win, must, must! He raised more money on theproperty. He became irritable, nervous, to which were added suddenbursts of tenderness which the girl could not very well understand.
The
summer preceding the action of this tale saw them at Dieppe. At onetime he had recovered something between sixty and seventy thousand ofhis losses. Ah, had he stopped then, confessed to his daughter, allwould have gone well But, no; he must win the entire sum. He lost,lost, lost. The crash came in August. But a corner of the vastVirginian estates was left, and this did not amount to twenty thousand.Five francs carelessly tossed upon a roulette table had ruined anddishonored him. The angel of the pitch robes had fairly enveloped himnow. The thought that he had gambled uselessly his daughter's legacy,the legacy which her mother had left confidingly in his care, filledhis soul with the bitterness of gall. And she continued the merry roundof happiness, purchasing expensive garments, jewelry, furs, the littlethings which women love; gave dinners and teas and dances, consideredherself an heiress, and thought the world a very pleasant place to livein. Every laugh from her was a thorn to him, the light of happiness inher eyes was a reproach, for he knew that she was dancing toward theprecipice which he had digged for her.
Struggling futilely among these nettles of despair, he took the finalstep. His ruin became definitive. His evil goddess saw to it that anopportunity should present itself. (How simple all this reads! As Iread it over it does not seem credible. Think of a man who has reachedthe height of his ambition, has dwelt there serenely, and then falls inthis silly, inexcusable fashion! Well, that is human nature, the humanpart of it. Only here and there do we fall grandly.)
One starlit night he met a distinguished young diplomat, rich andhandsome. He played some, but to pass away the time rather than tocoquet with fortune. He was lucky. The man who plays for the mere funof it is generally lucky. He asks no favors from fortune; he does notpay any attention to her, and, woman-like, she is piqued. He wonheavily this night; my soldier lost correspondingly heavily. Thediplomat pressed a loan upon his new-found friend, who, with his usualluck, lost it.
The diplomat was presented to the daughter. They owned to mutualacquaintance in Paris and Washington. The three attended the concert.The girl returned to the hotel bubbling with happiness and the echoesof enchanting melodies, for she was an accomplished musician. Sheretired and left the two men to their coffee and cigars. Theconversation took several turns, and at length stopped at diplomacy.
"It has always puzzled me," said the soldier, "how Russia finds out allshe does."
"That is easily explained. Russia has the wisdom of the serpent. Hereis a man who possesses a secret which Russia must have. They study him.If he is gallant, one day he meets a fascinating woman; if he isgreedy, he turns to find a bowl of gold at his elbow; if he seekspower, Russia points out the shortest road."
"But her knowledge of foreign army and naval strength?"
"Money does all that. Russia possesses an accurate knowledge of everyfort, ship and gun England boasts of; France, Germany, and Japan. Wehave never taken it into our heads to investigate America. Tillrecently your country as a foe to Russian interests had dropped belowthe horizon. And now Russia finds that she must proceed to do what shehas done to all other countries; that is, duplicate her rival'sfortification plans, her total military and naval strength; and soforth, and so on. The United States is not an enemy, but there arepossibilities of her becoming so. Some day she must wrest Cuba fromSpain, and then she may become a recognized quantity in the Pacific."
"The Pacific?"
"Even so. Having taken Cuba, the United States, to protect her westerncoast, will be forced to occupy the Philippines; and having taken thatarchipelago, she becomes a menace to Russian territorial expansion inthe far East. I do not always speak so frankly. But I wish you to seethe necessity of knowing all about your coast defenses."
"It can not be done!"--spiritedly. So far the American had only gambled.
"It can and will be done," smiling. "Despite the watchfulness of yourofficials, despite your secret service, despite all obstacles, Russiawill quietly gain the required information. She possesses a key toevery lock."
"And what might this key be?"--with tolerant irony.
"Gold."
"But if the United States found out what Russia was doing, there mightbe war."
"Nothing of the kind. Russia would simply deny all knowledge. The manwhom she selected to do the work would be discredited, banished,perhaps sent to Siberia to rot in the mines. No, there would be no war.Russia would weigh all these possibilities in selecting her arm. Shewould choose a man of high intellect, rich, well-known in socialcircles, a linguist, a man acquainted with all histories and all phasesof life, a diplomat, perhaps young and pleasing. You will say, why doeshe accept so base a task? When a Russian noble takes his oath in thepresence of his czar, he becomes simply an arm; he no longer thinks,his master thinks for him. He only acts. So long as he offers hisservices without remuneration, his honor remains untouched, unsullied.A paid spy is the basest of all creatures."
"Count, take care that I do not warn my country of Russia's purpose.You are telling me very strange things." The American eyed hiscompanion sharply.
"Warn the United States? I tell you, it will not matter. All Russiawould need would be a dissatisfied clerk. What could he not do withhalf a million francs?" The diplomat blew a cloud of smoke through hisnostrils and filliped the end of his cigarette.
"A hundred thousand dollars?"
The diplomat glanced amusedly at his American friend. "I suppose thatsounds small enough to you rich Americans. But to a clerk it readswealth."
The American was silent. A terrible thought flashed through his brain,a thought that he repulsed almost immediately.
"Of course, I am only speculating; nothing has been done as yet."
"Then something _is_ going to be done?" asked the American, clearinghis voice.
"One day or another. If we can not find the clerk, we shall lookhigher. We should consider a million francs well invested. America israpidly becoming a great power. But let us drop the subject and turn tosomething more agreeable to us both. Your daughter is charming. Ihonestly confess to you that I have not met her equal in any country.Pardon my presumption, but may I ask if she is engaged to be married?"
"Not to my knowledge,"--vastly surprised and at the same time pleased.
"Are you averse to foreign alliances?" The diplomat dipped the end of afresh-lighted cigar into his coffee.
"My dear Count, I am not averse to foreign alliances, but I rathersuspect that my daughter is. This aversion might be overcome, however."
What a vista was opened to this wretched father! If only she mightmarry riches, how easily he might confess what he had done, how easilyall this despair and terror might be dispersed! And here was a man whowas known in the great world, rich, young and handsome.
The other gazed dreamily at the ceiling; from there his gaze traveledabout the coffee-room, with its gathering of coffee-drinkers, and atlength came back to his _vis-a-vis_.
"You will return to Washington?" he asked.
"I shall live there for the winter; that is, I expect to."
"Doubtless we shall see each other this winter, then,"--and the countthrew away his cigar, bade his companion good night, and went to hisroom.
How adroitly he had sown the seed! At that period he had no positiveidea upon what kind of ground he had cast it. But he took that chancewhich all far-sighted men take, and then waited. There was little hehad not learned about this handsome American with the beautifuldaughter. How he had learned will always remain dark to me. My ownopinion is that he had been studying him during his tenure of office inWashington, and, with that patience which is making Russia soformidable, waited for this opportunity.
I shall give the Russian all the justice of impartiality. When he sawthe girl, he rather shrank from the affair. But he had gone too far, hehad promised too much; to withdraw now meant his own defeat, hisgovernment's anger, his political oblivion. And there was a zest inthis life of his. He could no more resist the call of intrigue than agambler can resist the croupier's, "Make your game, gentlemen!" Ibelieve that he loved the girl the moment he
set eyes upon her. Herbeauty and bearing distinguished her from the other women he had met,and her personality was so engaging that her conquest of him wascomplete and spontaneous. How to win this girl and at the same timeruin her father was an embarrassing problem. The plan which finallycame to him he repelled again and again, but at length he surrendered.To get the parent in his power and then to coerce the girl in case sherefused him! To my knowledge this affair was the first dishonorable actof a very honorable man. But love makes fools and rogues of us all.
You will question my right to call this diplomat an honest man. As Ihave said elsewhere, honor is comparative. Besides, a diplomatgenerally falls into the habit of lying successfully to himself.
When the American returned to the world, his cigar was out and hiscoffee was stale and cold.
"A million francs!" he murmured. "Two hundred thousand!"
The seed had fallen on fruitful ground.