CHAPTER VI
PUT TO THE TORTURE
I awoke with a feeling of intense cold, the fire was out, and I waslying outside the bed without covering.
The day had fully broken, and there was even an attempt on the part ofthe sun to pierce the heavy mists of a November morning. I lookedaround out of the windows, and saw the hills topped with cloud in everydirection.
Drawing the rough blankets over me, I lay and thought. My firstyearning was for something to eat; I had tasted nothing since lunch theprevious day; I was fearfully hungry.
I had lain thus perhaps half an hour between sleeping and waking, whena key was put in the door and it opened, admitting a big, dark man witha long, black beard; he bore in his hands a small table which he placedin the middle of the room.
"Now," I said to myself, "this means breakfast."
I was mistaken.
He brought in next a square box, not unlike the case of a sewingmachine, and placed it on the table.
"What can this be?" I muttered as I watched him closely.
In a few minutes footsteps were heard on the stairs, and another manjoined him. A great strong fellow with a fair moustache. The two ofthem wheeled a large chair with glass arms to it, which I had notnoticed before, from one corner of the room, and placed it on one sideof the table.
The preparations now had all the appearance of the commencement of someperformance; it only needed the principal actor to appear.
He was not long in coming.
Meanwhile, I wondered why the chair had glass arms to it.
I noticed that the two men, who now stood idly looking out of thewindows, did not wear uniforms. They were dressed in ordinaryrough-looking clothes of foreign cut; it struck me as very strange. Iasked them who they were.
"Are you the warders of the prison?" I said.
"Hein!" the dark one inquired.
"Are you the warders of the prison?" I repeated.
"Find out, _verdammt Englander_," the man replied.
Then I felt certain I was in no English prison. Where was I?
The question was soon answered, the door once more opened and_Saumarez_ entered. I sat up on the bed and fairly gasped; the wholematter was perfectly unintelligible to me. After the first thrill ofastonishment my glance went to his eyes.
They were complete; he had another glass one in the socket, and itexactly matched the real one.
He came towards me with a little bow, and a smile on his redcountenance.
"Good morning, Mr. Anstruther," he began, "we seem to be alwaysmeeting."
I could not restrain my feelings.
"That is my misfortune," I answered.
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Perhaps so," he answered casually, "that remains to be seen."
He said some words in German to the two men, which I imperfectlyunderstood, but it seemed to be an order to lift me off the bed, forthey immediately did it.
Then one of them unlocked my chain, and the two of them carried me tothe chair, and sat me in it.
I now realised that I was in a desperate condition.
"I insist on knowing," I cried to Saumarez, "why I was brought here.It is very evident that I have been tricked."
Saumarez laughed--a low laugh of enjoyment.
"You certainly came here under a false impression," he sniggered; "asfor the reason of your coming, you will soon know it. Now, to beginwith, where is the key of the safe at 190 Monmouth Street. You havebeen thoroughly searched and we cannot find it.
"You are not likely to," I answered. "It is in a place where youcannot get at it."
"Indeed!" replied Saumarez. "What place is that?"
"I shall not tell you."
"We shall see," he remarked laconically.
As he spoke, he motioned to the two men to do something with the box onthe table.
As they moved towards it, I heard the double report of a sporting gunnot far off. Evidently some one was out shooting.
The men went to the table, and, taking off the square lid of the box,disclosed a large galvanic battery!
My blood began to run cold as an awful idea formed itself in my mind.
"Secure him in the chair!" Saumarez said sharply in German.
Before the men could reach me, I darted out of the chair towards thedoor, but they were too quick for me and caught me before I reached it.They carried me back struggling to the chair, and one held me down init while the other passed thick straps round me, holding me fast in it,hand and foot. I found, when they had done with me, that my two handswere strapped firmly to the glass arms of the chair.
Lying back in the chair I noticed high up in the roof an old cobwebbedwindow, the top of which was standing open for purposes of ventilation.It looked as if it had not been interfered with for years.
In the position I was in, I could not very well see what was going onin the room, but the next thing I experienced was feeling my wristsbeing encircled apparently with wire. I gave one convulsive struggleto get free, but it was useless I knew well now what they were goingto do.
They were going to torture me by giving me galvanic shocks, and passingstrong currents through my body.
I had heard of the torture being applied in Russia to politicalprisoners.
I had, when a boy, patronised those machines which professed to tryone's "nerve." I had held the two handles and watched the proprietordraw out the rod from the coil to increase the strength of the current.I knew how unbearable _that_ feeling could become even with a _weak_battery. What would it be with this _strong_ one?
Saumarez' voice broke in upon me.
"Where is the key of the safe?"
I was enraged at the sound of his voice.
"You shall never know, you vile devil!" I cried.
"Give it to him," he exclaimed sharply to the two men in German. As hespoke I heard the sharp report of two sporting guns, one charged withblack powder, one, from its quick sharp crack, with smokeless, _quitenear_. There were two sportsmen.
Then--oh my God!--began that awful torture of a strong current ofelectricity passing up my arms.
I threw back my head and cried with all my strength, directing my voiceto the open window far above me in the roof of the tower--
"Help! Murder! Help!"
And immediately, to my great joy, I heard an answering shout!
"_Donner und blitzen_!" cried Saumarez, "he has attracted theirattention! Stop his mouth!"
Immediately I felt a handkerchief being rammed into my mouth, but fromfar below came the sound of hard knocking on the door of the tower, andmen's voices shouting.
Saumarez rapped out a fearful oath, and gave an order to the men.
"You must carry him down below and drop him through the trap door intothe vaults," he cried. "You will have plenty of time to do it if youare quick. Unbind him, sharp now!"
The two men commenced to do as he told them and very soon had thestraps off me, then they carried me between them towards the door afterfirmly securing the gag in my mouth.
They had got about half-way down the spiral staircase with me, Saumarezfollowing behind, and I was in an agony of mind that they would succeedin reaching the vaults with me, when I heard the door burst in below,and a cheer from several voices, followed by rapid footsteps on thesteps.
"It's no good," cried Saumarez with another oath, "drop him and followme up to the roof."
They did drop me very roughly on the stone stairs, but before they wentI heard one of the men cry out--
"Don't kill him in cold blood!"
Then there came the click of a pistol lock followed by a deafeningreport, and a bullet struck the step I was lying on about an inch frommy temple. There was a scuffling of feet on the stairs above, mingledwith words of remonstrance in German; the two men were hurryingSaumarez away.
The report and the impact of the bullet had half stunned me, but I satup, and my hands being free, tore the gag out of my mouth. At the sametime, rapid footsteps
came up the stairs, and, in a few moments, Ifound a very familiar face, with an absolutely astounded expression onit looking down into mine.
"In Heaven's name!" a well-known voice cried, "what are you doing here,Bill?"
It was my cousin, Lord St. Nivel, a subaltern in the Coldstream Guards!