章节正文
Madame de Mauban's appeal, I seemed as powerless to befriend her
as I had proved to help the King. Michael bade me defiance;
and although he too had been seen outside the walls, with more
disregard for appearances than he had hitherto shown,
he did not take the trouble to send any excuse for his failure
to wait on the King. Time ran on in inactivity, when every moment
was pressing; for not only was I faced with the new danger which
the stir about my disappearance brought on me, but great murmurs
had arisen in Strelsau at my continued absence from the city.
They had been greater, but for the knowledge that Flavia was with me;
and for this reason I suffered her to stay, though I hated to have her
where danger was, and though every day of our present sweet intercourse
strained my endurance almost to breaking. As a final blow,
nothing would content my advisers, Strakencz and the Chancellor
(who came out from Strelsau to make an urgentrepresentation to me),
save that I should appoint a day for the public solemnization of my betrothal,
a ceremony which in Ruritania is well nigh as binding and great a thing
as the marriage itself. And this--with Flavia sitting by me--
I was forced to do, setting a date a fortnight ahead, and appointing
the Cathedral in Strelsau as the place. And this formal act being
published far and wide, caused great joy throughout the kingdom,
and was the talk of all tongues; so that I reckoned there were
but two men who chafed at it--I mean Black Michael and myself;
and but one who did not know of it--that one the man whose
name I bore, the King of Ruritania.
In truth, I heard something of the way the news was received
in the Castle; for after an interval of three days, the man Johann,
greedy for more money, though fearful for his life, again found
means to visit us. He had been waiting on the duke when the
tidings came. Black Michael's face had grown blacker still,
and he had sworn savagely; nor was he better pleased when young
Rupert took oath that I meant to do as I said, and turning to
Madame de Mauban, wished her joy on a rival gone. Michael's
hand stole towards his sword (said Johann), but not a bit did
Rupert care; for he rallied the duke on having made a better
King than had reigned for years past in Ruritania.
"And," said he, with a meaning bow to his exasperated master,
"the devil sends the princess a finer man than heaven had marked
out for her, by my soul, it does!" Then Michael harshly bade him
hold his tongue, and leave them; but Rupert must needs first
kiss madame's hand, which he did as though he loved her,
while Michael glared at him.
This was the lighter side of the fellow's news; but more
serious came behind, and it was plain that if time pressed
at Tarlenheim, it pressed none the less fiercely at Zenda.
For the King was very sick: Johann had seen him, and he was wasted
and hardly able to move. "There could be no thought of taking
another for him now." So alarmed were they, that they had sent
for a physician from Strelsau; and the physician having been
introduced into the King's cell, had come forth pale and trembling,
and urgently prayed the duke to let him go back and meddle
no more in the affair; but the duke would not, and held him
there a prisoner, telling him his life was safe if the King lived
while the duke desired and died when the duke desired--not otherwise.
And, persuaded by the physician, they had allowed Madame de Mauban
to visit the King and give him such attendance as his state needed,
and as only a woman can give. Yet his life hung in the balance;
and I was still strong and whole and free. Wherefore great gloom reigned
at Zenda; and save when they quarrelled, to which they were very prone,
they hardly spoke. But the deeper the depression of the rest,
young Rupert went about Satan's work with a smile in his eye
and a song on his lip; and laughed "fit to burst" (said Johann)
because the duke always set Detchard to guard the King when
Madame de Mauban was in the cell--which precaution was, indeed,
not unwise in my careful brother. Thus Johann told his tale
and seized his crowns. Yet he besought us to allow him to stay
with us in Tarlenheim, and not venture his head again in the lion's den;
but we had need of him there, and, although I refused to constrain him,
I prevailed on him by increased rewards to go back and carry tidings
to Madame de Mauban that I was working for her, and that, if she could,
she should speak one word of comfort to the King. For while suspense
is bad for the sick, yet despair is worse still, and it might be
that the King lay dying of mere hopelessness, for I could learn
of no definite disease that afflicted him.
"And how do they guard the King now?" I asked,
remembering that two of the Six were dead, and Max Holf also.
"Detchard and Bersonin watch by night, Rupert Hentzau
and De Gautet by day, sir," he answered.
"Only two at a time?"
"Ay, sir; but the others rest in a room just above,
and are within sound of a cry or a whistle."
"A room just above? I didn't know of that. Is there any
communication between it and the room where they watch?"
"No, sir. You must go down a few stairs and through
the door by the drawbridge, and so to where the King is lodged."
"And that door is locked?"
"Only the four lords have keys, sir."
I drew nearer to him.
"And have they keys of the grating?" I asked in a low whisper.
"I think, sir, only Detchard and Rupert."
"Where does the duke lodge?"
"In the chateau, on the first floor. His apartments
are on the right as you go towards the drawbridge."
"And Madame de Mauban?"
"Just opposite, on the left. But her door is locked after
she has entered."
"To keep her in?"
"Doubtless, sir."
"Perhaps for another reason?"
"It is possible."
"And the duke, I suppose, has the key?"
"Yes. And the drawbridge is drawn back at night, and of that,
too, the duke holds the key, so that it cannot be run across
the moat without application to him."
"And where do you sleep?"
"In the entrance hall of the chateau, with five servants."
"Armed?"
"They have pikes, sir, but no firearms. The duke will not
trust them with firearms."
Then at last I took the matter boldly in my hands. I had failed
once at "Jacob's Ladder;" I should fail again there. I must make
the attack from the other side.
"I have promised you twenty thousand crowns," said I.
"You shall have fifty thousand if you will do what
I ask of you tomorrow night. But, first, do those
servants know who your prisoner is?"
"No, sir. They believe him to be some private enemy
of the duke's."
"And they would not doubt that I am the King?"
"How should they?" he asked.
"Look to this, then. Tomorrow, at two in the morning exactly,
fling open the front door of the chateau. Don't fail by an instant."
"Shall you be there, sir?"
"Ask no questions. Do what I tell you. Say the hall is close,
or what you will. That is all I ask of you."
"And may I escape by the door, sir, when I have opened it?"
"Yes, as quick as your legs will carry you. One thing more.
Carry this note to madame--oh, it's in French, you can't read it--
and charge her, for the sake of all our lives, not to fail
in what it orders."
The man was trembling but I had to trust to what he had of courage
and to what he had of honesty. I dared not wait, for I feared
that the King would die.
When the fellow was gone, I called Sapt and Fritz to me, and unfolded
the plan that I had formed. Sapt shook his head over it.
"Why can't you wait?" he asked.
"The King may die."
"Michael will be forced to act before that."
"Then," said I, "the King may live."
"Well, and if he does?"
"For a fortnight?" I asked simply.
And Sapt bit his moustache.
Suddenly Fritz von Tarlenheim laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Let us go and make the attempt," said he.
"I mean you to go--don't be afraid," said I.
"Ay, but do you stay here, and take care of the princess."
A gleam came into old Sapt's eye.
"We should have Michael one way or the other then," he chuckled;
"whereas if you go and are killed with the King, what will become
of those of us who are left?"
"They will serve Queen Flavia," said I, "and I would to God
I could be one of them."
A pause followed. Old Sapt broke it by saying sadly, yet with
an unmeant drollery that set Fritz and me laughing:
"Why didn't old Rudolf the Third marry your--great-grandmother, was it?"
"Come," said I, "it is the King we are thinking about."
"It is true," said Fritz.
"Moreover," I went on, "I have been an impostor for the profit
of another, but I will not be one for my own; and if the King
is not alive and on his throne before the day of betrothal comes,
I will tell the truth, come what may."
"You shall go, lad," said Sapt.
Here is the plan I had made. A strong party under Sapt's command
was to steal up to the door of the chateau. If discovered prematurely,
they were to kill anyone who found them--with their swords, for I wanted
no noise of firing. If all went well, they would be at the door when
Johann opened it. They were to rush in and secure the servants
if their mere presence and the use of the King's name were not enough.
At the same moment--and on this hinged the plan--a woman's cry was to
ring out loud and shrill from Antoinette de Mauban's chamber.
Again and again she was to cry: "Help, help! Michael, help!"
and then to utter the name of young Rupert Hentzau. Then, as we
hoped, Michael, in fury, would rush out of his apartments opposite,
and fall alive into the hands of Sapt. Still the cries would go on;
and my men would let down the drawbridge; and it would be strange if
Rupert, hearing his name thus taken in vain, did not descend from where
he slept and seek to cross. De Gautet might or might not come with him:
that must be left to chance.
And when Rupert set his foot on the drawbridge? There was my part:
for I was minded for another swim in the moat; and, lest I should grow weary,
I had resolved to take with me a small woodenladder, on which I could rest
my arms in the water--and my feet when I left it. I would rear it against
the wall just by the bridge; and when the bridge was across, I would
stealthily creep on to it--and then if Rupert or De Gautet crossed
in safety, it would be my misfortune, not my fault. They dead,
two men only would remain; and for them we must trust to the confusion
we had created and to a sudden rush. We should have the keys
of the door that led to the all-important rooms. Perhaps they
would rush out. If they stood by their orders, then the King's life
hung on the swiftness with which we could force the outer door;
and I thanked God that not Rupert Hentzau watched, but Detchard.
For though Detchard was a cool man, relentless, and no coward,
he had neither the dash nor the recklessness of Rupert.
Moreover, he, if any one of them, really loved Black Michael,
and it might be that he would leave Bersonin to guard the King,
and rush across the bridge to take part in the affray on the other side.
So I planned--desperately. And, that our enemy might be the better
lulled to security, I gave orders that our residence should be brilliantly
lighted from top to bottom, as though we were engaged in revelry;
and should so be kept all night, with music playing and people
moving to and fro. Strakencz would be there, and he was to conceal
as I had proved to help the King. Michael bade me defiance;
and although he too had been seen outside the walls, with more
disregard for appearances than he had hitherto shown,
he did not take the trouble to send any excuse for his failure
to wait on the King. Time ran on in inactivity, when every moment
was pressing; for not only was I faced with the new danger which
the stir about my disappearance brought on me, but great murmurs
had arisen in Strelsau at my continued absence from the city.
They had been greater, but for the knowledge that Flavia was with me;
and for this reason I suffered her to stay, though I hated to have her
where danger was, and though every day of our present sweet intercourse
strained my endurance almost to breaking. As a final blow,
nothing would content my advisers, Strakencz and the Chancellor
(who came out from Strelsau to make an urgentrepresentation to me),
save that I should appoint a day for the public solemnization of my betrothal,
a ceremony which in Ruritania is well nigh as binding and great a thing
as the marriage itself. And this--with Flavia sitting by me--
I was forced to do, setting a date a fortnight ahead, and appointing
the Cathedral in Strelsau as the place. And this formal act being
published far and wide, caused great joy throughout the kingdom,
and was the talk of all tongues; so that I reckoned there were
but two men who chafed at it--I mean Black Michael and myself;
and but one who did not know of it--that one the man whose
name I bore, the King of Ruritania.
In truth, I heard something of the way the news was received
in the Castle; for after an interval of three days, the man Johann,
greedy for more money, though fearful for his life, again found
means to visit us. He had been waiting on the duke when the
tidings came. Black Michael's face had grown blacker still,
and he had sworn savagely; nor was he better pleased when young
Rupert took oath that I meant to do as I said, and turning to
Madame de Mauban, wished her joy on a rival gone. Michael's
hand stole towards his sword (said Johann), but not a bit did
Rupert care; for he rallied the duke on having made a better
King than had reigned for years past in Ruritania.
"And," said he, with a meaning bow to his exasperated master,
"the devil sends the princess a finer man than heaven had marked
out for her, by my soul, it does!" Then Michael harshly bade him
hold his tongue, and leave them; but Rupert must needs first
kiss madame's hand, which he did as though he loved her,
while Michael glared at him.
This was the lighter side of the fellow's news; but more
serious came behind, and it was plain that if time pressed
at Tarlenheim, it pressed none the less fiercely at Zenda.
For the King was very sick: Johann had seen him, and he was wasted
and hardly able to move. "There could be no thought of taking
another for him now." So alarmed were they, that they had sent
for a physician from Strelsau; and the physician having been
introduced into the King's cell, had come forth pale and trembling,
and urgently prayed the duke to let him go back and meddle
no more in the affair; but the duke would not, and held him
there a prisoner, telling him his life was safe if the King lived
while the duke desired and died when the duke desired--not otherwise.
And, persuaded by the physician, they had allowed Madame de Mauban
to visit the King and give him such attendance as his state needed,
and as only a woman can give. Yet his life hung in the balance;
and I was still strong and whole and free. Wherefore great gloom reigned
at Zenda; and save when they quarrelled, to which they were very prone,
they hardly spoke. But the deeper the depression of the rest,
young Rupert went about Satan's work with a smile in his eye
and a song on his lip; and laughed "fit to burst" (said Johann)
because the duke always set Detchard to guard the King when
Madame de Mauban was in the cell--which precaution was, indeed,
not unwise in my careful brother. Thus Johann told his tale
and seized his crowns. Yet he besought us to allow him to stay
with us in Tarlenheim, and not venture his head again in the lion's den;
but we had need of him there, and, although I refused to constrain him,
I prevailed on him by increased rewards to go back and carry tidings
to Madame de Mauban that I was working for her, and that, if she could,
she should speak one word of comfort to the King. For while suspense
is bad for the sick, yet despair is worse still, and it might be
that the King lay dying of mere hopelessness, for I could learn
of no definite disease that afflicted him.
"And how do they guard the King now?" I asked,
remembering that two of the Six were dead, and Max Holf also.
"Detchard and Bersonin watch by night, Rupert Hentzau
and De Gautet by day, sir," he answered.
"Only two at a time?"
"Ay, sir; but the others rest in a room just above,
and are within sound of a cry or a whistle."
"A room just above? I didn't know of that. Is there any
communication between it and the room where they watch?"
"No, sir. You must go down a few stairs and through
the door by the drawbridge, and so to where the King is lodged."
"And that door is locked?"
"Only the four lords have keys, sir."
I drew nearer to him.
"And have they keys of the grating?" I asked in a low whisper.
"I think, sir, only Detchard and Rupert."
"Where does the duke lodge?"
"In the chateau, on the first floor. His apartments
are on the right as you go towards the drawbridge."
"And Madame de Mauban?"
"Just opposite, on the left. But her door is locked after
she has entered."
"To keep her in?"
"Doubtless, sir."
"Perhaps for another reason?"
"It is possible."
"And the duke, I suppose, has the key?"
"Yes. And the drawbridge is drawn back at night, and of that,
too, the duke holds the key, so that it cannot be run across
the moat without application to him."
"And where do you sleep?"
"In the entrance hall of the chateau, with five servants."
"Armed?"
"They have pikes, sir, but no firearms. The duke will not
trust them with firearms."
Then at last I took the matter boldly in my hands. I had failed
once at "Jacob's Ladder;" I should fail again there. I must make
the attack from the other side.
"I have promised you twenty thousand crowns," said I.
"You shall have fifty thousand if you will do what
I ask of you tomorrow night. But, first, do those
servants know who your prisoner is?"
"No, sir. They believe him to be some private enemy
of the duke's."
"And they would not doubt that I am the King?"
"How should they?" he asked.
"Look to this, then. Tomorrow, at two in the morning exactly,
fling open the front door of the chateau. Don't fail by an instant."
"Shall you be there, sir?"
"Ask no questions. Do what I tell you. Say the hall is close,
or what you will. That is all I ask of you."
"And may I escape by the door, sir, when I have opened it?"
"Yes, as quick as your legs will carry you. One thing more.
Carry this note to madame--oh, it's in French, you can't read it--
and charge her, for the sake of all our lives, not to fail
in what it orders."
The man was trembling but I had to trust to what he had of courage
and to what he had of honesty. I dared not wait, for I feared
that the King would die.
When the fellow was gone, I called Sapt and Fritz to me, and unfolded
the plan that I had formed. Sapt shook his head over it.
"Why can't you wait?" he asked.
"The King may die."
"Michael will be forced to act before that."
"Then," said I, "the King may live."
"Well, and if he does?"
"For a fortnight?" I asked simply.
And Sapt bit his moustache.
Suddenly Fritz von Tarlenheim laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Let us go and make the attempt," said he.
"I mean you to go--don't be afraid," said I.
"Ay, but do you stay here, and take care of the princess."
A gleam came into old Sapt's eye.
"We should have Michael one way or the other then," he chuckled;
"whereas if you go and are killed with the King, what will become
of those of us who are left?"
"They will serve Queen Flavia," said I, "and I would to God
I could be one of them."
A pause followed. Old Sapt broke it by saying sadly, yet with
an unmeant drollery that set Fritz and me laughing:
"Why didn't old Rudolf the Third marry your--great-grandmother, was it?"
"Come," said I, "it is the King we are thinking about."
"It is true," said Fritz.
"Moreover," I went on, "I have been an impostor for the profit
of another, but I will not be one for my own; and if the King
is not alive and on his throne before the day of betrothal comes,
I will tell the truth, come what may."
"You shall go, lad," said Sapt.
Here is the plan I had made. A strong party under Sapt's command
was to steal up to the door of the chateau. If discovered prematurely,
they were to kill anyone who found them--with their swords, for I wanted
no noise of firing. If all went well, they would be at the door when
Johann opened it. They were to rush in and secure the servants
if their mere presence and the use of the King's name were not enough.
At the same moment--and on this hinged the plan--a woman's cry was to
ring out loud and shrill from Antoinette de Mauban's chamber.
Again and again she was to cry: "Help, help! Michael, help!"
and then to utter the name of young Rupert Hentzau. Then, as we
hoped, Michael, in fury, would rush out of his apartments opposite,
and fall alive into the hands of Sapt. Still the cries would go on;
and my men would let down the drawbridge; and it would be strange if
Rupert, hearing his name thus taken in vain, did not descend from where
he slept and seek to cross. De Gautet might or might not come with him:
that must be left to chance.
And when Rupert set his foot on the drawbridge? There was my part:
for I was minded for another swim in the moat; and, lest I should grow weary,
I had resolved to take with me a small woodenladder, on which I could rest
my arms in the water--and my feet when I left it. I would rear it against
the wall just by the bridge; and when the bridge was across, I would
stealthily creep on to it--and then if Rupert or De Gautet crossed
in safety, it would be my misfortune, not my fault. They dead,
two men only would remain; and for them we must trust to the confusion
we had created and to a sudden rush. We should have the keys
of the door that led to the all-important rooms. Perhaps they
would rush out. If they stood by their orders, then the King's life
hung on the swiftness with which we could force the outer door;
and I thanked God that not Rupert Hentzau watched, but Detchard.
For though Detchard was a cool man, relentless, and no coward,
he had neither the dash nor the recklessness of Rupert.
Moreover, he, if any one of them, really loved Black Michael,
and it might be that he would leave Bersonin to guard the King,
and rush across the bridge to take part in the affray on the other side.
So I planned--desperately. And, that our enemy might be the better
lulled to security, I gave orders that our residence should be brilliantly
lighted from top to bottom, as though we were engaged in revelry;
and should so be kept all night, with music playing and people
moving to and fro. Strakencz would be there, and he was to conceal
- absence [´æbsəns]
n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词) - appoint [ə´pɔint] vt.安排；委派；任命 (初中英语单词)
- ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
- cathedral [kə´θi:drəl] n.大教堂 (初中英语单词)
- formal [´fɔ:məl] a.正式的；外表的 (初中英语单词)
- interval [´intəvəl] n.间隙；(工间)休息 (初中英语单词)
- fearful [´fiəfəl] a.可怕的；担心的 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- fiercely [´fiəsli] ad.凶猛地，残忍地 (初中英语单词)
- physician [fi´ziʃən] n.(内科)医生 (初中英语单词)
- depression [di´preʃən] n.沮丧，抑郁；萧条 (初中英语单词)
- venture [´ventʃə] n.投机 v.冒险；敢于 (初中英语单词)
- working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
- despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)
- definite [´definit] a.确定的，明确的 (初中英语单词)
- application [,æpli´keiʃən] n.申请；申请书；应用 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- descend [di´send] v.下来，下降 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- security [si´kjuəriti] n.安全；证券；抵押品 (初中英语单词)
- residence [´rezidəns] n.居住(期间)；住宅 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- appeal [ə´pi:l] vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉 (高中英语单词)
- hitherto [,hiðə´tu:] ad.至今，迄今 (高中英语单词)
- endurance [in´djuərəns] n.忍受(耐)；耐力 (高中英语单词)
- representation [,reprizen´teiʃən] n.描写；表现(法) (高中英语单词)
- fortnight [´fɔ:tnait] n.两星期 (高中英语单词)
- precaution [pri´kɔ:ʃən] n.预防 vt.预先警告 (高中英语单词)
- boldly [´bəuldli] ad.大胆地；醒目地 (高中英语单词)
- honesty [´ɔnisti] n.诚实，老实 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)
- hinged [´hindʒd] a.用(有)铰链的 (高中英语单词)
- shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- ladder [´lædə] n.梯子；阶梯 (高中英语单词)
- misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)
- befriend [bi´frend] vt.亲近；帮助 (英语四级单词)
- arisen [ə´rizn] arise的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
- urgent [´ə:dʒənt] a.急迫的，紧急的 (英语四级单词)
- binding [´baindiŋ] a.捆绑的 n.捆绑(物) (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- savagely [´sævidʒli] ad.野蛮地；原始地 (英语四级单词)
- wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)
- besought [bi´sɔ:t] beseech过去式(分词) (英语四级单词)
- constrain [kən´strein] vt.强逼；强使 (英语四级单词)
- chateau [´ʃætəu] n.城堡；公馆，邸宅 (英语四级单词)
- resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)
- bridge [bridʒ] n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌 (英语四级单词)
- powerless [´pauələs] a.软弱的；无资源的 (英语六级单词)
- disappearance [,disə´piərəns] n.消失；失踪 (英语六级单词)
- harshly [´hɑ:ʃli] ad.粗糙地，冷酷地 (英语六级单词)
- unwise [ʌn´waiz] a.不聪明的，愚笨的 (英语六级单词)
- minded [´maindid] a.有...心的 (英语六级单词)
- swiftness [´swiftnis] n.迅速，敏捷 (英语六级单词)
- relentless [ri´lentləs] a.无情的；坚韧的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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