The International Spy. Upward Allen

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СКАЧАТЬ closed behind him I sprang to the fireplace, rescued the still burning cigarette and quenched it, and then, carefully brushing away the dust, read the maker’s brand once more.

      An hour later simultaneous messages were speeding over the wires to my correspondents in London, Amsterdam and Hamburg:

      Ascertain what becomes of all cigarettes made by Gregorides; brand, Crown Aa.

      CHAPTER IV

      THE CZAR’S AUTOGRAPH

      The next morning at breakfast I found the two invitations already promised. That of the head of the Manchurian Syndicate was for the same night.

      Resolved not to remain in the dark any longer as to the reason for this apparent breach of etiquette, I decided to do what the Marquis of Bedale had suggested, namely, approach the Dowager Empress in person.

      Well accustomed to the obstacles which beset access to royalty, I drove to the Palace in a richly appointed carriage from the best livery stable in Petersburg, and sent in my card to the chamberlain by an equerry.

      “I have a message to the Czaritza which I am instructed to give to her majesty in person,” I told him. “Be good enough to let her know that the messenger from the Queen of England has arrived.”

      He went out of the room, and at the end of ten minutes the door opened again and admitted – the Princess Y – !

      Overpowered by this unlucky accident, as I at first supposed it to be, I rose to my feet, muttering some vague phrase of courtesy.

      But the Princess soon showed me that the meeting did not take her by surprise.

      “So you have a message for my dear mistress?” she cried in an accent of gay reproach. “And you never breathed a word of it to me. Mr. Sterling, I shall begin to think you are a conspirator. How long did you say you had known that good Mr. Place? But I am talking while her majesty is waiting. Have you any password by which the Czaritza will know whom you come from?”

      “I can tell that only to her majesty, I am afraid,” I answered guardedly.

      “I am in her majesty’s confidence.”

      And bringing her exquisite face so near to mine that I was oppressed by the scent of the tuberoses in her bosom, she whispered three syllables in my ear.

      Dismayed by this proof of the fatal progress the dangerous police agent had already made, I could only admit by a silent bow that the password was correct.

      “Then come with me, Mr. Sterling,” the Princess said with what sounded like a malicious accent on the name.

      The reception which I met from the Dowager Empress was gracious in the extreme. I need not recount all that passed. Her imperial majesty repeated with evident sincerity the assurances which had already been given me in a different spirit by the two arch-intriguers.

      “There will be no war. The Czar has personally intervened. He has taken the negotiations out of the hands of Count Lamsdorff, and written an autograph letter to the Mikado which will put an end to the crisis.”

      I listened with a distrust which I could not wholly conceal.

      “I trust his majesty has not intervened too late,” I said respectfully, my mind bent on framing some excuse to get rid of the listener. “According to the newspapers the patience of the Japanese is nearly exhausted.”

      “No more time will be lost,” the Czaritza responded. “The messenger leaves Petersburg to-night with the Czar’s letter.”

      I stole a cautious glance in the direction of the Princess Y – . She was breathing deeply, her eyes fixed on the Czaritza’s lips, and her hands tightly clenched.

      I put on an air of great relief.

      “In that case, your majesty, I have no more to do in Petersburg. I will wire the good news to Lord Bedale, and return to England to-morrow or the next day. I beg your pardon, Princess!” I pretended to exclaim by a sudden afterthought, “after the next day.” And turning once more to the mother of the Czar, I explained:

      “The Princess has honored me with an invitation to dinner.”

      The Dowager Empress glanced at her attendant in evident surprise.

      “I must implore your pardon, Madam,” the Princess stammered, in real confusion. “I am aware I ought to have solicited your leave in the first place, but knowing that this gentleman came from – ”

      She broke off, fairly unable to meet the questioning gaze of her imperial mistress.

      I pretended to come to her relief.

      “I have a private message,” I said to the Empress.

      “You may leave us, Princess,” the Empress said coldly.

      As soon as the door had closed on her, I gave a warning look at the Czaritza.

      “That woman, Madam, is the most dangerous agent in the secret service of your Empire.”

      I trusted to the little scene I had just contrived to prepare the mind of the Czaritza for this intimation. But she received it as a matter of course.

      “Sophia Y – has been all that you say, Monsieur V – . I am well acquainted with her history. The poor thing has been a victim of the most fiendish cruelty on the part of the Minister of Police, for years. At last, unable to bear her position any longer, she appealed to me. She told me her harrowing story, and implored me to receive her, and secure her admission to a convent. I investigated the case thoroughly.”

      “Your majesty will pardon me, I am sure, if I say that as a man with some experience of intrigue, I thoroughly distrust that woman’s sincerity. She is intimate with M. Petrovitch, to my knowledge.”

      “But M. Petrovitch is also on the side of peace, so I am assured.”

      I began to despair.

      “You will believe me, or disbelieve me as your majesty pleases. But I am accustomed to work for those who honor me with their entire confidence. If the Princess Y – is to be taken into the secret of my work on your majesty’s behalf, I must respectfully ask to be released.”

      As I offered her majesty this alternative in a firm voice, I was inwardly trembling. On the reply hung, perhaps, the fate of two continents.

      But the Dowager Empress did not hesitate.

      “What you stipulate for shall be done, Monsieur V – . I am too well aware of the value of your services, and the claims you have on the confidence of your employers, to dispute your conditions.”

      “The messenger who is starting to-night – does the Princess know who he is?”

      “I believe so. It is no secret. The messenger is Colonel Menken.”

      “In that case he will never reach Tokio.”

      Her majesty could not suppress a look of horror.

      “What do you advise?” she demanded tremulously.

      “His majesty the Czar must at once write a duplicate of the despatch, unknown to any living soul but your СКАЧАТЬ