The Man from Brodney's Part 23

"Does she talk about me?" quite steadily.

"They all do. I've even heard the white handmaidens discussing you in glowing terms. You're a regular matinee hero up there, my--"

"Selim!" broke in Chase. The Arab came to the table immediately. "Don't put so much liquor in Mr. Britt's drinks after this. Mostly water."

Britt grinned amiably.

They sipped through their straws in silence for quite a while. Both were thinking of the turn affairs were taking at the chateau.

"I say, Britt, you're not responsible for this affair between Browne and Lady Deppingham, are you?" demanded Chase abruptly.

"I? What do you mean?"

"I was just wondering if you could have put Browne up to the game in the hope that a divorce or two might solve a very difficult problem."

"Now that you mention it, I'm going to look up the church and colonial divorce laws," said Britt non-committally, after a moment.

"I advise you to hurry," said Chase coolly. "If you can divorce and marry 'em inside of four weeks, with no court qualified to try the case nearer than India, you are a wonder."

Chase was in the habit of visiting the mines two or three times a week during work hours. The next morning after his conversation with Britt, he rode out to the mines. When he reached the brow of the last hill, overlooking the wide expanse in which the men toiled, he drew rein sharply and stared aghast at what lay before him.

Instead of the usual activity, there was not a man in sight. It was some time before his bewildered brain could grasp the meaning of the puzzle.

Selim, who rode behind, came up and without a word directed his master's attention to the long ridge of trees that bordered the broken hillsides.

Then he saw the miners. Five hundred half-naked brown men were congregated in the shade of the trees, far to the right. By the aid of his gla.s.ses he could see that one of their number was addressing them in an earnest, violent harangue. It was not difficult, even at that distance, to recognise the speaker as Von Blitz. From time to time, the silent watchers saw the throng exhibit violent signs of emotion. There were frequent gesticulations, occasional dances; the faint sound of shouts came across the valley.

Chase shuddered. He knew what it meant. He turned to Selim, who sat beside him like a bronze statue, staring hard at the spectacle.

"How about Allah now, Selim?" he asked sententiously.

"Allah is great, Allah is good," mumbled the Moslem youth, but without heart.

"Do you think He can save me from those dogs?" asked the master, with a kindly smile.

"Sahib, do not go among them to-day," implored Selim impulsively.

"They are expecting me, Selim. If I don't come, they will know that I have funked. They'll know I am afraid of them."

"Do not go to-day," persisted Selim doggedly. Suddenly he started, looking intently to the left along the line of the hill. Chase followed the direction of his gaze and uttered a sharp exclamation of surprise.

Several hundred yards away, outlined against the blue sky beyond the k.n.o.b, stood the motionless figure of a horse and its rider--a woman in a green habit. Chase could hardly believe his eyes. It did not require a second glance to tell him who the rider was; he could not be mistaken in that slim, proud figure. Without a moment's hesitation he turned his horse's head and rode rapidly toward her. She had left the road to ride out upon the crest of the green k.n.o.b. Chase was in the mood to curse her temerity.

As he came up over the slope, she turned in the saddle to watch his approach. He had time to see that two grooms from the stables were in the road below her. There was a momentary flash of surprise and confusion in her eyes, succeeded at once by a warm glow of excitement.

She smiled as he drew up beside her, not noticing his unconscious frown.

"So those are the fabulous mines of j.a.pat," she said gaily, without other greeting. "Where is the red glow from the rubies?"

His horse had come to a standstill beside hers. Scarcely a foot separated his boot from her animal's side. If she detected the serious look in his face, she chose to ignore it.

"Who gave you permission to ride so far from the chateau?" he demanded, almost harshly. She looked at him in amazement.

"Am I a trespa.s.ser?" she asked coldly.

"I beg your pardon," he said quickly. "I did not mean to offend. Don't you know that it is not safe for you to--"

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "I am not afraid of your shadows. Why should they disturb me?"

"Look!" He pointed to the distant a.s.semblage. "Those are not shadows.

They are men and they are making ready to transform themselves into beasts. Before long they will strike. Von Blitz and Rasula have sunk my wars.h.i.+ps. You _must_ understand that it is dangerous to leave the chateau on such rides as this. Come! We will start back together--at once."

"I protest, Mr. Chase, that you have no right to say what I shall do or--"

"It isn't a question of right. You are nearly ten miles from the chateau, in the most unfrequented part of the island. Some day you will not return to your friends. It will be too late to hunt for you then."

"How very thrilling!" she said with a laugh.

"I beg of you, do not treat it so lightly," he said, so sharply that she flushed. He was looking intently in the direction of the men. She was not slow to see that their position had been discovered by the miners.

"They have seen us," he said briefly. "It is quite possible that they do not mean to do anything desperate at this time, but you can readily see that they will resent this proof of spying on our part. They mistake me for one of the men from the chateau. Will you come with me now?"

"It seems so absurd--but I will come, of course. I have no desire to cause you any uneasiness."

As they rode swiftly back to the tree-lined road, a faint chorus of yells came to them across the valley. For some distance they rode without speaking a word to each other. They had traversed two miles of the soft dirt road before Chase discovered that Selim was the only man following them. The two men who had come out with the Princess were not in sight. He mentioned the fact to her, with a peculiar smile on his lips. They slackened the pace and Chase called Selim up from behind. The little Arab's face was a study in its display of unwonted emotion.

"Excellency," he replied, in answer to Chase's question, his voice trembling with excitement, "they left me at the bend, a mile back. They will not return to the chateau."

"The dogs! So, you see, Princess, your escort was not to be trusted,"

said Chase grimly.

"But they have stolen the horses," she murmured irrelevantly. "They belong to the chateau stables."

"Which direction did they take, Selim?"

"They rode off by the Carter's highway, Excellency, toward Aratat."

"It may not appeal to your vanity, your Highness, but it is my duty to inform you that they have gone to report our clandestine meeting."

"Clandestine! What do you mean, sir?"

"The islanders are watching me like hawks. Every time I am seen with any one from the chateau, they add a fresh nail to the coffin they are preparing for me. It's really more serious than you imagine. I must, therefore, forbid you to ride outside of the park."

They rode swiftly for another mile, silence being unbroken between them.

She was trying to reconcile her pride to the justice of his command.

"I daresay you are right, Mr. Chase," she said at last, quite frankly.

"I thank you."

"I am glad that you understand," he said simply. His gaze was set straight before him, keen, alert, anxious. They were riding through a dark stretch of forest; the foliage came down almost to their faces; there was an almost impenetrable green wall on either side of them. He knew, and she was beginning to suspect, that danger lurked in the peaceful, sweet-smelling shades.

"I begin to fear, Mr. Chase," she said, with a faint smile, "that Lady Deppingham deceived me in suggesting j.a.pat as a rest cure. It may interest you to know that the court at Rapp-Thorberg has been very gay this winter. Much has happened in the past few months."