"Yes," said Savrola; "have some whisky and soda-water,—on the sideboard there. It is a good drink to draw the sword on,—the best in fact."
Moret somewhat abashed1 turned and walking to the table began opening a soda-water bottle. As he poured out the spirit the clinking of glass and bottle betrayed his agitation2. Savrola laughed softly. Turning swiftly, his impetuous follower3 sought to hide his agitation by a fresh outburst. "I have told you throughout," he said, holding his glass on high, "that force was the only solution. It has come, as I predicted. I drink to it,—war, civil war, battle, murder, and sudden death,—by these means liberty will be regained4!"
"Wonderful soothing5 effect these cigarettes have. There's no opium6 in them either,—soft, fresh Egyptians. I get them every week from Cairo. A little, old man I met there three years ago makes them,—Abdullah Rachouan."
He held out the box. Moret took one; the business of lighting7 it steadied him; he sat down and began to smoke furiously. Savrola watched him in dreamy calmness, looking often at the smoke-wreathes that rose about him. Presently he spoke8. "So you are glad there is to be war and that people are to be killed?"
"I am glad that this tyranny is to be ended."
"Remember that we pay for every pleasure and every triumph we have in this world."
"I will take my chance."
"I trust, I would be glad if I could say with conviction, I pray, that the lot may not fall on you. But it is true nevertheless that we must pay, and for all the good things in life men pay in advance. The principles of sound finance apply."
"How do you mean?" asked Moret.
"Would you rise in the world? You must work while others amuse themselves. Are you desirous of a reputation for courage? You must risk your life. Would you be strong morally or physically9? You must resist temptations. All this is paying in advance; that is prospective10 finance. Observe the other side of the picture; the bad things are paid for afterwards."
"Not always."
"Yes, as surely as the headache of Sunday morning follows the debauch11 of Saturday night, as an idle youth is requited12 by a barren age, as a gluttonous13 appetite promotes an ungainly paunch."
"And you think I shall have to pay for this excitement and enthusiasm? You think I have paid nothing so far?"
"You will have to take risks, that is paying. Fate will often throw double or quits. But on these hazards men should not embark14 with levity15; the gentleman will always think of settling-day."
Moret was silent. Brave and impetuous as he was, the conversation chilled him. His was not the courage of the Stoic16; he had not schooled himself to contemplate17 the shock of dissolution. He fixed18 his thoughts on the struggles and hopes of the world, as one might look at the flowers and grasses that were growing on the edge of a precipice19 towards which he was being impelled20.
They remained for a few moments without speaking, till Godoy and Renos entered, having arrived simultaneously21.
Each man of the four had taken the news, which meant so much to them, according to their natures. Savrola had put on the armour23 of his philosophy, and gazed on the world as from a distance. Moret had been convulsed with excitement. The other two, neither composed nor elated by the proximity24 and the approach of danger, showed that they were not the men for stirring times.
Savrola greeted them amiably25, and all sat down. Renos was crushed. The heavy hammer of action had fallen on the delicate structures of precedent26 and technicality in which he had always trusted, and smashed them flat. Now that the crisis had arrived, the law, his shield and buckler, was first of all to be thrown away. "Why has he done this?" he asked. "What right had he to come without authorisation? He has committed us all. What can we do?"
Godoy too was shocked and frightened. He was one of those men who fear danger, who shrink from it, but yet embark deliberately27 on courses which they know must lead to it. He had long foreseen the moment of revolt, but had persisted in going on. Now it was upon him, and he trembled; still, his dignity strengthened him.
"What is to be done, Savrola?" he asked, turning instinctively28 to the greater soul and stronger mind.
"Well," said the leader, "they had no business to come without my orders; they have, as Renos has observed, committed us, while our plans are in some respects incomplete. Strelitz has disobeyed me flatly; I will settle with him later. For the present, recriminations are futile29; we have to deal with the situation. The President will know of the invasion in the morning; some of the troops here will, I take it, be ordered to strengthen the Government forces in the field. Perhaps the Guard will be sent. I think the others would refuse to march; they are thoroughly30 in sympathy with the Cause. If so we must strike, much as we have arranged. You, Moret, will call the people to arms. The Proclamation must be printed, the rifles served out, the Revolution proclaimed. All the Delegates must be notified. If the soldiers fraternise, all will be well; if not, you will have to fight—I don't think there will be much opposition—storm the palace and make Molara prisoner."
"It shall be done," said Moret.
"Meanwhile," continued Savrola, "we will proclaim the Provisional Government at the Mayoralty. Thence I shall send you orders; thither31 you must send me reports. All this will happen the day after to-morrow."
"Very well; now we will go into details. First of all, the Proclamation. I will write that to-night. Moret, you must get it printed; you shall have it at six o'clock to-morrow morning. Then prepare the arrangements we had devised for assembling and arming the people; wait till you get a written order from me to put them into action. You, Renos, must see the members of the Provisional Government. Have the constitution of the Council of Public Safety printed, and be ready to circulate it to-morrow night; yet again, wait till I give the word. Much depends on the attitude of the troops; but everything is really ready. I do not think we need fear the result."
The intricate details of the plot, for plot it was, were well known to the leaders of the revolt. For several months they had looked to force as the only means of ending the government they detested33. Savrola was not the man to commit himself to such an enterprise without taking every precaution. Nothing had been forgotten; the machinery34 of revolution only needed setting in motion. Yet in spite of the elaborate nature of the conspiracy35 and its great scale, the President and his police had been able to learn nothing definite. They feared that a rising was imminent36; they had realised the danger for some months; but it was impossible to know where the political agitation ended, and the open sedition37 began. The great social position and almost European reputation of the principal leaders had rendered their arrest without certain proof a matter of extreme difficulty. The President, believing that the people would not rise unless spurred thereto by some act of power on the part of the Executive, feared to rouse them. But for this Savrola, Moret, and the others would have already filled cells in the State Prison; indeed, they would have had much to be thankful for had their lives been spared.
But Savrola understood his position, and had played his game with consummate38 tact39 and skill. The great parade he made of the political agitation had prevented the President from observing the conspiracy to deliberate violence which lay beneath. At length the preparations were approaching completion. It had become only a matter of days; Strelitz's impetuous act had but precipitated40 the course of events. One corner of the great firework had caught light too soon; it was necessary to fire the rest lest the effect should be spoiled.
He continued to go over the details of the scheme for nearly an hour, to make sure that there should be no mistakes. At last all was finished, and the members of the embryo41 Council of Public Safety took their departure. Savrola let them out himself, not wishing to wake the old nurse. Poor soul, why should she feel the force of the struggles of ambitious men?
Moret went off full of enthusiasm; the others were gloomy and preoccupied42. Their great leader shut the door, and once more that night climbed the stairs to his chamber43.
As he reached it, the first streaks44 of morning came in through the parted curtains of the windows. The room, in the grey light with its half-empty glasses and full ashtrays45, looked like a woman, no longer young, surprised by an unsympathetic dawn in the meretricious46 paints and pomps of the previous night. It was too late to go to bed; yet he was tired, weary with that dry kind of fatigue47 which a man feels when all desire of sleep has passed away. He experienced a sensation of annoyance48 and depression. Life seemed unsatisfactory; something was lacking. When all deductions49 had been made on the scores of ambition, duty, excitement, or fame, there remained an unabsorbed residuum of pure emptiness. What was the good of it all? He thought of the silent streets; in a few hours they would echo with the crackle of musketry. Poor broken creatures would be carried bleeding to the houses, whose doors terrified women would close in the uncharitable haste of fear. Others, flicked50 out of human ken22 from solid concrete earth to unknown, unformulated abstractions, would lie limp and reproachful on the paving-stones. And for what? He could not find an answer to the question. The apology for his own actions was merged51 in the much greater apology nature would have to make for the existence of the human species. Well, he might be killed himself; and as the thought occurred to him he looked forward with a strange curiosity to that sudden change, with perhaps its great revelation. The reflection made him less dissatisfied with the shallow ends of human ambition. When the notes of life ring false, men should correct them by referring to the tuning-fork of death. It is when that clear menacing tone is heard that the love of life grows keenest in the human heart.
All men, from such moods and reflections, are recalled to earth by hard matters of fact. He remembered the proclamation he had to write, and rising plunged52 into the numerous details of the business of living, and thus forgot the barrenness of life. So he sat and wrote, while the pale glimmer53 of the dawn glowed into the clear light of sunrise and the warm tints54 of broad day.
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1
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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3
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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5
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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7
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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8
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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9
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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10
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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11
debauch
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| v.使堕落，放纵 | |
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12
requited
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| v.报答( requite的过去式和过去分词 )；酬谢；回报；报复 | |
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13
gluttonous
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| adj.贪吃的，贪婪的 | |
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14
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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18
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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19
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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23
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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24
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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26
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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27
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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28
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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29
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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30
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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31
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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32
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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35
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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36
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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37
sedition
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| n.煽动叛乱 | |
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38
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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39
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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40
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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41
embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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42
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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43
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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44
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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45
ashtrays
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| 烟灰缸( ashtray的名词复数 ) | |
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46
meretricious
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| adj.华而不实的，俗艳的 | |
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47
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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48
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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49
deductions
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| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
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50
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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51
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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52
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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53
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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54
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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