The records of the Revolution were gone. The body of Miguel de Pintra was gone. Thank God, the great and glorious Cause was as yet safe!
Valcour was on his hands and knees, prying3 into the corners for some scrap that might have been overlooked.
Paola stood beside me with the old aggravating4 simper upon his face, twirling one end of his moustache.
Suddenly Valcour stood up and faced him.
“Traitor5!” he cried, with a passionate6 193gesture, “it is you who have done this! It is you who have led us here only to humiliate7 us and laugh at us!”
“Your Majesty,” said Paola, without moving his head, “will you kindly8 protect me from the insults of your servants?”
“Have peace, Valcour!” growled9 the Emperor. “Senhor Francisco has proved his loyalty10, and doubtless shares our chagrin11. Come, gentlemen, let us leave this dismal12 place.”
I followed slowly in the train of the party as it wound its way through the narrow passage and up the iron stairs into the library. My hand-cuffs had been removed when I was brought to open the vault, and an idea came to me to lag behind and try to effect my escape from the house.
But Valcour was waiting for me at the trap door, and called Captain de Souza to guard me. I was taken to the large room on the ground floor, from whence they had brought me, thrust through the doorway13, and the key turned upon me.
Piexoto had been taken elsewhere, and I found myself alone.
194My thoughts were naturally confused by the amazing discovery we had just made, and I was so engaged in wondering what had become of Dom Miguel and the records that I scarcely looked up when the door opened to admit Francisco Paola.
He had in his hand a small parcel that looked like a box, which he placed upon a table near the open window.
Next he drew a note-book from his pocket, scribbled14 some lines upon three several leaves, and then, tearing them out, he reached within the box, taking care to lift but a portion of the cover, and busied himself some moments in a way that made me wonder what he could be doing. I had no suspicion of the truth until he carried the box to the window and quickly removed the cover. Then, although his back was toward me, I heard a rapid flutter of wings, followed by a strange silence, and I knew that Paola was following with his eyes the flight of the birds he had liberated15.
“So, my dear Minister, I have at last discovered your secret!” said a sharp voice, and as Paola whirled about I noted16 that 195Valcour had entered the room and was standing17 with folded arms and eyes that sparkled triumphantly18.
“Orders to my men,” remarked the Minister, quietly, and brushed a small feather from his arm.
“True enough!” retorted Valcour, with a bitter smile. “Orders to General Fonseca, whom you strangely overlooked in making your decoy arrests. Orders to Sanchez Bastro, who is to distribute arms to the rebels! And where did the third pigeon go, my loyal and conscientious19 Minister of Police? To Mazanovitch, or to that Miguel de Pintra whom you falsely led us to believe had perished in yonder vault?”
He came close to the Minister.
“Traitor! In setting free these birds you have fired the torch of rebellion; that terrible flame which is liable to sweep the land, and consume royalist and republican alike!”
Paola, the sneering20 smile for once gone from his face, gazed at his accuser with evident admiration21.
“You are wonderfully clever, my dear 196Valcour,” said he, slowly. “You have wit; you have a clear judgment22; your equal is not in all Brazil. What a pity, my friend, that you are not one of us!”
Somehow, the words seemed to ring true.
Valcour flushed to the roots of his hair.
“I hate you,” he cried, stamping his foot with passion. “You have thwarted23 me always. You have laughed at me—sneered at me—defied me! But at last I have you in the toils24. Francisco Paola, I arrest you in the name of the Emperor.”
“On what charge?”
“The charge of treason!”
Paola laughed softly, and in a tone denoting genuine amusement.
“Come, my brave detective,” said he; “we will go to the Emperor together, and accuse each other to our hearts’ content!”
He attempted to take Valcour’s arm, in his inimitable jaunty25 fashion; but the spy shook him off and followed Paola from the room, trembling with suppressed rage.
For my part, I knew not what to make of the scene, except that these men were bitter enemies, and each endeavoring to destroy 197the other. But could Valcour’s accusation26 be true? Had the torch of revolution really been fired?
God forbid that I should ever meet with such another man as Francisco Paola again! Deep or shallow, coxcomb27 or clever conspirator28, true man or traitor—it was as impossible to read him or to judge his real character as to solve the mighty29, unfathomable secrets of Nature.
One moment I called him traitor; the next I was sure he was faithful to the Cause. But who could judge the man aright? Not I, indeed!
Thus reflecting, I approached the window and looked out. Eight feet below me one of the Uruguayan guards paced back and forth30 upon the green lawn, his short carbine underneath31 his arm, and a poniard swinging at his side.
The fellow looked up and saw me.
“Close that window!” he commanded, with a scowl32.
I obeyed, sliding the sash to its place. But still I gazed through the glass at the labyrinth33 of walks and hedges defining the 198extensive gardens at this side of the house. I knew every inch of these grounds, having wandered there many hours during my sojourn34 at the mansion35. And the thought came to me that it would not be difficult to escape in that maze36 of hedge and shrubbery, had I once a fair start of my pursuers.
Within my range of vision was a portion of the driveway, and presently I saw the Emperor’s carriage roll away, followed by several others. Piexoto was seated in the last of the carriages, but only a small portion of the Uruguayan guard accompanied the cortège.
I tried to see if the Minister of Police was among those who were returning to Rio, but was unable to note his presence in the brief time the carriages were in view. Nor did Valcour seem to be with them. Captain de Souza evidently remained in charge of the guards left at the mansion.
Well, I longed to leave the place myself, now that the emptiness of the secret vault had been disclosed; but for some reason my captors desired me to remain a prisoner.
The day dragged wearily away. One 199of the Uruguayans brought me food at noontime, and I ate with good appetite. The room grew close, but when I attempted to raise the window the surly guard outside presented his carbine, and I respected his wish to leave the sash lowered.
During this time I had ample opportunity to speculate upon the astonishing events of the morning; but my attempt to solve the problem of what had become of Dom Miguel and the records seemed absolutely futile37. That the body of the chief had been removed by some friendly hand—the same that had saved the funds and papers—there was no doubt whatever. But when had this removal taken place?
At one time a fleeting38 hope animated39 me that the vault had been entered in time to save Dom Miguel from suffocation40; but a little reflection soon caused me to abandon that notion. Allowing that the slayer41 of Madam Izabel had been a patriot42, and left the train at the first station beyond Cruz, he could not possibly have returned to de Pintra’s mansion on the swiftest horse within eight hours of the time my friend had been 200entombed alive, and long before that Dom Miguel would have succumbed43 to the confined atmosphere of his prison.
Moreover, none of the conspirators44 who knew of the ring or was competent to recognize it had been on the train at the time of Izabel de Mar’s death. Therefore the patriot who finally secured the key to the vault and saved the records must have obtained the ring long after any hope of saving the life of the imprisoned45 chief had been abandoned.
Somehow, it occurred to me that the man in the shrubbery had not been murdered by the Mexican, but by some one of our band who had promptly46 cleared the vault and escaped with the contents—even while the Emperor and his party were in possession of the house. The ring might have been dropped during the escape and found by the Mexican—this being the only plausible47 way to account for its being in his possession.
Although these speculations48 were to some extent a diversion, and served to occupy my thoughts during my tedious confinement49, there were many details to contradict their 201probability, and I was not at all positive that I had discovered the right explanation of the mystery.
It must have been near evening when the door was again opened. This time a man was thrust into the room and the door quickly locked upon us.
I started from my chair with an exclamation50 of dismay. My fellow-prisoner was the mad Mexican!
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1
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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humiliate
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| v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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toils
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| 网 | |
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jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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coxcomb
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| n.花花公子 | |
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conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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32
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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41
slayer
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| n. 杀人者，凶手 | |
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42
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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43
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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45
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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48
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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49
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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50
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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