“That is my name, senhor,” she repeated, “and you will oblige me by explaining why you are sending it to Captain Mazanovitch.”
“Was it your carriage in which I escaped?” I inquired.
“Yes; and my man now lies wounded by the roadside. Why did you take me by surprise, Senhor Harcliffe? And why—why are you telegraphing my name to Mazanovitch?”
Although my thoughts were somewhat 216confused I remembered that Lesba had accompanied her brother to Rio; that her brother had turned traitor2, and she herself had ridden in the Emperor’s carriage, with the spy Valcour. And I wondered how it was that her carriage should have been standing3 this very evening at a retired4 spot, evidently awaiting some one, when I chanced upon it in my extremity5.
It is well to take time to consider, when events are of a confusing nature. In that way thoughts are sometimes untangled. Now, in a flash, the truth came to me. Valcour was still at the mansion7—Valcour, her accomplice8; perhaps her lover.
To realize this evident fact of her intrigue9 with my brilliant foe10 sent a shiver through me—a shiver of despair and utter weariness. Still keeping my gaze upon the floor, and noting, half-consciously, the click-click of the telegraph instrument, I said:
“Pardon me, donzella, for using your carriage to effect my escape. You see, I have not made an alliance with the royalists, as yet, and my condition is somewhat dangerous. As for the use of your name 217in my telegram, I have no objection to telling you—now that the message has been sent—that it was a cypher word warning my republican friends of treachery.”
“Do you suspect me of treachery, Senhor Harcliffe?” she asked in cold, scornful tones.
I looked up, but dropped my eyes again as I confronted the blaze of indignation that flashed from her own.
“I make no accusations11, donzella. What is it to me if you Brazilians fight among yourselves for freedom or the Emperor, as it may suit your fancy? I came here to oblige a friend of my father’s—the one true man I have found in all your intrigue-ridden country. But he, alas12! is dead, and I am powerless to assist farther the cause he loved. So my mission here is ended, and I will go back to America.”
Again I looked up; but this time her eyes were lowered and her expression was set and impenetrable.
“Do not let us part in anger,” I resumed, a tremor13 creeping into my voice in spite of me—for this girl had been very dear to my heart. “Let us say we have both 218acted according to the dictates14 of conscience, and cherish only memories of the happy days we have passed together, to comfort us in future years.”
She started, with upraised hand and eager face half turned toward the door. Far away in the distance I heard the tramp of many hoofs15.
“They are coming, senhor!” called the man who stood beside the horses—one of our patriots16. “It’s the troop of Uruguayans, I am sure.”
Pedro, the station-master, ran from his little office and extinguished the one dim lamp that swung from the ceiling of the room in which we stood.
In the darkness that enveloped17 us Lesba grasped my arm and whispered “Come!” dragging me toward the door. A moment later we were beside the carriage.
“Mount!” she cried, in a commanding voice. “I will ride inside. Take the road to San Tarem. Quick, senhor, as you value both our lives!”
I gathered up the reins19 as Pedro slammed tight the carriage door. A crack of the 219whip, a shout of encouragement from the two patriots, and we had dashed away upon the dim road leading to the wild, unsettled plains of the North Plateau.
They were good horses. It surprised me to note their mettle20 and speed, and I guessed they had been carefully chosen for the night’s work—an adventure of which this dénouement was scarcely expected. I could see the road but dimly, but I gave the horses slack rein18 and they sped along at no uncertain pace.
I could no longer hear the hoof-beats of the guards, and judged that either we had outdistanced them or the shrewd Pedro had sent them on a false scent21.
Presently the sky brightened, and as the moon shone clear above us I found that we were passing through a rough country that was but sparsely22 settled. I remembered to have ridden once in this direction with Lesba, but not so far; and the surroundings were therefore strange to me.
For an hour I drove steadily23 on, and then the girl spoke24 to me through the open trap in the roof of the carriage.
220“A mile or so further will bring us to a fork in the road. Keep to the right,” said she.
I returned no answer, although I was burning to question her of many things. But time enough for that, I thought, when we were safely at our journey’s end. Indeed, Lesba’s mysterious actions—her quick return from Rio in the wake of the Emperor and Valcour, her secret rendezvous25 in the lane, which I had so suddenly surprised and interrupted, and her evident desire to save me from arrest—all this was not only contradictory26 to the frank nature of the girl, but to the suspicions I had formed of her betrayal of the conspiracy27 in co-operation with her treacherous28 brother.
The key to the mystery was not mine, and I could only wait until Lesba chose to speak and explain her actions.
I came to the fork in the road and turned to the right. The trail—for it had become little more than that—now skirted a heavy growth of underbrush that merged29 into groves30 of scattered31, stunted32 trees; and these in time gradually became more compact and stalwart until a great Brazilian 221forest threw its black shadow over us. Noiselessly the carriage rolled over the beds of moss33, which were so thick now that I could scarcely hear a sound of the horses’ hoofs, and then I discerned a short distance ahead the outlines of an old, weatherbeaten house.
Lesba had her head through the trap and spoke close to my ear.
“Stop at this place,” said she; “for here our journey ends.”
I pulled up the horses opposite the dwelling34 and regarded it somewhat doubtfully. It had been built a hundred yards or so from the edge of the dense35 forest and seemed utterly36 deserted37. It was a large house, with walls of baked clay and a thatched roof, and its neglected appearance and dreary38 surroundings gave it a fearsome look as it stood lifeless and weather-stained under the rays of the moon.
“Is the place inhabited?” I asked.
“It must be,” she replied. “Go to the door, and knock upon it loudly.”
“But the horses—who will mind them, donzella?”
222Instantly she scrambled39 through the trap to the seat beside me and took the reins in her small hands.
“I will look after the horses,” said she.
So I climbed down and approached the door. It was sheltered by a rude porch, and flanked upon either side by well-worn benches such as are frequent at wayside inns.
I pounded upon the door and then paused to listen. The sounds drew a hollow reverberation40 from within, but aroused no other reply.
“Knock again!” called Lesba.
I obeyed, but with no better success. The place seemed uncanny, and I returned abruptly41 to the carriage, standing beside the wheel and gazing up through the moonlight into the beautiful face the girl bent42 over me.
“Lesba,” said I, pleadingly, “what does all this mean? Why have you brought me to this strange place?”
“To save your life,” she answered in a grave voice.
“But how came you to be waiting in the 223lane? And who were you waiting for?” I persisted.
“By what right do you question me, Senhor Harcliffe?” she asked, drawing back so that I could no longer look into her eyes.
“By no right at all, Lesba. Neither do I care especially whether you are attached to the Empire or the Republic, or how much you indulge in political intrigue, since that appears to be the chief amusement of your countrymen. But I love you. You know it well, although you have never permitted me tell you so. And loving you as I do, with all my heart, I am anxious to untangle this bewildering maze43 and understand something of your actions since that terrible morning when I parted with you at Dom Miguel’s mansion.”
She laughed, and the laugh was one of those quaint44 flashes of merriment peculiar45 to the girl, leaving one in doubt whether to attribute it to amusement or nervous agitation46. Indeed, where another woman might weep Lesba would laugh; so that it frequently puzzled me to comprehend her. 224Now, however, she surprised me by leaning over me and saying gently:
“I will answer your question, Robert. My brother is at the mansion, and in danger of his life. I was waiting with the carriage to assist him to escape.”
“But how do you know he is in danger?”
“He sent me word by a carrier-pigeon.”
“To be sure. Yet there is one more thing that troubles me: why were you in Rio, riding in the Emperor’s carriage with the spy Valcour?”
“It is simple, senhor. I went to Rio to assist in persuading Dom Pedro to visit the vault47.”
“Knowing it was empty?”
“Knowing it was empty, and believing that the Emperor’s absence would enable Fonseca to strike a blow for freedom.”
“Then Fonseca is still faithful to the Cause?”
“I know of no traitor in our ranks, Robert, although it seems you have suspected nearly all of us, at times. But it grows late and my brother is still in peril48. Will you again rap upon the door?”
225“It is useless, Lesba.”
“Try the back door; they may hear you from there,” she suggested.
So I made my way, stumbling over tangled6 vines and protruding49 roots, to the rear of the house, where the shadows lay even thicker than in front. I found the door, and hammered upon it with all my strength. The noise might have raised the dead, but as I listened intently there came not the least footfall to reward me. For a time I hesitated what to do. From the grim forest behind me I heard a half-audible snarl50 and the bark of a wolf; in the house an impressive silence reigned51 supreme52.
I drew back, convinced that the place was uninhabited, and returned around the corner of the house.
“There is no one here, donzella,” I began, but stopped short in amazement53.
The carriage was gone.
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1
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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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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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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6
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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10
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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12
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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15
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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19
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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20
mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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sparsely
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| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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23
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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24
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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25
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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26
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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27
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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28
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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29
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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30
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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31
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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32
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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33
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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34
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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35
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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36
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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37
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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38
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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39
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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40
reverberation
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| 反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物 | |
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41
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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42
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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43
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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44
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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45
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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46
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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47
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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48
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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49
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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50
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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51
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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52
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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53
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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