TALKING-TALBOT-Chapter-09

Talbot dared not move from where he stood as long as the men remained in the hall below. He stood with his arm about the frightened girl, supporting her.

It seemed a long time that they waited. The men below were too much perturbed to return to the room they had come from, and kept close together, talking in low tones.

After what seemed a long time, the countess and Prince Szchymsl returned in gloomy silence.

“Did you discover anything?” asked one of the conspirators.

“Nothing new,” snapped the Countess Elsa. “The lock was broken on the outside, which can mean nothing but that we have a traitor among us. I thought it might be Count Maurus, but I know him so well that his answer satisfies me. It can be none of us. It must be one of Prince Szchymsl’s men. But which one? Anyhow, she is gone, and we must decide what to do in the circumstances.”

“My men and Count Maurus are searching for her,” said the prince.

“If she gets back to Budapest ”

began one of the conspirators.Countess Elsa interrupted him : “She mustn’t. Prince, your car is ready, is it not?”‘

“It waits in front of the castle, ready to go.”

“We must get to Budapest at once. You can get your whole secret service out to intercept the princess.. It is her life or ours. Are you ready?”

“Only to put my hat and coat on.”

“You, gentlemen, remain here till morning,” she commanded. “If the princess is not found, come at once to the city and report to the prince. If she is found and brought back” — she hesitated a moment — “well, don’t take any more risks. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” one of them responded, in a low tone.

“I’ll not be two minutes, prince.” she said, and turned and ran up the stairs.

The princess stifled a cry of fear and crowded close to Talbot. He stood still, hoping the countess would turn away from them; but fortune was against them ; the countess turned and approached them, guiding herself in the darkness by the baluster rail.

“You ought to modernize this old place, prince,” she called out, as she went along, then stopped suddenly and peered toward Talbot and the princess, trying to make out what it was she saw.

Talbot acted promptly, taking the boldest course. Me pushed the princess to one side and sprang at the countess. The latter screamed and darted back.

She was not quick enough, however, and Talbot had her securely around the waist. She screamed for help, and the men below started to her assistance. She fought like a tigress, outraged by the insult she thought had been done her.

“I’ll kill the first man that mounts those stairs !” Talbot cried, in a tone that rang high above every sound.

The men all stopped. They were brave enough, but there was something

compelling in the cold tones of that voice.

“Talking Talbot!” the countess exclaimed, in a tone of wonder, and instantly ceased to struggle.

The prince, ashamed of the hesitation of himself and friends, once more moved as if to rush to her assistance.

“You are a dead man, Prince Szchymsl, if you try it,” snapped Talbot.

“Stay where you are, prince,” said the countess quietly ; “he could kill you all before you could reach me. It is my American friend.” This time she laughed softly and turned her head and spoke to Talbot: “So you insist on meddling?”

“If you hadn’t begun the meddling. I never would have crossed your path,” he answered. “As it is, here I am, distressed to incommode you, but compelled to do so.”

“So you released the princess. With what object, please?”

“To save her from assassination.”

“Nonsense! She was in no danger. And now what are you going to do, if you don’t mind telling me?”

“Not in the least,” he answered, his coolness equaling her own. “I am going to hold you as a hostage for the good behavior of your friends below there.”

“And do you find this way of holding me absolutely necessary?” She referred to the fact that his arms were about her.

“Neither necessary nor agreeable,” he answered, “which reminds me that there is a much better way.”

With this he held her firmly with onearm while he took from his pocket the rope he had used to climb the wall with. Finding the noose, he suddenly caught her two hands and brought them behind her, where he secured them by drawing the noose tight. This done, he proceeded to fasten her ankles together.

The countess bit her lip to keep back the flood of angry words that struggled for utterance. The men below stood at the foot of the stairs in indecision, straining their eyes to see what was going on above.

“I should think you would know this won’t help you,” she said, when she had controlled her anger. “You can’t carry me about the country, and sooner or later you will be trapped.”

“I’m taking long chances, countess. Gentlemen,” he said, raising his voice and addressing them, “a little conversation is necessary.”

“You shall suffer for this, sir,” said the prince. “I did everything for you, and you repay me in this way.”

“On the surface.” responded Talbot, feeling with one hand for the princess and drawing her to his side, “my conduct doesn’t seem like a nice return, but there is so much that is not on the surface. However, I have a proposal to make. I am grateful to you for your help to me, no matter what your object was; and to prove it I will give my word of honor to rid you finally and completely of the Princess Sonia.”

“What do you mean ?” was the quick demand.

“I mean I will promise for her that she will leave this country and never lend herself to any attempt on the throne.”

“How can you promise that ?”

“S-et the princess promise for herself, then. Princess, will you tell these men that you will do as I have said?”

Clinging to him, the trembling girl raised her sweet voice with an effort and said: “I do not want the throne; I do not want to have anything to do with it. I will never set foot in Hungary again if you will let me leave it in safety.”

“One moment before you answer,” cried Talbot. “I have the Countess Elsa in my power, and I shall not let her go until the princess is in safety.”

“What pledge will the princess give

to fulfill her engagement?” the prince asked.

“That is a foolish question, prince. The princess loathes the whole affair, and asks nothing better than to put it all away from her. How can she give any pledges ?”

“You seem to know her thoughts very well,” said the countess.

“She has expressed them freely to me.”

All the time that he had been talking, Talbot had been trying to find a solution of the situation. He knew very well that, determined as the countess was to eliminate the princess from the contest, nothing he had to offer would be of the least value. He knew, too, that, although the countess served very well for the time being to protect them, it was impossible for him to hold her permanently.

“There is one way by which she can give a pledge,” the countess said.

“What is that?”

“Become your wife,” was the mocking reply. “I am sure she must be grateful to you for what you have done for her. What do you say, Princess Sonia?”

“The Princess Sonia doesn’t need to make any response to such a question,” Talbot said quickly, then raised his voice and cried sharply to the men below: “All of you retire to the back end of the hall. I am going down.” *—

The men resented the tone and hesitated. The prince voiced their feeling: “We do not obey commands from such as you.”

“You’ll obey this,” Talbot said icily. “Countess, tell them that I can kill every one of them. I tell them that I not only can but will if they oppose me. My position is not one that leaves me any choice. Tell them, countess!”

“This man,” said the countess, addressing the men below, “has the reputation of being the quickest man in America with a revolver. I would advise that you do as he wishes.”
Her tone was mocking and sinister, leaving Talbot with the feeling that she wished her friends to understand that she had something in reserve. It only made Talbot more cautious.

” Follow me closely, princess,” he said to her, then lifted the helpless countess and put her rather ignominiously over his left shoulder, thus leaving his right hand free to manipulate the revolver.

•”Oh. Sir Chester,” the princess murmured, “I am afraid !

He put his arm about her and held her a moment while he whispered encouragingly: ” You are not afraid ; you are nervous. Be my brave little Sonia, and we shall win to safety.”

He could feel her bosom rise and fall quickly, then was sure she pressed closer to him. “I will be brave,” she said.

The Counters Etea laughed scornfully. Whether she had heard or not, Talbot was stung by the laugh, for he had yielded to the ineffable sweetness of the interchange with Sonia, and he felt as if he had betrayed a weakness to this woman who was so cold and calculating herself.

He gave Sonia’s little hand a squeeze to show that he appreciated what she was doing, and then started for the stairway as the men below retired to the back end of the hall.

He carried the countess easily, and when the hall was reached looked keenly about. He had little fear of the men as long as he had the countess for a shield, knowing that if they carried weapons, none of them was sure enough of his marksmanship to venture a shot at him.

There was a big chair at one side of the hall, and in this he deposited the countess, taking his position at the other side of her. Sonia had followed close behind him. holding to his coat like a little child.

“Is there a door at the front end, princess?” he asked, in a low tone.

“Yes.”

“Would you be brave enough to go and open it while I remain here to keep an eye on these men and the countess?”

She put her hand on his arm as if to plead her cowardice, then took it off and breathed : “I — I will — will try.”

He patted her arm in tender encouragement. He heard her sigh and saw her straighten up as she started off.

“What is your plan, Sir Chester?” demanded the countess sarcastically.

He found an amazing difference between her way of saying Sir Chester and Sonia’s. Indeed he winced under the ridicule, though he gave no sign of disturbance.

“My plan is to escape,” he said.

“And you are infatuated enough to think you can do it? Do you think you are in your own wild West? Better make terms, Sir Chester.”

“What terms?”

“Give up the girl and leave Hungary. I know you are thinking it would be unchivalrous; but, after all, Sir Chester, you will have to give her up and lose yourself in the bargain. Where can you go?”

“I might find my way into Budapest.”

“You will be overtaken before you have gone a mile.”

“At least you will be there, loo, countess. I would not think of going without you.”

He had been watching for the opening of the door which would follow the fumbling of Sonia with the bolls; also he had kept a wary eye on the group of whispering men at the other end of the hall. Sonia came running to him with the speed of fear.

“It is open,” she whispered.

He raised his voice. “Let no man move on peril of death,” he said. He took up the countess again and backed his way to the door, guided by Sonia, as soon as she realized what he was trying to do.

He darted through the door and closed it behind him. There was no way of fastening it on the outside, but he had anticipated that ami lost no time trying it.

The prince’s automobile stood on the driveway outside, the driver in it, ready to start at an instant’s notice. A glance told Talbot it was a car he was familiar with, and that it was a high-powered machine.

Paying no attention to the chauffeur’s look of astonishment, he placed the countess on the vacant front seat, suddenly took hold of the chauffeur and lilted him out of his seat as if he had been an infant, and tossed him unceremoniously aside.

“Get in, princess !” he said, at the same time assisting her. All the while he was watching for a sudden attack.

A swift examination showed him that the car was equipped with a self-starter, and that it was in working order. He leaped into the seat beside the countess, pressed the self-starter, and the car was ” off.

The countess had watched him. as he had done all these things in the confident, precise way of one master of the situation; and for the first time real alarm took possession of her. If Talbot knew what to do, he had it in his power now to thwart all her plans and even to make an end of her. But did he know?

In fact. Talbot did not know the extent of his power, but he guessed from a few of the things he had overheard that it would not be well for the conspirators to have the princess reach Budapest. On the other hand, he was afraid the risk for the princess might also be great.

He said nothing, however, but guided the car along the drive and into the forest road, setting up high speed as soon as the straight road was reached.

A backward glance had shown him the prince and his companions standing together in front of the castle, but he 4

gave himself no concern over them, though he wound an end of the ropethat bound the countess around his arm.

“Permit me.” she said composedly, “to express my sincere admiration of you. Sir Chester. I am sure there would be a kingdom of Hungary to-morrow if you led the revolution.”

“Praise from you is sweet,” he said dryly, then turned smilingly to the princess. ” Are you comfortable?”

She smiled faintly. She really was wishing she sat in front with him; she always had more courage when near him.

“Are you making for Budapest?” the countess asked.

“Is there any other place you’d rather not go to?'” he demanded.

“It holds as much disaster for her as for me,” she answered.

“I bad thought of going to Vienna,” he said.

“It is open to the same objections,” she answered.

He could see that she was alarmed, and wished to keep him from taking her to either of the two capital cities ; but what be had better do he could not decide. He hoped she would give him a clew.

“Not quite the same,” he said meditatively. “In Vienna your capture is worth far more than hers. Believe me, your worth is fully appreciated in Vienna. And I could make it by midnight or sooner with this car. Yes, you have decided me; I will go to Vienna.”

“Princess Sonia!” cried the countess, with a sudden vehemence that betrayed her disturbance of mind. “Is it true that you wish to withdraw from your party ?”

“I never have been in it willingly,” the princess answered.

“It is hard for a woman like you to understand, countess,” interposed Talbot, “but the princess loathes the whole business.””Stop the car!” commanded the countess. “Let us make terms. And put something about me; I’m freezing.”

“I beg your pardon.’* He stopped the car and wrapped a rug about the shivering woman. “What terms, countess? We have no time to waste.”

“Free me and put me down here. I promise to refrain from any unfriendly act toward the princess on her agreement to leave the country and take no further part in any revolution in this country.”

“What security have we that you will keep your promise?”

“My word,” she answered proudly.

It was not quite the sort of security he would have wished, but he knew it was the best possible under the circumstances, so he pretended a greater confidence than he felt in accepting it.

“Very well, countess. I am sparing your life and making your ambition possible, so I hope you will be as good as your word.”

He unloosed her and helped her into the road. She gave utterance to a sigh of profound relief.

“You are a strong antagonist, Mr. Talbot: Maurus knew you better than I did. Which way now?”

“Which way do you suggest?” he demanded.

“There’s a tine road running south to the princess’ home in Bosnia, not more than two hundred miles away. You could make it by morning.”

“And where do I come to that road?”

“It is the first important road you come to. Turn to the left. You will have no difficulty in finding it.”

“Any large towns on the way?”

“Let me see. There’s Kecskemet,

Felegyhaza Oh. three or four.

But you should have no trouble with them. You can go around them.”

“Thank you. countess. Will you sit in front with me. princess?”

He helped her into the front seat, got into the car himself, and started. The

countess stood in the darkness, listening, a wicked smile on her red lips.