CHAPTER XII.PRAVEZH.[5]
I wasnot a little thankful when the carriage stopped at Von Gaden’s door and I got out at last; nearly falling as I did so, for my skirts became involved in the wheel, displaying, I fear, a masculine leg; however, I saw the coach drive off sedately with Konrat, as stoical as at first, holding the reins. Dr. Von Gaden’s servant looked a little perplexed when he saw me standing at the door, but ushered me into the doctor’s consulting-room, saying that he expected Von Gaden every moment. As soon as I was alone, I began to remove my disguise, and had just thrown aside my veil and hood when the Jew opened the door. He stood transfixed on the threshold for a moment, and then, as he comprehended the situation, a smile illumined his grave face.
“Poor Pierrot!” he exclaimed at once, “I must notify him; the man has been beside himself.”
My conscience smote me that I had never once thought of the poor fellow.
“Where is he?” I inquired, as I proceeded hastily to divest myself of my petticoats, for I was anxious to feel like a man once more.
“He is scouring Moscow,” Von Gaden said; “he came here, towards morning, and told me that you had gone into a courtyard to make an inquiry and had never come out, and when he followed and searched, he found the court and house both deserted. I have been twice to the palace to petition for aid in the search for you, and Pierrot is like one possessed. Tell me, man, how came you here, and in this garb?”
I gave him, as briefly as I could, the history of my adventure, and saw that his keen mind at once grasped the serious phase of the situation. He looked at me gravely.
“Homyak took the packet?” he repeated thoughtfully, as I concluded. “A sorry messenger, but an old tool of Ramodanofsky’s. I saw the dwarf, not a half-hour since, going towards the Streltsi quarters. I wonder,” he added musingly, “if he had already delivered his packet, or was drawn away from his errand to feast his eyes upon that disgusting scene. You have come back upon an eventfulday, M. de Brousson; to-day, the officers of the Streltsi will be subjected to thepravezh.”
“Is it possible that the Streltsi have carried that point?” I exclaimed in surprise. “That means mutiny.”
The doctor bowed his head gravely.
“It means,” he said, “that the government is not strong enough to resist a force of twenty-two thousand men, the only disciplined force in Russia to-day. The officers are to be scourged in the quarters of the Streltsi, and there is intense excitement in the city and at the Kremlin.”
“This is hideous!” I exclaimed. “Who are the officers?”
Von Gaden gave me a list of names.
“Colonels Gryboyedof and Karandeyef will be scourged with the knout, twelve others with rods. The Streltsi will regulate the severity of the punishment, and after suffering this degradation,” he added, “the officers will be allowed to go to their country places, in disgrace, when they have paid back all the money claimed by the soldiers.”
“And the Streltsi will look for fresh excitement,” I said.
“Even so,” replied Von Gaden, gravely; “itis the beginning of the end, and woe to the hand that unchains the wild beast!”
While we were talking, I had fastened Zénaïde’s pistol in my belt, and I now asked the doctor for a sword and a cloak.
“Where are you going?” he inquired, while complying with my request.
“In search of Homyak,” I replied briefly; “and failing to find him, I must make my peace with the czarevna.”
“You will find Homyak gloating over the scourging,” Von Gaden said; “but I fear it will be less easy to make peace with the princess: she is a true daughter of a czar, and nothing if not a tyrant born.”
“You have no love for Sophia,” I remarked, smiling.
Von Gaden shook his head. “My warmest friendship has ever been for the Czarina Natalia,” he said quietly. “I knew her as a young girl in her guardian’s house. I saw her in the midst of the dangers and intrigues of her early married life, and I see her now fighting steadily for her boy, who, as you and I both know, is the only czarevitch fitted to ascend the throne. No, I do not love the Miloslavskys, for I have seen them day by day playing into the hands of the turbulent soldiers; working by fair means orby foul—for what? Not to put a blind imbecile on the throne. No, no, but to crown the Czarevna Sophia herself.”
I started, although these were only my own conclusions voiced by the Jew.
“Is that the possible climax of the drama?” I asked quickly, thinking with a sensation of despair of the lost packet.
“Possible,” he answered slowly, “although difficult. I am glad that the ex-Chancellor Matveief is coming at last. But hasten, M. le Vicomte,” he added, rousing himself suddenly, “your errand is best served by speed, and I have delayed you with my own reveries.”
Once in the street, I proceeded rapidly towards the quarters of the Streltsi, accompanied thither by the stragglers of the crowd that had preceded me. There was every evidence of intense excitement, and as I came nearer, I was involved in a mass of people struggling and shouting in the effort to approach the scene. It took all my strength to wedge myself into the throng, and then it was still more impossible to guide myself, and I was at the mercy of the mob, and began to regret the foolhardiness that had induced me to seek the dwarf at such a time; but it was equally impossible to retrace my steps. There could be nostronger evidence of the state of feeling among the masses than was exhibited by this crowd, ripe for any mischief and ferocious at the thought of wreaking vengeance on their superiors. It cost an effort to escape being trampled under foot, and more than one of the weaker ones went down and they passed over them, no one pausing to consider the fate of the unfortunates, for fear of sharing it.
So, pushed and tossed about by these wild beasts, I found myself at last, without any wish of my own, among the spectators of the justice administered by the Streltsi. The soldiers were formed in an immense circle in an open place. In the center of this cruel ring were the executioners with the knout and rods, and one of the officers was stripped to the waist and bound, while the lashes fell with merciless force on his already bleeding back. It was a sickening sight, and the more revolting because of the evident enjoyment of the onlookers. I searched the dark faces near me for a glimmer of mercy, but found none. Only a kind of horrid pleasure gleamed in their eyes. How deep must have been the sting of their wrongs to have excited such hatred! The officer, who was Colonel Gryboyedof, stood the torture with heroic fortitude, and although the blood was running downhis back, uttered no sound. The mob was intensely silent too, as if eager to catch the first moan of pain uttered by the unfortunate man. Even the executioner’s arm faltered a little, as if his task was sickening, but a shout of “harder” from the crowd, nerved it to an increased effort. I tried to release myself from the press at the front, and when Gryboyedof fell fainting, my opportunity came, there was a rush forward which somewhat relieved the pressure about me, and I began to extricate myself, and even as I did so, discovered the object of my search. Homyak had evidently seen me in the crowd, and was endeavoring to slip away unobserved. Making a strong effort, I shook myself free and started in pursuit of the rascal. As I did so, fresh cries from behind made me turn, and I could see above the heads of the crowd that they had substituted two fresh victims in the place of the first.
I soon saw that Homyak was endeavoring to get away in the direction of the Ragoshkaya suburbs, and I followed as rapidly as I could. Fortunately, he did not apparently observe my movements now; he looked back once or twice, but each time at the group about the prisoners. It was marvelous to see with what rapidity hepenetrated the crowd, his diminutive stature seeming rather a help than a hindrance, for he dodged under elbows and squeezed through gaps, which defied my greater bulk. However, by the force of perseverance, I managed to keep him in sight, and finally found myself on the outskirts of the mob. The dwarf was possibly fifty yards in advance, and was walking rapidly towards a narrow lane to the right. Being free at last of the press of people, I could follow him with more speed, and soon diminished the distance between us. Fortunately, he no longer looked behind; being out of sight of the scourging, he seemed to give his mind to some other purpose, and sped along, gaining less on me now that the conditions were equal. We plunged into the lane, and soon the hoarse murmur of the crowd and the sharp crack of the lash became less distinctly audible, and we were beyond the last straggler. The place seemed strangely deserted, as the streets of a city always are when some great disturbance has drawn the population to one quarter, draining the streets and alleys and even emptying the houses. Once, a woman looked out of an upper window as I passed, but that was the only face I saw in the whole length of the lane. At the farther end, Homyak paused and fumbledat his cloak, seeming to be engaged in searching for something; that stop gave me time to overtake him. I was upon him before he knew it, and he turned a scared, wizened face towards me as I came up. I saw at a glance that his first impulse was to run, but second thought evidently convinced him that I ought to be ignorant of his part in the transaction. He was destined to a rude awakening; the lonely spot suited my purpose, and in a moment I had him by the throat and put my pistol to his head.
“You villain!” I exclaimed angrily, my remembrance of the previous night increasing my wrath. “Give up that packet as you value your miserable life.”
The dwarf was an abject coward, and he writhed in my hands in an agony of terror, his whole face distorted.
“Have mercy!” he whimpered. “I know nothing of any packet. I am a poor, honest man, and not able to resist you.”
I pressed the muzzle of my pistol against his temple, although I heard his teeth chatter.
“You miserable dog!” I exclaimed. “Do you think I have forgotten who lay outside the czarevna’s door? Give me the packet that the Boyar Ramodanofsky gave you, or I will sendyou into eternity by the shortest road you can travel!”
He was terribly frightened; having no idea how I came by my accurate information, he evidently imagined that I was acquainted with the black arts. He made no further effort to resist me, but after a little search in his pockets, produced the packet and handed it to me. I released his throat to take it, but kept my pistol at his head until I could examine the seals, and was satisfied that it was the identical packet, and strange to relate, not a seal was broken.
“Knave,” I said, “where were you taking this?”
A gleam of malicious satisfaction shone in Homyak’s eyes, and yet I was satisfied that he told the truth when he replied, only enjoying the thought of my probable discomfiture when I heard who was arrayed against me.
“I was to take it to the patriarch,” he said.
I started. The patriarch! Yes, it might be so, for he was a member of the Sabelief family, and a strong adherent of the Naryshkins; but what a complication! Sophia’s secret intrigues to be laid bare before Joachim.
I released the dwarf with a hearty kick. “Go,” I exclaimed; “and if I ever find youmeddling with my affairs again, I will cut off your head just behind your ears!”
Homyak did not wait for further admonition, but scurried away like a rabbit, only too thankful to get my fingers off his throat.