The Impregnable City. A romance

Front matter

Photo: W. Bradskaiu, Newgate Street, E.C THE eiTy Ql (Romance BY MAX PEMBERTON AUTITOIt Off " TUE IRON PIRATE " •'TUE SEA WOLVES" • JEWEL MYSTERIES I 11 AVE KNOWN" CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED LONDON, PARIS and MELBOURNE 1895 Alt rights reserved BY TNE SAME AUTHOR. THE IRON PIRATE. With 16 Full-page Illustrations. Third Edition. Price 5s. "A new thing in the fiction of adventure." — The Sketch. TH E SEA-WOLVES. With 9 Full-page Illustrations. Second Edition. 6s. " A splendid romance." — Truth. JEWEL MYSTERIES I HAVE KNOWN. Illustrated. 5s. Co ALFRED C. HARMSWORTH i Urtiirate tfjis Book IN RECOGNITION OF A SINCERE FRIENDSHIP " Cvjus ct qimrtum trepi&avit œtas Claudere fr<s(r?<m." CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction vn lOart JL CHAPTKR I. I Come Home from the Play ..... 1 II. In which I Begin to Dourt .....

G III. I Wait fou the Light 12 IV. The "Wanderer" and her Chew .... 19 V. The Man in the Cage 27 VI. I Seem to Know the Italian .... .34 VII. The Beginning of Very Great Events ... 43 VIII. I Go Below the Sea 52 IX. The Isle of Lights 58 X. The Si-eject of the Picture 66 XI. I Face a Great Danger 73 XII. A Night of Waking 81 XIII. I Find my Patient Worse 91 XIV. A Ride upon the Heights 98 XV. TnE Valley of the Captives 100 XVI. Fortune Speaks with Me 115 XVII. I Hear of Treachery Contents. VI Part a. CHAPTER PAGE I. I am Taken from the Isle of Lichts . . .139 II. A Voice from the Night ...... 155 III. A Parloir in the Mazas 106 IV. The Due de Marne 178 V. I Knock uton the Door ...... 190 VI. The City Wakes 199 VII. Ships of the Night . .... 206 YIH. I Meet with a Great Welcome .... 222 IX.

I Gain All 231 X. Jacob Dyer Begs his Bread 240 XL From the Watch-Towers of the West . . . 248 XII. Truce of the Storm 259 XIII. I Wake to Strange Dreams 209 XIV. The Red Cock Crows. ...... 275 XV. "Mine is the Night with all her Stars' . . The The The The The Jntro&ucfton. story of a life; story of an unknown City ; story of men who dreamed dreams ; story of mercy and of death, of darkness and of light, of order and of chaos; story of myself, Irwin Trevena, who set down these things as I had seen and known them. art I.

Chapter I

I COME HOME FROM THE PLAY. There was a newsboy upon the pavement crying an outrage at the Cafe Mirabeau, in Paris; but he stepped back as my cab struck the kerb and came by good hap unharmed into the broad roadway of Cavendish Square. I saw his face for a moment in the aureola of a lamp, a pale face and wan : but the mists were quivering upon the wet streets, and his cry was dead in my ears almost with its first coming to me. The hour was midnight, the day was the 10th of March, the year 1892. I had been to the Haymarket Theatre as a relaxation from my want of a practice, and was now going home to my little house in WVlbeck Street, there to dream of fame and of fees. At that time I had neither. My brass plate attracted neither the undeserving rich nor the un profitable poor. I was a physician ministering to myself, to the loneliness of one life, and to its budding failure.

B I write of these things, in themselves of little in terest, that those who care to know of the strange events now to be recorded may accompany me in the narration from the very beginning ; may be with me when men, as it were, rose up in my path from the unknown, and in the night of mysteries visions wire given to my eves. Out of the fog, lying wet upon Welbeck Street, the first vision came — a single brougham standing at my own door ; a light burning in my consulting-room, where light so rarely was. How much I paid to my own cabman as I sprang to the pavement I shall never know. My latch-key was in the lock while the shillings were yet tumbling from the roof of his crazy cab; and I heard his " Thank you ! " in the same moment that my servant cried to me that a gentleman wished to see me in my room.

Beloved Donald ! the sight of a patient had been almost too much for him. His hand trembled upon the latch ; he even asked if he should set glasses. " Glasses ! " said I. " Donald, are you mad ? How long has the gentleman been waiting ? " "An hour — maybe two. Oh, sir, I thank God for the nicht ! " " 1 >id you give him the paper ? " I asked, changing ni}' coat in the hall as we stood. " Indeed and J did : but I'm verra well sure that it. was last week's." " That's unfortunate. What's the man's name ? " " I'm no' acquaint with it ; but there's letters clapped on to the hind end. You'll be making haste to learn, maybe." It was a hint, and I took it; but my hand trembled / Come Home from the Play. 3 as my man's had done when he told me the news. A patient — my patient ; my first patient! Hope, ad vancement, notoriety, money — the dream of that long drawn moment gave these to me.

And dreaming, I threw open the door of the consulting-room — that little chamber garnished for the stranger with all the few baubles I possessed — and the interview began. The man sat in a basket arm-chair, drawn near to a crackling fire of logs. A shaded lamp upon a cabinet at his side cast light upon his face ; and I saw that he was a young man, with black hair of exceeding richness and eyes which were very gentle in their expression. He had loosened a heavy cape which was about his shoulders, and I thought, from the first, that I had never seen a human being of such physique or fine proportion of body and limb. As I entered the room, he paused in the act of turning over the very ancient copy of The Illustrated London News which Donald had found for him, and stood up to greet me — a magnificent sight, and not a little startling.

In the same moment I observed that his cape was buckled with a clasp of mother-of-pearl, and that letters of gold stood out upon it in relief. My first words to him were those of apology ; but he put them aside with a gesture, and began to speak in a voice deep and pleasing as the note of a bell. " Pray don't think of me," said he ; " my time is entirely yours. You are Doctor Irwin Trevena, I think; and there was in the Lancet four months ago an article from your pen on the subject of anæmia of the brain. I am not mistaken ? " " By no means," said I. " The brain and its B diseases have been my special study for five years and more." " I presumed so, from your work ; and that is why I am here," said he next. " Not as a patient ! " cried I, with a laugh ; for he had the air of a man who was absurdly healthy.

"Not as a patient," he continued — "no, indeed. Your subject lies upon a yacht moored at this moment in the Solent. She has come to England to consult the first authority on the disease to which she is a victim. If you will be good enough to accompany me, we shall be with her before daybreak." " The case, then, is serious ? " said I. " From one point of view only. The lady has come a thousand miles to see you. Every day she has said, ' In so many hours Doctor Trevena will be with me.' The confidence inspired by your work, which she read casually at Cairo, is more wonderful than anything I have witnessed. I know nothing of brain disease, Doctor; but my ignorance tells me that it were well if this craving were satisfied. And I am sure, if it is in }rour power, you will respond to the wishes of one who has made of you an idol before she had opportunity to worship you in the flesh."

It was all said brightly, buoyantly, with the air of a man too serious to be deemed flippant, merry enough to inspire confidence. A more commanding, noble manner I had never met with; nor such a grace of speech and bearing. And I replied to him readilv. " If you will give me leave to change my clothes, I will go with you now," said I. / Come Home from the Play. 5 " Of course," he replied ; " and let me beg of you not to leave gold upon your table." He said this with infinite delicacy. While we had been talking he had put a little pile of sovereigns upon my writing-table, and now he pointed to them. " I am not quite aware of the custom of your pro fession," said he, " but I know that for such a case as this the remuneration is by mileage. Southampton is seventy-eight and three-quarter miles from here.

The yacht is a mile and a quarter from the shore. You will find eighty guineas there." " I am only entitled to sixty," said I ; " two-thirds of the mileage is the custom." He waved off the protest with a motion of his hand, and I left him. Ten minutes later, we stepped into the brougham together ; but a new thought came to me before the horse had moved. " Hallo ! " cried I, " what are we doing ? The last train to Southampton is at nine forty-five ! " " Don't think of it," said he ; " we shall conjure one from somewhere." " You mean to take a ' special ' ? " said I. " It is waiting at the platform for us," he cried. I said no more, but sank back in the soft cushions. My dream ! it had come, then : come as I had dreamed it ! Oh, I could have filled all the heavens with my thanks to God !

Chapter II. In Which

I BEGIN TO DOUBT. I was very full of sleep when our train came to Southampton, and my eyes were scarce open when my companion led the way from the station to the water. There was waiting for him at the quay a small ship's launch, such as sailors call a kettle, and in this we went quickly towards the open sea, the night being infinitely dark, and the white mists rising in bedewing clouds. Such hulls of great steamers as we saw rose up suddenly like phantoms in our wake : and the lanterns were as golden balls floating lightly above the spuming swell. The journey to the yacht seemed to me over-long, but no rain fell, and the west wind blew softly upon my face. I was now warmed up to a considerable curiosity as to my patient, and the success which would follow upon my venture : and this drove from my head both observation of the two seamen who had charge of the launch and thought of talk with my companion He had slept during the whole of the journey from London ; and even now, with the salt spray whipping his eyes, he could not find his tongue.

At the last, however, and just as one of the two men cried " Ahoy, there ! " in a ringing voice, he stood up quickly and put his hand upon my shoulder. " Doctor Trevena," said he, " welcome to the Wan derer." In Which I Begin to Doubt. 7 "We are there then?" said I. "Well, I'm not sorry. The cold was beginning to quarrel with me." " Once on board, and I'll take it upon myself to prescribe for that," cried he merrily ; and no sooner were the words out than the shape of a great vessel loomed up over the black of the water, and the light of lanterns danced upon her deck and shot out brilliantly from her ports. He went up the ladder quickly, and I followed him to a deck shining white under the glow of silvery lamps. There were three of the crew there to receive him, all dressed curiously ; and to one of these he spoke hurriedly in Italian.

The man nodded his head for answer, and without further parley I was conducted to a cabin lying far aft, and there left with a wurd from the man who had brought me. "Doctor," said he, "you'll find books, and you'll find cigars. Of the former I'm no judge, but I'll wager that the latter are the best you ever smoked. Try one while I speak to the patient." " Whose name I have not yet the pleasure of knowing ( " exclaimed I inquiringly. " She shall tell you herself," cried he, with a laugh. " It will sound the prettier from a woman's lips. .Meanwhile, if there is anything you want, here is the bell which brings the steward. Consider that we are your servants while you remain with us. And if I may prescribe as I promised, let me recommend a glass of green Chartreuse as the finest known anti dote to cold."

" Well," said I, " since you call me in to consult, I must agree with the treatment. But I must not smoke until the interview is ended." The Impregnable City. He Avent off humming an air from the streels in the same buoyant humour that he had at first dis played, and I sat down to examine the cabin. 1 judged at once that it was the music-room of the yacht, yet a more exquisitely furnished place I had never seen. The hangings were of tapestry, richly worked in scenes which glowed with colour. The frieze showed innumerable ships done in ivory in alto relievo; a gold corona la}r above them, and from many a nook there peeped sketches and landscapes whose value needed no buttress of criticism. A moon light scene by Joseph Vernet, a sketch after Greuze by Mademoiselle la Doux, an undoubted Meissonier, the picture of an Italian woman by David Cox — these were but a few of the many treasures my eye discovered in the first rapid survey.

And everywhere, in the wondrous play of concealed lights, in the pillars of ivory, in the white table inlaid with cunning work, in the fine organ, and the piano, whose case must have been worth two thousand pounds, there was evidence of a colossal wealth, and a rare taste such as my travels had not hitherto put me in touch with. Here, then, was the home of my first patient. As I sipped the warming liquor which a man in a quiet livery of black had set upon the table, I could have been content to think that I lay in bewitching sleep, and that all this had risen to my vision as the mock ing phantom of my brain. A surpassing pleasure filled me ; a delirious hope such as comes to some of us before the thirties and failure have soured us. I was but twenty-eight, susceptible to the least sway of fortune, depressed by a word, elated by another.

And In Which I Begin to Doubt. 9 what struggling practitioner had ever such luck to be called from obscurity to the light of practice like this, in the home of one whose fame or position could be no less singular than the signs of wealth I now saw about me ? I had remained in this state of exquisite con tent for many minutes but for the sudden conviction that the yacht was moving. A low tremor of the screw-shaft struck through the steel of the ship ; the table quivered almost imperceptibly; and I, looking through the port at my right, observed the Calshot Light, and we were passing it. It occurred to me at once that the man who had come with me was a long time absent, and had made no mention of any voyage. I determined to speak with him, and went to the door for that purpose. But I found it to be locked, and with a great thrill of fear striking up into my brain, my dream passed from me.

For many minutes I sat while the cold sweat gathered upon my forehead, and I felt my shirt damp upon my chest. I had read in tales of medical men trapped here or trapped there ; but thought them pure fictions. Yet here was I, locked in a cabin in a yacht that was steaming out to sea, and no more sign of a patient than of daybreak. I asked myself a hundred times what the meanings of it was — who was the man who had carried me from London ? whither was the yacht bound ? There was not even echo to give me answer, and, for lack of it, I put my hand upon the bell, and held it there while minutes passed. My fingers were still upon the knob when the answer came. The door was opened quickly, and the man stood before me, now dressed in a coat of The Impregnaiu ' f City. 10 some white silky stuff, delicately embroidered with gold lace.

He looked vastly handsome without his cap of fur, and there was a merry smile upon his lips when he spoke to me. "My dear Doctor," said he, "a hundred pardons! but my steward is busy on deck. I was just coining to fetch you." My complaint died away in my throat before his speech, and I could only gurgle a reply. " The door," I stammered — " the door was fastened — that is, locked." He laughed aloud at the suggestion. " So much for our patent handles," said he ; " you should have lifted it." I had shame beyond expression at the rebuke. " And the patient ? " I asked. " Is ready for us," said he; "may I beg you to follow me ? " He led me through a corridor, dimly lighted with incandescent lamps, and so to the door of the saloon, as I judged it to be. There was a curtain of cloth of gold hung before it, and this suddenly he drew back, exclaiming — " Here is your patient !

" For a moment I saw nothing ; then I knew that many lamps shone softly upon a table bright with gold and silver, that palms stood out in every nook and cranny, that luxurious couches invited to rest, that the odour of rich dishes came to my nostrils, that flagons of wine stood amongst banks of exquisite flowers, that the soft harmonies of voluptuous music fell pleasantly upon my ears. But the room was empty. He and I were alone to enjoy the feast that In Which I Begin to Doubt. 11 had been prepared, and as I made the discovery his gentle laugh and my exclamation rose up together. " Well," said he ; " do you think that an operation is necessary ? " I turned round and faced him " Mr. ," said I ; but then remembered I had not his name. " My name is Monk, but to my friends I am known as ' Adam,' " said he.

" I shall feel under an obligation if you will so call me." " But," cried I, now full of anger, " you have taken a very great liberty with me ! I demand to be put on shore at once." " Oh, Doctor!" said he, " whatever would you do on shore at this time of night ? " " Sir," continued I, " that is no business of yours. Will you please to explain this masquerade ? " " Explanations, Doctor," replied he, seating him self most impudently at the head of the table, " should give way to the more serious things of life. Look, now — do you think I am a rogue ? " I looked at him closely, and my suspicions died away. Who that ever saw Adam did not love him ? " At any rate," said I, " tell me something." " With pleasure," cried he. " This champagne is 1874 Heidsieck. Let me fill your glass." I could say no more.

I sat down to the table, and began to eat mechanically. But the motion of the yacht, as she now rushed through the water, was un mistakable. We must have passed the Needles.

Chapter III

I WAIT FOR THE LIGHT. The supper we now enjoyed was, as I say, served perfectly ; the wine was such as only a man of rare palate could buy. My companion, who called him self Monk, was the most captivating talker I have known. He passed lightly from subject to subject, had anecdotes of all peoples and of all lands ; but, for the most part, he spoke of Southern seas — the wonders of their islands, the perpetual sunshine which was upon them, the beauty of their calms and the grandeur of their storms. Often I sought to draw him to the subject which was strong in my thoughts — the reason he had brought me to his yacht — but no words came from his lips ; and he so avoided my snares of speech that an uncontrollable anger came upon me at last, and I broke into his talk with no little abruptness. It was at the very moment the steward set cigars and punch upon the table.

" Mr. Monk," said I, swinging round my chair to face him, "your supper is admirable, and I have enjoyed your company. It is none the less necessary that I ask you again: Why have you brought me here, and in what capacity can I serve you ? " " You can serve me, Doctor," replied he, putting a match to his cigar, " by giving me your opinion of / Waif fur the Light. 13 my steward's punch. I tell him there's too much borage in it." " That's all very well," said I, " and you play your part capitally. But it's my turn now to give you tragedy for farce. I will do it in a question : What is there to prevent me going upon deck and bawling to the first ship we pass for assistance ? " He blew a cloud of smoke from his lips, and then sipped the steaming liquor. " You ask me a question," said he, " and I will be equally ready in answering.

What is to prevent you going on deck, Doctor ? Why, nothing in the world. Only " — and here he became thoughtful — " only, it might not be wise." " Might not be wise ! " said I, trying to conceal the uneasiness — nay, fear — I felt. " But surely you do not threaten your guests, Mr. Monk ? " "I threaten? God forbid! I am only trying to interest you." " Then set my mind at rest, and let us end this play. Where are you taking me to ? " " Fill your glass, and I will tell you." I did as he commanded, but the effort of drinking went near to choking me. " Now," said he, putting his elbows upon the table, " listen to this, Doctor, and take my word that I am dealing with you as I would deal with my own brother. Your destination is, roughly, a little more than ten thousand miles from here " " If you take me that far," said I at random, " I am a ruined man."

" Indeed ! " said he ; " but I was just thinking }'ou were a made man." I sat down again. " How can that be ? " I asked. " In the simplest way possible," said he. " I am going to be very plain with you. You are a man young and full of cleverness; but for the momenl you do not make three hundred pounds a year. Very well. During the time that you are with me you will receive a remuneration of one hundred guineas a week " ' One hundred guineas ! " I exclaimed. ' As I say." " But for what ? " I gasped. " For using such skill as you have in the interest of one who is sick." " And the name of him who sends for me ?" " You will learn in good time. Be content now to know that I am in his service — that I live for him, and would die for him. A man who is a king amongst men, Doctor; whose secret power is felt in every Court in Europe ; who is the father of charity, and truth, and justice; a man who is poor yet rich, weak yet strong, a child in hand but a monarch in act — that man summons you."

" And the country in which he lives ? " " Is a country whose name you will not j-ct learn." I was silent for many minutes. My cigar went out in my hand. The whole of his story rang in my ears like the voice of a dream. " Your friend is ill? " I asked, when minutes had gone. "Indeed, no," said he; "his health is splendid." " Then who is my patient ? " / Wait for the Light. 15 He turned round in his chair again, and, bending forward, he touched a spring in the panel of the wall. Two little doors fell back, to show me the picture of a girl, upon which a shaded lamp, bursting into light, cast a powerful glow. The face was not one to call for an immediate admission of power or beauty ; yet, as I continued to gaze upon it, the canvas seemed to hold me with a fascination not to be described. It was as if the eyes of the girl searched my very heart.

Never had I known so curious a spell, or one so sure. I saw but the sketch of a child of seventeen or eighteen years — a child with long hair of a deep auburn wound about her body ; a child with ivory skin and little colour in her cheeks ; a child dressed in a white robe and wearing at her breast the same clasp of mother-of-pearl and of gold that he who called himself Adam had. I saw all this, I say, and yet I continued to gaze, and to feel a new and potent interest the like to which my life had never known. The picture spoke to me ; a message came as from the very heart of her I looked upon ; the thought that she was to be my patient filled my veins with warm blood ; for many minutes I sat without speech or motion ; I forgot the night and its circumstance ; forgot even that another watched me. -x- " There is your patient.

My companion spoke. I turned from the painting with a start, to look at him. He was like a man transformed. The tenderness of his eyes was multi plied a hundredfold ; there was red in his cheeks ; he bent forward to the picture as if he would put his lips upon it, and in that moment I read his secret. He was the lover of her to whom I was to carry my skill. Perhaps she was his wife. The thought stung me even then, though I had never seen her ; I was afraid to look at the picture again. When I did so I saw that the upraised left hand of the girl was without a ring, and the mood of depression passed. In the same moment he touched the spring of the panel, and the doors shut together. The light faded ; the vision was taken from my eyes. For some time the two of us sat without speaking, the smoke from our relighted cigars floating heavily in the still air.

He was the first to break the silence, but his voice was now low, and his buoyancy had left him. " Doctor Trevena," he said gently, " you are going to strange seas and to strange places. Sights will be given to you beyond anything you can imagine. You will learn of things of which dreamers may have dreamed, but which few men have seen. You are on the way to riches for which you might have worked a lifetime and yet have missed. You are privileged to become the servant of one who is the beloved master of a people that adore him. Yet now, at the beginning of it, I say to you, beware : shut all weakness from your heart, think of her to whom you will minister as a patient only. As you value everything that is dear to you, seek not to make her a friend, lest the heart be eaten out of you as mine has been — and the hearts of others more worthy of better things.