Part 34 (2/2)
Inside the dark castle the clock at the end of the hall melodiously boomed the hour of two. Dead quiet followed the soft echoes of the gong. A tall figure stealthily opened the door to Yetive's chapel and stepped inside. There was a streak of moonlight through the clear window at the far end of the room. Baldos, his heart beating rapidly, stood still for a moment, awaiting the next move in the game. The ghost-like figure of a woman suddenly stood before him in the path of the moonbeam, a hooded figure in dark robes. He started as if confronted by the supernatural.
”Come,” came in an agitated whisper, and he stepped to the side of the phantom. She turned and the moonlight fell upon the face of Beverly Calhoun, ”Don't speak. Follow me as quickly as you can.”
He grasped her arm, bringing her to a standstill.
”I have changed my mind,” he whispered in her ear. ”Do you think I will run away and leave you to shoulder the blame for all this? On the balcony near your window an hour ago I--”
”It doesn't make any difference,” she argued. ”You have to go. I want you to go. If you knew just how I feel toward you you would go without a murmur.”
”You mean that you hate me,” he groaned.
”I wouldn't be so unkind as to say that,” she fluttered. ”I don't know who you are. Come; we can't delay a minute. I have a key to the gate at the other end of the pa.s.sage and I know where the secret panel is located. Hus.h.!.+ It doesn't matter where I got the key. See! See how easy it is?”
He felt her tense little fingers in the darkness searching for his. Their hands were icy cold when the clasp came. Together they stood in a niche of the wall near the chancel rail. It was dark and a cold draft of air blew across their faces. He could not see, but there was proof enough that she had opened the secret panel in the wall, and that the damp, chill air came from the underground pa.s.sage, which led to a point outside the city walls.
”You go first,” she whispered nervously. ”I'm afraid. There is a lantern on the steps and I have some matches. We'll light it as soon as--Oh, what was that?”
”Don't be frightened,” he said. ”I think it was a rat.”
”Good gracious!” she gasped. ”I wouldn't go in there for the world.”
”Do you mean to say that you intended to do so?” he asked eagerly.
”Certainly. Someone has to return the key to the outer gate. Oh, I suppose I'll have to go in. You'll keep them off, won't you?”
plaintively. He was smiling in the darkness, thinking what a dear, whimsical thing she was.
”With my life,” he said softly.
”They're ten times worse than lions,” she announced.
”You must not forget that you return alone,” he said triumphantly.
”But I'll have the lantern going full blast,” she said, and then allowed him to lead her into the narrow pa.s.sageway. She closed the panel and then felt about with her foot until it located the lantern. In a minute they had a light. ”Now, don't be afraid,” she said encouragingly. He laughed in pure delight; she misunderstood his mirth and was conscious of a new and an almost unendurable pang. He was filled with exhilaration over the prospect of escape! Somehow she felt an impulse to throw her arms about him and drag him back into the chapel, in spite of the ghost of the game-warden's daughter.
”What is to prevent me from taking you with me?” he said intensely, a mighty longing in his breast. She laughed but drew back uneasily.
”And live unhappily ever afterward?” said she. ”Oh, dear me! Isn't this a funny proceeding? Just think of me, Beverly Calhoun, being mixed up in schemes and plots and intrigues and all that. It seems like a great big dream. And that reminds me: you will find a raincoat at the foot of the steps. I couldn't get other clothes for you, so you'll have to wear the uniform. There's a stiff hat of Mr. Lorry's also. You've no idea how difficult it is for a girl to collect clothes for a man. There doesn't seem to be any real excuse for it, you know. Goodness, it looks black ahead there, doesn't it? I hate underground things. They're so damp and all that. How far is it, do you suppose, to the door in the wall?” She was chattering on, simply to keep up her courage and to make her fairest show of composure.
”It's a little more than three hundred yards,” he replied. They were advancing through the low, narrow stone-lined pa.s.sage. She steadfastly ignored the hand he held back for support. It was not a pleasant place, this underground way to the outside world. The walls were damp and mouldy; the odor of the rank earth a.s.sailed the nostrils; the air was chill and deathlike.
”How do you know?” she demanded quickly.
”I have traversed the pa.s.sage before. Miss Calhoun,” he replied. She stopped like one paralyzed, her eyes wide and incredulous. ”Franz was my guide from the outer gate into the chapel. It is easy enough to get outside the walls, but extremely difficult to return,” he went on easily.
”You mean to say that you have been in and out by way of this pa.s.sage?
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