Part 33 (1/2)
Such were the charges whispered loudly from end to end of Russia.
”It would be best for that fellow Kartzoff to disappear,” declared the Kaiser. ”His mouth should be closed, as he may become an awkward witness.
Tell Protopopoff from me that it would be judicious to send him to some unknown destination, and that I shall expect to hear early news that he is missing.”
”I will carry out thine order,” said Rasputin gravely. ”I agree with thee that Kartzoff is highly dangerous. Besides, he is a friend of my worst enemy, Purishkevitch, the member of the Duma who has been agitating against the events at the front.”
Rasputin, by the way, did not fail to give Protopopoff the Kaiser's message, and three days after our return to Petrograd Kartzoff was enticed away from there by means of a forged telegram, a week later his body being found in a wood near Kislovodsk, in the North Caucasus, while two other witnesses against the Minister of War were arrested, and died later in the island fortress of Schlusselburg.
The Kaiser seemed unusually cordial towards the monk, much more so than on the occasion when they met in Silesia. The Chancellor seemed to be watching the ”holy” man, taking note of his every gesture and every remark.
The Kaiser agreed entirely with his Chancellor's views, and was insistent upon the creation of a pestilence in Russia.
”Cholera or plague could work more for our ends in Russia in a month than we can effect by military force in a whole year,” he declared as he lit a cigarette, afterwards tossing the match carelessly into the fire. ”What are the views of Alexandra Feodorovna?”
”The same as thine own,” the monk replied. ”Unfortunately all our efforts failed. A man named Tsourikoff by some means obtained knowledge of what was intended. Her Majesty heard of it, hence I had him removed two days later. He was met by a certain dancer, and had supper with her at Pivato's, in the Morskaya. An hour after they parted Tsourikoff died mysteriously.”
”The dancer was a friend of yours, eh? Perhaps a sister-disciple?”
remarked the Emperor with a meaning grin.
”Thou hast guessed aright,” answered the monk. ”But after that we did not dare to carry the infection further.”
”It must be done. I have some ideas. The baron will explain them to you to-morrow, and I shall expect you to carry them out,” said the great War Lord. ”In Russia there must be revolt and disease, in England invasion, and in France--well, we know how we shall conquer both France and Italy,”
he added, smiling mysteriously.
He spoke as one who believed that he held the destinies of Europe in the hollow of his hand.
”Middle Europe will conquer the world, of that I have no doubt. All is in G.o.d's hands,” agreed the ”saint” in bad German, crossing himself with a mock piety which seemed to amuse both the Emperor and his Chancellor.
”Listen to-morrow to Hoheisel's scheme, which I have approved,” said the Emperor, pa.s.sing to his visitor another cigarette from the heavy golden box. ”The professor will call on you with the baron and explain. Act boldly, dear friend Gregory, for recollect that you have behind you the whole resources of Prussia and the good will of myself.”
The monk, who had only on the previous day declared that he would subject the Kaiser to his influence, had fallen so completely beneath the thrall of the German Emperor's curious hypnotism that he sat ready and eager to do his bidding.
”The letters you have brought to me from Tsarskoe-Selo are satisfactory so far as they go, but there is still much to be done,” said the Kaiser.
”Tell the Empress that I will reply to her by courier, but that she is to continue her efforts, and that you both have my full and complete support. The prosecution of Soukhomlinoff must be at once suppressed, and those hostile statements in the Duma from time to time directed against us must be made a penal offence punishable by deportation. Kartzoff must go, and Purishkevitch, who is so constantly speaking in the Duma against yourself and others, should be suppressed without delay. Perhaps he will come to a sudden end!” suggested the Emperor. ”At least we can hope so.”
Next day at noon the baron brought to us a short, stout, yellow-haired man in gold spectacles, the famous German bacteriologist, Professor Hoheisel, of the Friedrichshain Hospital.
With the door locked, we all four sat down while the deep-voiced scientist unfolded his plan for the devastating of certain populous areas in Russia by the dissemination of a newly discovered and highly infectious disease.
”The disease was discovered a year ago by Gerhold, at the Alt-Moabit, and is closely allied to bubonic plague. It is more highly infectious than anthrax or smallpox, and inevitably proves fatal,” the professor said, seated at the head of the small table. ”Curiously enough, infants seem to be immune up to six years of age. Now, my proposal, to which both the Emperor and the Chancellor have agreed, is that the cultures which I have prepared, and of which a large quant.i.ty is already in Stockholm ready to be utilised, should be introduced into a consignment of meat extract and tinned beef which has come from South America, and which is being held back by a certain firm in Stockholm friendly to ourselves.”
”How do you propose to infect it?” asked the monk, the devilish plot appealing at once to his cunning and unscrupulous mind.
”By puncturing the tins and introducing the culture by means of a hypodermic syringe, and closing up the hole with a spot of solder. The bottles will be treated by puncturing the corks with the needle and closing the hole with melted resin.”
”I might say,” added the baron, ”that the cargo has been purchased by our friends, Messrs. Juel and Ehrensvard, who are awaiting instructions before re-s.h.i.+pping it. When the meat is prepared it will be your work, Father, to see that it is distributed in the two cities in which we want to experiment, namely, Nijni-Novgorod and Vologda.”
”They are doomed cities, eh?” I remarked.
”We intend them to be so,” the professor said. ”When once the disease is released it will spread everywhere, and no precautions can be taken because, up to the present, it is known to only half-a-dozen of us in Berlin, and we have no knowledge how to treat it successfully.”