Vineta, the Phantom City

"What prodigious sums I was obliged to ask for in the beginning! They were granted unhesitatingly, and the fact that I did not pocket them, as my predecessors had done, was quite contrary to the usual order of proceedings. The old gentleman must have considered me the only honest man among the whole pack, for after the first year he so increased my salary that I realized more from my honesty than the others had realized from their pilferings. If he were living now, I should not leave Villica. The princess would know that her chicaneries must cease–that if I wrote to Altenhof and told the whole truth, there would be an explosion. During Herr Witold's lifetime I had peace, but at his death two years ago, all concord was at an end. I have endured the persecution and the interference of this woman long enough, and I am going to leave."

"But your leaving is a great misfortune," said the assessor; "you are the only one who can in any way thwart the princess. Your argus-eyes impose a wholesome restraint upon her. We who belong to the government" (he used this phrase often, and always emphasized it), "we better than any other class know what the result will be if Nordeck's estates, with their immense size and nearness to the Polish frontier, are under the rule of a Zulieski."

"The princess has accomplished a great deal in these four years," resumed the superintendent, in a bitter tone. "She began her intrigues the first day she came here, and she has gone on, step by step, with an energy and persistency that, displayed in a better cause, would be truly admirable. As the leases expired, she has managed to have the farms fall into the hands of her countrymen. Every German element has been gradually eliminated from the management of the forests, all the servants are obsequious tools of the princess, and I have been obliged to exert my utmost influence to keep my German inspectors and overseers in their places. Of late they have resigned voluntarily, being no longer able to endure the insolence of their subordinates, I think that my successor is already appointed. He is a drinking man, who knows almost nothing about the management of an estate, and who will ruin Villica, as Nordeck's other estates are being ruined; but he is a Pole, and that explains his selection for the place."

"Could you not induce young Herr Nordeck to come here?" asked the assessor; "he can have no idea of the condition of affairs."

"Our young landlord cares nothing for Villica. He has not set foot on the estate for ten years. There was some talk of his coming here to live when he should reach his majority, but he chose to send his mother in his stead. Not one of his subordinates is in direct correspondence with him; we are ordered to render our accounts to his attorney at L–. I however ventured to write to him four weeks ago, informing him of the exact state of affairs. I have received no answer; nothing is to be hoped from him. But I beg your pardon, sir, for keeping you so long in total darkness. I cannot imagine why Gretchen does not bring in the lamps as usual; she probably does not know that you are here."

"O, yes, she does," replied the assessor, in an aggrieved tone. "Fräulein Margaret was standing in the hall-door as I came up the walk; she gave me no opportunity to greet her, but ran up stairs to the garret as fast as she could."

"I think you must be mistaken," returned Gretchen's father.

"She ran up two flights of stairs to the garret," reiterated the small gentleman, emphatically, and with a look of great displeasure.

"I am sorry," said the superintendent, "but I cannot help it; I have to let the child do about as she pleases."

"Ah, but you can help it!" exclaimed the assessor. "You have only to assert your paternal authority. You can say to your daughter that it is your desire and command–"

"Nothing could induce me to say any such thing," interrupted the superintendent. "I place no hindrance in the way of your suit. I believe that you have a sincere affection for my daughter, and I have nothing against you or your position and prospects. But you must win the girl's consent; I shall not interfere. If she voluntarily accepts you, I shall not object to you as a son-in-law; but, honestly, I do not think your prospects are very flattering."

"There you are in an error, Herr Frank,–most decidedly so. I know that your daughter often treats me coldly and indifferently, but I understand all this; it is nothing but the prudery usual to young girls. They want to be wooed long and ardently; they strive by their reserve and coyness to make the prize more desirable. I have made these matters a profound study. The young lady's indifference is only seeming; I am sure of success."

"I am happy to hear it," returned Herr Frank, as the object of the conversation entered the room bringing a lamp.

Margaret Frank–or Gretchen, as every one called her excepting the formal assessor–was about twenty years old. She was a beauty of no delicate, ideal type, but a perfect picture of youth and health. Her form was stately and robust like her father's, and her fresh, rosy face, clear blue eyes, and the blonde braids arranged in a coronet above her smooth, white forehead, made her so altogether lovely, that we may well understand the assessor's forgetfulness of that offensive flight up the garret-stairs, and his eagerness to salute his chosen one.

"Good evening, Herr Assessor," Gretchen said, coldly, in response to the gentleman's warm greeting. "Then it was you who drove through the gate a little while ago? I did not imagine it could be you again, for you were here only last Sunday."

The assessor thought proper not to answer these last words. "I come here to-day upon official business," he said. "An affair of great importance has been intrusted to me, and will detain me some days in this neighborhood; I have therefore taken the liberty of accepting your father's hospitality. We who are connected with the government are having serious times now, Fräulein Margaret. We find everywhere secret intrigues and revolutionary movements; the whole province seems involved in one great conspiracy, and Villica is in fact the headquarters of all sorts of intrigue."

"And the most favorable place for operations," added Frank. "The Nordeck estates are surrounded by forests, and all the foresters and their satellites are at the beck of the princess who rules here. Strictly as the boundary is watched, people pass too and fro every night, and whoever comes finds the doors of Villica Castle wide open."

"We know all that, Herr Frank," returned the assessor, with a gesture that indicated nothing short of omniscience; "but we can do nothing, for we do not possess the slightest proof, and we can discover none, for at our approach all operations are at once suspended. My mission is to ferret out this affair, and since you have charge of police regulations here, I am ordered to solicit your aid."

"I will aid you if I must, but I dislike engaging in any secret service. They even now, at the castle, consider me a spy and an intermeddler, because I will not voluntarily close my eyes, and because I severely punish the disobedience of my subordinates."

"I am to-day upon the track of two very dangerous characters, who are roaming about this neighborhood under all sorts of pretexts," said the assessor, "and who must be secured as soon as possible. In coming here I met two very suspicious-looking individuals, who in all probability are the ones I am seeking. They were on foot."

Gretchen laughed. "Is that a ground for suspicion? They doubtless had no money to pay coach-hire."

"I beg your pardon; they had money enough to hire an extra-post-chaise, for they passed me in one; but at the last station they left the carriage, and made many inquiries about Villica. They declined to take a guide, and proceeded on foot, avoiding the highway, and cutting across lots. They would not answer the postmaster's questions. Unfortunately I did not arrive in time to make investigations to-day, but I shall carry them on to-morrow with all possible vigor. Doubtless both men are in the neighborhood."

"Perhaps they are up there," said Gretchen, pointing to the castle, whose illuminated windows gleamed through the darkness. "The princess is holding a great meeting of conspirators to-night."

The assessor sprang from his chair. "A meeting of conspirators! How? What? Do you positively know this? I will surprise them. I will–"

"Don't make a fool of yourself," said the superintendent, laughing; "this is only a girl's jesting–nothing more."

"But, papa, you said there were secret reasons for these frequent festivities at the castle," interposed Gretchen.

"That is my opinion. Fond as the princess is of pomp and show, I do not believe she would indulge in mere merry-making in times like these. Her large balls and hunting-parties are convenient pretexts for bringing all sorts of people to Villica, without attracting particular attention. True, there is dancing and dining,–appearances must be kept up,–but the greater portion of the guests remain over night, and what occurs after the ballroom-lights are extinguished may not be of so harmless a nature."

The assessor listened eagerly to these disclosures. Unfortunately the superintendent was called out at this moment, and left the two young people alone.

Gretchen's displeasure was as boundless as the assessor's delight at this unexpected tête-à-tête. He twirled his moustache with an air of satisfaction, stroked his glossy hair, and resolved to make the best use of so favorable an opportunity.

"Your father informs me that he intends to resign his position," he began. "The idea of seeing him and his daughter no more at Villica would be a heavy blow, indeed a thunderbolt to me, were it not for the fact that I do not purpose remaining much longer in L– myself."

"Are you, too, going away?" asked Gretchen, in surprise.

The assessor smiled–and it was a smile of great significance. "You are aware, Fräulein Margaret, that with us government officials, promotion usually involves a change of residence, and I hope soon to be promoted."

"Ah, indeed!"

"There is no doubt of it. I am already government assessor, and in a State like ours, that means everything. It is the first round of the great ladder that leads directly to the minister's chair."

"You have some distance to travel before you reach that elevation," remarked Gretchen, incredulously.

The small gentleman leaned back with as much dignity as if the simple cane-bottomed chair upon which he sat were really the longed-for chair of the prime minister.

"True, such a position cannot be reached at one stride; but the future is full of grand possibilities. Fräulein Margaret, a public man ought always to have great things in view, and to aim for the highest. Ambition is the official's noblest incentive. I am in daily expectation of being appointed government counsellor."

"You have been expecting that a long time."

"Yes, and the realization of my hope has been deferred because envy and malice assail me on every side. We younger officials are kept down as long as possible by our superiors. Hitherto I have had no opportunity to distinguish myself, but now I have been selected as the man best fitted to discharge the duties of a very important mission. His Excellency, the governor of the province, has himself given me the requisite instructions, and ordered me to report to him personally the result of my investigations. If my efforts prove successful, I am sure of the counsellorship."

As he said this, he gave the young lady a look so significant that she could not possibly be in doubt as to what person he had chosen to be the wife of the future counsellor; but she maintained an obstinate silence.

"Then a change of residence would follow as a matter of course," continued the assessor. "I should probably be called to the capital. You are not acquainted in the capital, Fräulein Margaret?" he asked, as he went on depicting life at the Residence, its advantages and amusements, discoursing largely upon his influential connections there, and making all these things add vastly to his own personal importance. Margaret listened with mingled curiosity and incredulity. The brilliant pictures unrolled before her had something very enticing to a young girl reared in the solitude of the country. She rested her blonde head in her hand, and gazed thoughtfully at the table-cover. Her sole objection to such a life evidently lay in the fact that the present assessor and future minister must share it. He however marked his advantage, and was resolved to profit by it. He felt that the decisive moment had come.

"But amid all the gayety and splendor of the capital I shall feel sad and desolate," he said, pathetically; "my heart will remain with you, Fräulein Margaret–"

Margaret was startled. She saw that the assessor, who had made a long, momentous pause after her name, had now risen with the unmistakable intention of falling on his knees before her. But the solemnity and ceremoniousness with which he was arranging the preliminaries of his declaration proved fatal to its success; they gave the young girl time to deliberate, and she too sprang to her feet.

"Please excuse me, Herr Assessor; I think–I believe that the hall-door just closed. It has a spring lock, and papa will not be able to get in when he returns. I will run down and open it;" and so saying, she ran out of the room.

The assessor stood there with his dramatic pose and half-bended knees, looking very much bewildered. For the second time to-day his chosen one had fled from him, and her prudery began to be very annoying. It never once occurred to him that Gretchen's opposition was serious. It was obstinacy, coquetry, and perhaps–so the suitor thought with a smile–fear of those fascinations and advantages which rendered him irresistible. The girl certainly had no idea of refusing him, and in her charming timidity she had run away from an immediate decision. This thought greatly comforted the young gentleman, and although he regretted the fact that no decision had been reached, he had not the slightest doubt of ultimate triumph. He had made such matters a study, and knew all about the coyness and playful obstinacy of young girls.

The pretext of which Gretchen had availed herself was not pure invention. She had actually heard the front door close with a loud bang. Although she knew that her father had only to ring, and a servant would let him in, she ran down to the door and opened it violently at the very moment when a hand from without was laid upon the knob. The visitor staggered, and would have fallen if his companion had not caught him.

"Good heavens, what has happened?" cried the young lady.

"I sincerely beg your pardon," replied a timid voice, in a tone of unusual politeness. Before Gretchen had time to reply, the other visitor advanced and accosted her.

"We wish to see the superintendent; is he at home?"

"Papa is not in at this moment, but he will be presently," answered Gretchen, delighted that this late and unexpected visit relieved her from the alternative of leaving the assessor alone or keeping him company until her father's return. Instead of ushering the visitors into her father's office, she conducted them to the sitting-room.

"Two gentlemen who desire to speak with papa," she said, while the wondering assessor rose and greeted the strangers. Gretchen left the room to send a servant in search of her father. As she was about to re-enter, the assessor met her in the hall and asked, excitedly, if she had sent for the superintendent; then he whispered in her ear, "Fräulein Margaret, these are the men!"

"What men?"

"The two suspicious characters I was speaking of; I have them fast in my trap."

"But how do you know, Herr Assessor?"

"They are the two individuals who passed me in the extra-post-chaise," he said. "I shall examine them, and arrest them if necessary."

"But must this be done in our house?" asked the young girl, indignantly.

"My official duty requires it," he answered loftily. "First of all, egress from the house must be prevented. I will lock the door." He double-locked the front door, and placed the key in his pocket.

"But what need is there of all these precautions?" asked Gretchen. "How do you know they are suspicious characters?"

"Fräulein Frank, you have not the sagacity of a professional detective," the assessor answered, patronizingly. "I know how to read faces, and I tell you these two physiognomies bear the unmistakable stamp of conspirators. They are Poles; they cannot deceive me even though they speak the purest German. I shall question them sharply until your father appears, and then we two will consult together concerning what had best be done. I know that I risk my life by remaining alone with such desperate men when they know that I see into their designs, but duty requires it, and I do not flinch."

"I will go with you," said Gretchen, courageously.

"I thank you," replied the assessor, solemnly, as if Gretchen had promised to accompany him to the scaffold. "The moment for action has come."

He returned to the reception-room, followed by the young girl, who was naturally very courageous, and awaited the development of the affair with quite as much curiosity as anxiety. The two strangers evidently had no suspicion of the storm about to burst over their defenceless heads; on the contrary, they seemed entirely unsuspicious of danger, and very much at their ease. The younger man, who was of a remarkably fine figure and a head taller than his companion, walked to and fro with folded arms; while the elder, who had a slender form and agreeable features, accepted the proffered seat, and sat in the superintendent's large easy-chair, an apparently perfectly harmless individual.

The assessor put on his most authoritative air. A conviction of the importance of the occasion, and a consciousness of acting in the presence of his future bride, had an inspiring effect upon him. He appeared like a personification of the day of judgment as he confronted the two "individuals."

"I have not yet introduced myself to you," he began, politely, and yet with a very consequential air, "I am Government Assessor Hubert, of L–."

The two strangers could not have been novices in conspiracy, for they did not even turn pale at this announcement of official dignity. The elder gentleman rose, bowed very politely, and then sat down again. The younger merely nodded, and said indifferently,–

"Happy to meet you."

"May I ask your names?" continued Hubert.

"What for?" asked the younger, abruptly.

"I wish to know them."

"But, unfortunately, we do not care to tell you."

The assessor nodded as if to say, "I thought as much." "I am connected with the police department of L–," he added, emphatically.

"A very unenviable position," returned the younger, glancing from the assessor to Gretchen, who was standing at the window.

Hubert was nonplussed for a moment. These must be hardened conspirators, for they were not frightened even at mention of the police department, and yet the words must give them a premonition of their fate. This obduracy must be broken; the examination went on.

"You drove past me in an extra-post-chaise some two hours ago?"

The younger deigned no answer; he seemed bored beyond measure; but the elder man replied politely,–

"Yes; and we also observed you in your carriage."

"You left the chaise at the last station, and proceeded on foot. According to your own admission, you wished to go to Villica; you avoided the highway and took a path across the fields." The assessor again wore his doomsday face as he hurled these accusations one after another at the heads of the two conspirators. They did not fail of their effect. The elder conspirator began to grow uneasy; but the younger, whom the piercing glance of the government official had singled out as the most dangerous, hastily approached and placed his hand upon the arm of his companion's chair.

"In addition to all this, we wrapped our cloaks around us when it began to grow cold; and we accidentally left a pair of gloves in the post-office," he said, with undisguised irony. "Do you wish to add these two facts to your minute observations upon our proceedings?"

"Sir, a representative of the government does not allow himself to be addressed in this disrespectful manner," exclaimed Hubert, passionately.

The young man deigned no answer; he shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the window where Gretchen was standing.

"Fräulein Frank, you keep entirely aloof from us. Will you not by your presence deliver us from the intolerable inquisitiveness of this man?"

The assessor chafed in righteous anger; this impudence was more than he could bear, and as the superintendent was every moment expected, he abandoned his wary manner, and broke out in an overbearing tone,–

"I fear that something more intolerable yet is in store for you. First of all, you will give me your names, and produce your papers: I demand it–I insist upon it! In a word, you are under suspicion."

The elder of the two gentlemen started up pale with terror, and ejaculated, "For heaven's sake!"

"Ha, ha! your sense of guilt is aroused at last," said Hubert, triumphantly. "And you, too, writhe," he added, turning to the younger, and giving him a withering glance. "Do not deny it! I see a twitching in your face."

There was indeed a peculiar play of the muscles around the young man's mouth; it became still more marked as his companion said, in an imploring tone, "Why do you not put an end to this nonsense?"

"Because it amuses me," he answered.

"No whispering allowed here," interposed the assessor. "Do not dare hatch any new plots in my presence. Once again, your names? Will you answer me?"

"And so you take us for conspirators?" said the young man, drawing himself up and gazing contemptuously down upon his accuser.

"And for traitors also," added Hubert.

"And for traitors also? Yes, the two vocations are usually united."

The assessor was dumbfounded at such insolence. "I command you for the last time to give me your names and to hand me your papers," he said. "Do you dare refuse?"

The younger visitor sat down in a very unconcerned manner upon the arm of his companion's chair, and said, coolly,–

"Yes, we dare!"

"Sir, I believe you presume to make sport of me," shrieked the assessor, his face glowing with anger. "Do you not know that this will make your case all the more serious? The police department of L–"

"Must be in a very deplorable condition to choose you for its representative," added the young man, with entire composure.

This was more than mortal man could bear. The insulted official was beside himself with rage.

"Monstrous!" cried he. "Your insolence has reached such a point that you openly defy and insult the officers of the law. You shall pay dear for this. You have derided and attacked the government in my person. I arrest you; I shall have you bound and taken in fetters to L–."

He darted like a game-cock at his adversary, who quietly allowed him to come on, and then unceremoniously thrust him back. This required but one movement of his powerful arm, and the assessor bounded like a ball against the sofa, which fortunately was near and arrested his course.

"Force has been used!" he gasped; "an attack has been made upon my person! Fräulein Margaret, go for your father."

"The young lady had better go for a glass of water, and pour it over this fellow's head; he needs it," interrupted the younger man.

Margaret had no time to respond to either of these very dissimilar requests, for hasty steps were heard in the ante-room, and the superintendent entered.

The assessor still lay upon the sofa, struggling with might and main to get once more upon his legs; but, owing to the height of the one and the shortness of the other, the task was quite difficult.

"Herr Frank," he exclaimed, "guard the door! Call the servants. You have police authority in Villica; you must help me arrest these scoundrels, in the name–"

Here his voice failed him; he beat the air despairingly with his hands, and by a powerful effort regained a sitting posture.

The younger man had meantime risen and approached the superintendent.

"Herr Frank," he said, "inasmuch as your police authority in Villica is derived from me, you will doubtless hesitate about delivering over your own landlord."