A Modern Mercenary Read online

  CHAPTER III.

  THE GENTLEMEN OF THE GUARD.

  Members of great families frequently regard themselves as submergedindividualities. They wilfully sink all identity of their own in thetraditions handed down to them, and live as mere representatives of aline which bears in common a noble name. This principle, which hassomething to recommend it, was adopted long ago into the system of theGuard of Maasau, the officers of which were first gentlemen of the Guardand afterwards men in the private and ordinary sense of the term. Therewere eight of them--a colonel-in-chief, whose position became honoraryafter his elevation to that rank; a colonel, upon whom devolved theactive command; a second in command, whose title of over-captain may betranslated major; three captains, and as many subalterns. And everyindividual was drawn from the noblest blood of the country.

  Thus it will be seen that Rallywood was about to enter the best companyin Revonde.

  On a lofty cliff above the gorge from which the Kofn issues to curveround the Palace gardens, and exposed to the four winds of heaven,stands an imposing square block of grey buildings. These contain thepermanent quarters of the Guard. One whole side of the courtyard withinis taken up by the domed mess-room with its necessary adjuncts andoffices.

  Here on the day following Rallywood's interview with Selpdorf, three menlounged over their lunch. Any one of them, had he cared to take theregimental rolls from their brass-bound coffer in the ante-room, couldhave read his own name repeating itself down the columns as generationafter generation lived through its identical life in the samesurroundings, and died, most of them going to the devil with a fineinherited pride and even gracefully.

  Nearly every man who had crossed the page of the Maasaun annals haddined in that historic room, and each one of the men who now held theright to dine there had a hereditary interest, and in many cases ahereditary characteristic, to maintain. There was old walrus-facedWallenloup; thin, dark, reckless Colendorp; Adiron, whose great bulkbehind a cavalry sword was a sight for the gods, and so on; the threelieutenants following closely in the footsteps of the three lieutenantswho had been before them; men who went to the rendezvous of a duel inall comfort, affecting to be infinitely more afraid of catching coldthan of being killed; men who kissed the wife and dispatched the husbandwith equal skill and as little noise as might be; men who were feared bya rough, swaggering, raucous soldiery, whom they only knew through thehard-faced sergeants; men, in fact, who lived out their debonair,picturesquely evil lives to the satisfaction of themselves and of fewothers.

  On this occasion Colonel Wallenloup, the commandant, was not present. Ofhim it was told that while still a lieutenant he had been offered, as areward for services rendered to the Crown, the command of any Maasaunregiment he might choose to select, and he had replied that he wouldrather be a lieutenant of the Guard than a field-marshal elsewhere. Andso he remained to favour the mess with his somewhat blood-and-ironjokes. The mess-room was a spacious hall, and though only three men satat table the place seemed full of life and colour from the blackpolished flooring to the carved and vaulted ceiling, from which hung intattered folds the old banners of the regiment. Red hangings partiallydraped the dark walls, and over all the light from the stained dome fellin rich colour; while through the talk of the men ran the one weirdsound that never ceased about those walls, the whimpering of the wind.

  Suddenly the door opened, and a young man, small and thin, with a faintdown upon his upper lip, entered quickly.

  'Unziar has won!' he cried.

  'Won what?' asked Adiron, the senior man present, as he poured outanother glass of wine.

  'Won his second match against Abenfeldt with seven to spare.'

  Adiron stretched his legs and leant back; his figure was well adaptedfor leaning back.

  'My good Adolph, explain yourself.'

  'Hadn't you heard of it? Why, they arranged it last night at CountessSagan's.'

  'Abenfeldt fancies himself as a shot, but he forgot he had to do withUnziar,' laughed Captain Adiron.

  'Abenfeldt bet that he could shoot more swallows in half an hour beforebreakfast than any man in Revonde. That was in September, you know, andUnziar took him up--with service revolvers--and shot fifteen, winningeasily. Abenfeldt can't get over it, and challenged him to ashooting-match again last night. I say,' Adolph broke off, and his facealtered; he thrust out a little foot and surveyed the spurred boot thatcovered it critically, 'I've just ridden back from Brale. That newcharger of mine bolted down the hill by the paling. I went to seeInsermann; they had not been able to move him, you know.'

  'Well,' urged all three voices at once.

  'Insermann's dead. He died last night at dinner time.'

  The men's eyes shot for a second at Insermann's empty place, which hewas never to occupy again.

  'Ah, I told him that scooping pass of his was a mistake,' commentedAdiron. 'And the worst of it is that his death breaks the line of theXanthal Insermanns. Poor old Insermann! he was the last of a good stock,and I, for one, don't like new blood. What have you to say about thatpass now, Colendorp? If I am not mistaken, you defended it?'

  'Insermann was by three inches too tall,' replied the individualaddressed. 'For a short man one would be hard put to it to discover amore useful----Hullo!'

  The folding doors had been flung open with a crash, and a man of fiftyor thereabouts, dressed in the gorgeous green and gold of the Guard,strode in tempestuously. He was short and heavily built, with aweather-red face and a coarse, overhanging moustache, which gave himrather the expression of an angry walrus. So angry, indeed, was he thathis words came volleying out inarticulately. In his hand he held acrumpled sheet of parchment.

  The men rose as he took his place at the head of the table.

  'Insermann's dead, and Selpdorf says----' The Colonel's chokedejaculations broke, his voice failed him, and he sent the paperfluttering from his hand across the silver and glass till little Adolfpicked it up. In another moment Colonel Wallenloup was more coherent.

  'I am afraid I must have walked up the hill rather too quickly,' he saidapologetically, after draining a great goblet of beer. 'However, it isnot to be denied that M. Selpdorf begins to take too much upon himself.The entire administration of the State is in his hands, and yet he isnot satisfied with that position! No, he aims even higher; he desiresto nominate the officers of his Highness's Guard!'

  Every man present had his own peculiarity. The Colonel's reputationwould not have stood so high as it actually did but for his insensatetemper. Perhaps the anecdote told of him that, when discussing the pointof having been ruled out of action during certain army manoeuvres hebecame so enraged that he pursued the umpire in question with a woodentent hammer, had added more to his popularity than all his thirty oddyears of service and his immense genius for fortification.

  Some of the Continental armies are always marking time, and they do notprize the most the man who marks time best, but the man who can bringsome humour or touch of romance into the dullness of routine, and theyprefer the humour to be led up to by the winding road of eccentricity.It was never dull with the Guard. They possessed officers who kept theirworld on the move.

  'Gentlemen,' said Wallenloup at length, when his last remark had beenreceived with approval, 'I have the honour to inform you that M.Selpdorf has seen fit to appoint, _vice_ Captain Insermann, deceased,Lieutenant John Rallywood, of the Frontier Cavalry.'

  A silence followed this announcement.

  'Upon whose recommendation has M. Selpdorf taken this step?' inquiredCaptain Colendorp gravely.

  'Reasons of State--mere reasons of State. He had the audacity to tell meso.'

  'I understood, sir, that you had other views?' said Adiron.

  'Well, yes, we had virtually agreed upon our choice, I may say,gentlemen.'

  'Certainly, sir. And you made that clear to the Chancellor?'

  'I did so--perfectly clear. I told him in the most reasonable mannerthat we wanted no condemned rabble in the Maasaun Guard! I told him thatwe had practicall
y decided on Abenfeldt in case of a vacancy occurring.I even went so far as to remind him that there had been Abenfeldts amongus for four centuries.'

  'He couldn't meet that argument!' exclaimed Adiron.

  'No, he parried it, gracefully enough, I admit. He reminded me in turnthat there had been Selpdorfs also in the Guard, and swore that had he ason of his own to nominate he must still at this moment have given thepreference to this Englishman. I left him to reconsider the matter,however, and rode home, to find _that_ already waiting for me in myquarters,' and he pointed to the parchment in Adolf's hand.

  Adolf looked up with a smile.

  'He will not join immediately, sir, this Rallywood?' he said with hisgentle lisp.

  'Not for a week.'

  'Then it doesn't really matter, you know,' added the young man.

  Wallenloup's red-shot eyes gleamed upon him suddenly.

  'As your commanding officer, sir,' he said grimly, 'I don't understandyour meaning, but----' and an odd smile flickered about the savage lips.

  'As a private gentleman, Colonel----' put in Colendorp.

  'As a private individual I understand your meaning very well. But if Iwere here as your colonel, Lieutenant Adolf, by Heaven, sir, not all theofficers of the Guard, past or present'--he rose to his feet as hespoke, and grasping the hilt of his sword glared round uponthem--'should dare to hint at insult to a comrade!' and he drove theblade home with a clatter into its scabbard and strode out of the roomas he had come, like a thunderstorm.

  The men waited in silence until the echo of his footsteps died away, andin the mind of each rose a vivid memory. It happened, from causes whichmight in the case of the Guard of Maasau be called natural, that thethree present lieutenants, viz. Unziar, Varanheim, and Adolf, had joinedon the same day, and by way of supporting the traditions of theirimmediate predecessors each instantly agreed to challenge each of theothers, the result of which would in all probability have been thespeedy occurrence of three fresh vacancies, in the list of officers.

  Wallenloup heard of this and sent for the lieutenants, whom heconsidered too valuable to be thus easily lost.

  'Gentlemen,' he began, 'I am about to enforce an old order thatexpressly forbids quarrels amongst the members of our corps. If you wantto fight, fight some one else. There are plenty of men who stand badlyin need of being killed. Turn your attention to them. But if any troubleshould arise between any two of you, come to me. There has been enoughof this kind of scandal about us lately, and therefore for the future wewill do the thing quietly with a pack of cards, or, if you prefer it,with dice. The man who loses can--go. There is the river, or for choice,his own pistol. You understand me?'

  Varanheim looked at Unziar and Unziar looked at Adolf, and they smiled.

  'I think,' said little Adolf, 'we _might_ find others to brawl with.'

  'The river is abominably cold,' added Unziar.

  'And the same dish is served for us all,' concluded Varanheim.

  Wallenloup laughed.

  'I have laid the alternative before you, gentlemen,' he said, 'the cardsor the dice.'

  This was the story that rose in the minds of the men round the messtable, and a minute later they joined in a simultaneous shout oflaughter. Adiron's big face was flushed as he called for a special brandof champagne wherein to drink the Colonel's health.

  'He's magnificent--the old man!' he said when he could speak. 'Let himalone. He's equal to any mortal occasion! He reminds me of the day whenhis Imperial Majesty over the border complimented him on the appearanceof the Guard, saying he should feel proud to number us amongst theregiments of the German army. "And I can assure your Majesty that thefeeling of admiration is entirely reciprocal," says the C.O. "We shouldbe happy to incorporate your army in ours!"'

  The men had heard the story often before, but it was greeted with allthe relish of novelty, a quality which lives eternally in any anecdotethat tells on one's own side.

  Before the laughter had subsided another man entered the room. He was,perhaps, nearer thirty than twenty, and the face under his dull,colourless hair was singularly pale, but there was promise of greatstrength in the long angular body.

  'My congratulations, Unziar.' Colendorp turned to the new-comer.

  'Thanks. By the way, have you heard of Insermann? Gone out, they tellme.'

  'Yes. And have you heard of the new appointment?'

  'No. But it's Abenfeldt, of course. The Colonel as good as promised himlast year.'

  'Ever heard of Lieutenant Rallywood of the frontier?' demanded Colendorpin his slow way.

  'Yes, I do happen to know him.' Unziar looked round in some surprise.'He was the frontier fellow who undertook to be my second at the stationwhen I fought De Balsas because he insisted that our trains wereinferior to those in Germany. Rallywood--you don't mean to say?' a slowcomprehension dawning upon him. 'But it's impossible! The fellow's anEnglishman. How could such a thing be possible? On the frontier, yes,but not in the Guard!'

  Colendorp was a silent, reserved man, disliked by persons who met himcasually in society, but to those who inhabited with him the quarters atthe Palace he stood as the impersonation of the grim spirit of theGuard. He drew away from the table and crossed his legs.

  'The idea has at length occurred to one man,' he with his glance onUnziar's pale face, 'to M. Selpdorf, in fact.'

  Unziar looked back at his interlocutor, his eyes hardening.

  'Of course,' he said, bringing out each word distinctly, 'Rallywood mustbe got rid of.'

  'It will offend M. Selpdorf if his nominee be interfered with,' went onColendorp.

  'I have already undertaken that little matter,' put in Adolf eagerly.

  There was an undercurrent of meaning in all this of which each manpresent was fully aware. Unziar was presumed to have very strong privatereasons to propitiate rather than to offend the powerful Minister. Butthis happened to be a typical instance in which the interests of thecorps over-rode those of the individual. Moreover the custom of theGuard required the individual most concerned to prove his loyalty atsuch times.

  Colendorp continued to gaze at Unziar.

  'We are much obliged to you, Adolf,' he said courteously; 'but incompliment to his comrades I feel sure that Unziar will hardly wish toallow any other to undertake this special matter.'

  Adolf would have spoken again, but Unziar stopped him.

  'As a personal favour, Adolf, leave it to me,' he said.

  Adiron, who had thus far taken no part in the discussion, now struck in.

  'But remember, Unziar, that you must act with caution. For obviousreasons there must be no apparent design. The dispute, whatever it mayturn upon, must appear to come about naturally. Above all, it must nottake place here.'

  'Precautions from Adiron!' remarked Colendorp with a thin smile. 'Theaffair becomes serious indeed!'

  'We cannot afford to offend England while Elmur is at work in thiscountry. She is at this moment our very good friend,' Adiron observedapologetically. 'There will be many public occasions--at the Palaceball, for example.'

  'You may trust me to keep up appearances,' said Unziar. 'Then it isunderstood that I arrange the affair of Captain Rallywood at the Palaceball if possible. The matter may safely be left in my hands.'

  Once more the folding doors were thrown back, and between the crimsonportieres appeared the face of Colonel Wallenloup, charged with astrange expression. He advanced a step or two into the room, then turnedto introduce a man behind him.

  'Captain Rallywood, gentlemen,' he said.