"Drinkowce is yours!"

"Very well," responded Hajek. "I am off on the spot to pay my respects to my future father-in-law, and to my bride-elect. One thing, though, before I leave, you will hold your tongue for the present. I might find it useful to be believed in as a man of honour by some of the folk here yet awhile!"

"What a delightful joke!" cried Thaddy, full of laughter, and brandishing the famous confederatka as he made his bow. But when the door had closed upon him, an expression of admiring awe once more settled on his features. "What a villain!" he murmured, "what an incomparable villain!"

Mr. Hajek's visit at the villa proved highly touching; that supreme moment especially, when, in his capacity of accepted lover, he imprinted a delicate kiss on the fair one's brow, a proceeding at which Herr and Frau von Antoniewicz tossed their handkerchiefs before their tearless eyes, whimpering affectedly, "Be happy, children; as happy as we ourselves have been!"

When the mandatar returned to his chambers he found on his table a note from the district governor. "Favour me with a call at my private residence at once," it said; "I have a communication of importance to make to you." Hajek was surprised, and slightly fluttered. The die was cast, his future secured, and if he stayed prudently at Colomea he had scarcely anything to fear from Taras. And yet he trembled. What if Taras had been caught, and he had sacrificed himself in vain--allowing a lady of the countess's antecedents to address him as her promised husband? Well, never mind, it was impossible to go back now, considering the manner of his courting. He had cast in his lot with these creatures and must abide by it.

With a sense of expectation he went his way to the governor's. Herr von Bauer received him politely. He was one of those officials, rather numerous at that time, who considered abruptness a sort of armour to be worn during office hours, but not required when off duty. The district governor was quite genial within the precincts of his own fireside, and all the more courteous now for remembering that he had put forth some special bristles along with that armour in his previous interview with the mandatar. "A pleasure to see you," he a.s.sured Mr. Hajek, shaking hands vigorously. "I have some important news which will please you,"

he said, winking mysteriously--"please you particularly."

"Has Taras been caught?" inquired the mandatar.

"Caught? Dear me, no! Why, who should have caught him? ... This is what I wanted to tell you: You know the court sat to-day. We had an unusual influx of landed proprietors and mandatars, and there was much talking concerning Taras; in fact he seems the one topic all over the country.

They all agreed that his rising was most dangerous, because the peasantry everywhere are devoted to him. There could be no doubt, they a.s.sured me, but that the manor house at Zulawce would be attacked on Sunday, and if he got hold of you, your life was not worth two straws--not two straws, they said!"

"Well," said the mandatar, with affected composure, "this may be important to know, but I fail to see why it should please me."

"No, no, of course, the pleasant part is coming--for yourself I mean, not for me. I hate having things done in an irregular way. But I suppose this is an exception." A groan escaped him. "Well, sir, I called a meeting of the board--a special meeting, and it was resolved to treat the case as a matter of unusual importance, attending to it, therefore, on the spot--an example of despatch quite unprecedented in my experience, I a.s.sure you. A commissioner will be sent to Zulawce as early as next Tuesday--we must, if possible, have an exact report of that speech--and a courier went off this very afternoon to inform the brigadier-general at Stanislaw of the state of affairs, submitting to him the necessity of ordering a company of infantry to Zulawce. This I am sure----"

"Is pleasant to know! so it is," interrupted the mandatar. "But might I suggest----"

"Yes, certainly; suggest away, sir," said the governor, waxing impatient. There had been a sound of teacups from the adjoining apartment.

"It appears to be a general conviction that the manor house at Zulawce is to be attacked on the night of Easter Sunday. In that case the military, in order to be of any use should arrive at the place on Sunday afternoon. But this is scarcely possible if it be infantry. This is Thursday. The courier, at the earliest, will reach Stanislaw at daybreak to-morrow. Now, supposing even the general attended to the matter at once, and made out his order to the soldiers by ten----"

"Or a quarter past," interrupted the governor, rushing into his office armour evidently. "What are you driving at, sir?"

"You will see presently," retorted the mandatar, nettled in his turn. "Supposing the general made out his order to the nearest regiment of infantry by ten o'clock, a detachment could not be off under four-and-twenty hours, for they are quartered at Czortkow, and it will be a two days' march for them to reach their destination--by Monday morning at the earliest, that is. So, you see, the village could only be protected against Sunday by means of the Palffy hussars, who are at Zablotow, close at hand."

"Sir," growled the governor, "are you fooling me? Am I the brigadier-general? I am governor of this district, and my business is to apply for military intervention if need be, but not to ask for cavalry or artillery when there are no means of stabling the horses.

There are no large stables at Zulawce, so it must be infantry. They shall be there when they can; or do you expect us to introduce new regulations into the country just to suit _your_ need? What do you mean by directing my attention to the distance, or to the length of time a detachment will be on the march? Am I supposed to know that? Am I in the general's coat to give his orders?"

"No--in your own smoking cap and slippers," replied the mandatar quietly, the words acting like magic. The old growler suddenly remembered that he was not in his office, but at home, where civility was due to a caller. And he put off his armour hastily.

"Well--a case of unusual importance, I was saying...." The poor old gentleman felt guilty, however, and was anxious to make reparation. "It is a trouble altogether--this Taras--but I was going to add, I have invited some of our people to dine with us on Sunday, and if you will do me the honour, we shall be charmed, sir."

He held out his hand to Mr. Hajek who put his fingers into it eagerly.

An invitation to the district governor's annual dinner when all the elite of the place was a.s.sembled would have flattered him at any time; but to a man who had just become engaged to a lady of the Countess Wanda's reputation this was simply invaluable....

"So far he has not heard of it, evidently," the bridegroom elect said to himself as he descended the stairs. "I daresay it will be no secret by Sunday, and it will be as well for me to be seen then at the governor's dinner! However, I need not care now for anybody's opinion, any more than I need for Taras himself. It was foolish of me to excite myself at all about the military movements. What does it matter to me whether the Count's manor house be burnt or not, so long as myself and my cash-box are safe out of it?"

He was still pursuing this high-minded strain of thought, when, at the end of the street, he came into collision with a figure rushing round the corner in the opposite direction. But he saw at a glance that apologies were needless, for it was only Thaddy whom he had sent flying against the wall.

"Oh, to be sure," cried the latter, rubbing his shoulder, "what eagerness in a lover! Romeo going to visit Juliet, I'll be bound."

"Oh no, I am going home; but you, I daresay, are making for the cellars?"

"Alas! I am not in the vein. I was lost in meditation, remembering a certain conversation I once had with my ill.u.s.trious half-brother, Nicolas I., and how my life since----"

"Nicolas I.! You don't mean to say that this is Thursday? I really was forgetting.... But let me tell you, if you _do_ go to the cellars and should not find any of your friends in the mood to treat you to a gla.s.s of Moldavian for your story about Nicolas, I'll not have you try your luck by publishing my engagement with the countess! If you breathe a word of it, I shall deduct fifty florins from your expected pay. Just bear that in mind. Good morning!"

The Czar's half-brother stood stock still, overtaken by an evident conflict. For Bogdan had just told him, "If by this time to-morrow the whole town is not aware of the engagement, I'll have you kicked downstairs when next you show your face here." A sore dilemma for the n.o.bly-born Thaddy--to be kicked downstairs or forego fifty of his hard-earned florins! He would have submitted to the kicking willingly, so long as it left him at liberty to remount those stairs after the performance....

In a distracted state of mind, Thaddy entered the cellars, but the company there was in good humour, greeting him uproariously. "Good heavens," they cried, "are we to stand treat for hearing your romances about Nicolas--this is Thursday!" He could not, of course, submit to this taunt, and resolved, therefore, for once to keep to realities, giving them an account of the mandatar's latest achievement, the plain truth of it, with some exceedingly daring interpolations. But when he added: "This Mr. Hajek is a villain ingrained, sirs!" there was not one to dissent from the statement.

Towards noon the following day the mandatar set out to repeat his call at the villa, saying to himself as he crossed his threshold: "I shall know within ten minutes whether Thaddy has kept the matter close or not." And he did know before he had gone the length of the street! The secretary of the local board, Mr. Wroblewski, was the first acquaintance he met; but this gentleman appeared to have made a sudden discovery upon the roof of the town hall, which required his intentest gaze in that direction, whilst the chief postmaster, Nossek, another of his acquaintances coming along, was lost in a contemplation of the paving-stones, quite overlooking the mandatar in consequence. This was a cut to the heart; but Hajek recovered himself very soon, holding his head erect and stepping out courageously. "Once settled at Drinkowce,"

he consoled himself, "these things will show in a different light."

He was met in the Armenian's ante-chamber by the chosen bride herself; she walked slowly, not for sweet modesty's sake, but only because she was rather fat. That was a drawback to her charms; for the rest she had sparkling eyes and a rare wig of golden hair, slightly reddish though.

She was in her ripest prime, like a cabbage-rose in September, when the perfume of spring has fled and the petals have expanded, the season of sweetness being gone.

He kissed her hands, she offered him her face. "Come," she whispered, "my parents await you, to settle the programme for Sunday."

They were soon agreed that since the engagement was certain not to remain a secret even till then, it behoved them to act a little drama of innocence before the eyes of their guests. "We shall not ask many people; just a select few," said Frau von Antoniewicz, Mr. Hajek agreeing to this fervently, well knowing that not a dozen visitors would be found forthcoming, if pressed ever so hard.

"And now the programme for the evening," resumed the lady--"a select few; we shall talk and have some music, but no dancing. When the clock strikes ten my daughter will take her place by the piano to give us an air of Cherubini's, after which you move up to her, complimenting her on her exquisite voice; and, giving her your arm, you will lead her into the smaller drawing-room, where the illumination will be appropriately subdued. I shall have some things up from the conservatory--palms and things, to represent a bower; a fauteuil will be placed conveniently, and a low stool beside it. Wanda will sink gracefully into the fauteuil; you will be at her feet on the stool--it will be quite a picture, and there will be a whispering among the company. This will be the moment when you must kneel, gazing at her adoringly; she will start up, endeavouring to escape.--It will be pretty if you can manage a blush, my dear; it is easy, you know, if you hold your breath.--I shall be crossing the room accidentally, and shall give a startled cry; whereupon you will take my daughter by the hand, leading her up to me, saying, 'Best of mothers, give us your blessing,'

or some such suitable words. I shall be greatly touched, and shall say something appropriate. So will Bogdan. Then we shall have supper; a few toasts will have to be managed: long life to the lovers, and you must reply, lifting your gla.s.s to Bogdan and me."

"And then the curtain will fall," said Hajek, at which the wrinkled dame lifted her finger saucily. "My dear Mr. Hajek," she said, "the whole of life is but a comedy; who thinks differently is a fool. Then why should I not arrange this little scene before the closing act of my own life as merrily as I please, and you just be satisfied!"

"Certainly," he said; "but I will stipulate for a comfortable ha.s.sock to kneel upon."

They laughed and went to the dining-room....

Considering how he was being cut by every one in the streets, the mandatar would not have been in the least surprised to receive some excuse from the district governor cancelling the invitation to his dinner. But no message came, for the simple reason that Herr von Bauer had quite forgotten he had asked the mandatar, and had not even told his wife. The governor, therefore, was disagreeably surprised when, at the appointed hour, Mr. Hajek presented himself among his guests, while the 'district governess'--as his wife, on account of her overbearing ways, was often called by her jocose acquaintances--flared up crimson with annoyance. It seemed to her as if the eyes of all present were filled with angry reproaches. The fact was, the mandatar had arrived at the very moment when the company was enjoying the newest bit of scandal, having learned by this time how he and the Countess Wanda, with the help of Thaddy, had discovered their secret flame. It was an awkward interruption; not the least so for Hajek himself. But he was the only one who showed any presence of mind. He made his bow to the company, some staring back at him utterly surprised, some completely disgusted; and having kissed the unwilling hand of the lady of the house, he seized the paralysed fingers of her lord, shaking hands with a fine pretence of unconcern. Herr von Bauer, of course, submitted, greeting him with a smile even--"a smile, upon my word," said the witty Wroblewski, "like that of a convict being tickled." The governor was endeavouring to do his duty. "Ah," he said, "I am surprised.... ahem, delighted to see you.... very.... ah!"

And then he recovered himself, perceiving that he owed it to his wife to take upon himself the onus of this man's presence, and that he could not expect any of his guests to entertain him. "Dearest Cornelia," he was heard to say, "I am sure it slipped my memory, but I invited Mr.

Hajek--I asked him on Thursday--on _Thursday_, you know," he added, pointedly, "and I am afraid I am going to monopolise him on account of important business"--the mandatar keeping up his most amiable smile.

He drew him into a corner. "I have heard this morning from the brigadier-general by special messenger. A detachment of infantry has been despatched to Zulawce, and will arrive there on Monday as you calculated. But the general, besides this, has thought well to order the hussars to be there by this evening, just as you proposed. He thinks it is as well to be on the safe side."

"Very commendable prudence, no doubt, since Taras seems determined----"

"Determined? What is that to us! Who ever heard of cavalry being ordered to a place where they find no stabling! It is no joke to disregard established rules--none whatever! But I wash my hands of any consequences--I do, indeed!"

"And may I ask who will be sent on Tuesday, as you said, as your commissioner?"

"Kap.r.o.nski. Well! what is that grimace for? We do things in proper order. He conducted the inquiry there on the former occasion, he may therefore be expected to be the man for it now. But--a happy thought!--I am sure you could give him a hint or two."

The governor rubbed his hands; it seemed a bright idea to set the two least welcome of his guests at each other, thus rendering them harmless for the rest of the company. And he gave a sign to Kap.r.o.nski, who obeyed with alacrity; for if it was an honour to be invited to the governor's official dinner, it had, so far, not yielded him any pleasure. The company was apt to overlook him, and people would appear to labour under deafness when he addressed them. But being called upon to enter into conversation with Mr. Hajek was like being lifted on to a pedestal; for certainly this man stood lower now in the public estimation than even Kap.r.o.nski himself. So he approached him accordingly, drawing up his fawning figure and a.s.suming an expression of patronage ludicrous to behold.

"You have a favour to ask of me?" he began pompously.

The mandatar gave him a look of cutting sarcasm. "You are mistaken, sir!"

"I--I misunderstood--a request to make?" Kap.r.o.nski could not stand being looked at boldly, and was slipping down from his pedestal rapidly.