The White Terror and The Red: A Novel of Revolutionary Russia by Abraham Cahan
CHAPTER XXIII.
AN UNFORESEEN SUGGESTION.
Pavel's prediction concerning Yossl came true, but the identity of theprovince to which the missing medical student belonged and the one inwhich the unknown Nihilist had been arrested escaped the notice of thesecret service, and the Zorki gendarme officer contented himself withappropriating the Paris letter. Chance, however, soon solved the riddlefor the authorities: a prisoner from Zorki, a drunkard charged withpetty larceny, recognised Makar in the prison yard.
It was Masha who brought the news to Pavel and Clara.
"The general of gendarmes was there, the assistant procureur, my brotherand the warden," she said, describing the scene when Parmet was firstaddressed by his name in prison. "It was in the office. When he wasbrought in, my brother says his heart--my brother's heart, I mean--beganto beat fast. The assistant procureur offered him a chair." She paused,with an appealing smile, her hand to her bosom. "My heart, too, isbeating fearfully at this minute, as I picture the scene. I am tooimaginative, I am afraid. Well, he pulled up a chair, the assistantprocureur and said: 'Be seated, Monsieur Parmet.' The prisoner started alittle, just a little, don't you know, and then he smiled and began torub his eyes, as if he had just been awakened. The general got angry andsaid now there was no use for him to make believe and to keep his mouthshut and the assistant procureur said very politely he might as welltell them a little more about himself and the people he knew inMiroslav, as they were well known to the gendarmes anyhow. They coaxedhim and coaxed him and coaxed him until he shouted: 'As to myself I havethe honour of being a member of the Party of the Will of the People. Asto those I know in Miroslav, I assure you I don't know anybody here.'But didn't he tease them! 'I hoped to form some connections here,' hesaid, 'but then you were foolish enough to arrest me without giving me achance. The St. Petersburg gendarmes will laugh at you when they hear ofthe kind of job you have made of it.'"
Pavel roared. He thought Makar's taunting answer would induce the localgendarme office to detain him in the hope of discovering his prospective"connections."
"Only why should he have said he was a member of the Party of the Willof the People? That will aggravate his case," Clara said.
"That was the dream of his life--to say that, and to say ittriumphantly, to some gendarme officers. At any rate, we have no time tolose."
That afternoon Pavel had a talk with Makar from the top of the hilloverlooking the prison yard.
"Hurrah!" Makar's handkerchief flashed back in answer to his first"hello." "They know my name. I had some fun with them."
"It was all right, only for the sake of everything that is noble, don'taggravate your case. Otherwise everything looks bright. Answer no moreof their questions."
"Crazy to wag my tongue. Have not spoken so long. I am trying to make aconvert of my guard. Pastime."
"Don't, for God's sake don't, or you'll ruin it all. Promise to keepsilent. Do you?"
"Don't get angry. I can see your handkerchief gnashing its teeth. Onlyone thing more. May I?"
"Hurry up."
"Here, in prison I am openly a citizen of the Social Republic, and theCzar is powerless to subdue me. I am in a cell. What more can he do withme? But here, in this cell, where his power is most complete, I openlydefy him, all his gendarmes and army notwithstanding."
Pavel went away, cursing and laughing.
* * * * *
Every scheme of the conspirators turned out to be beset withinsurmountable difficulties. Clara did not tell Pavel all she knew andmade light of those obstacles with which he was acquainted, but in herown heart she was extremely uneasy.
One evening Pavel sat on a bench in front of a public house, smoking acheap pipe. He had a loaded pistol in his pocket and a dagger under hisvest. The prison was a short distance round the third corner. When oneof the customers of the public house seated himself by his side Pavelengaged him in conversation, talking garrulously in the manner of ahumble, careworn government clerk.
At last a way had been found for the provision man to take Makar out ofthe prison yard. This was what kept Pavel in this out-of-the-way spot.In the near vicinity of the inn stood a droshky. The appearance of theprovision waggon, full of empty sacks and some barrels, at a cornerdiagonally across the street was to serve as a signal for Pavel to walkup to a deserted ditch-bridge, where the runaway was expected to emergefrom under the sacks and to put on a military cap. Then Makar andBoulatoff would gain the droshky, mount it, and be driven to thePalace--the best hiding place one could find in all Miroslav.
Pavel was calm, determined, ready to shoot and to be shot at. By degreeshe grew fidgety. Presently Clara passed along. He rose to his feet andwent off in the opposite direction, the two meeting in the next street.
"It was a fizzle to-day, but it'll be all right, Pasha," she said in acheery, matter-of-fact voice. "As ill luck would have it, there weresome people about."
Pavel's brows contracted. "He'll try again, of course."
"Certainly. He will be there in four days."
"Four days! Couldn't he make it sooner?"
"I'll let you know."
"Wait, dearest. Are you sure the people in the prison are not gettingsuspicious about you?" He had asked the question and she had answered itmore than once before.
"I don't think they are. Mme. Shubeyko and the Sparrow are the only oneswho know all about it. As to Rodkevitch, he understands it all, ofcourse, but he pretends not to. The Sparrow has his 'bosom friend' amongthe keepers, but that man does not know anything about me. I am quitesure of it."
"The fewer who know what you are doing there the better, of course.Don't be foolhardy, my charming one. Oh, I do wish it was all over.Mother wants you to go to the country with her, and I should join youtwo for some time."
With a passionate handshake they parted, Clara directing her steps tothe prison building. The tremulous solicitude of his warning, his tenderconcern for her safety left a glow of happiness and devotion in her. Shevisioned him with his pistol and dagger and her heart was crushed withanxiety. With his hot-blooded temerity he was apt to act rashly, to useviolence and stake his own life and Makar's before it was necessary.Pavel's mode of taking away the prisoner had never appealed to herstrongly, and now the idea was growing on her of stealing a march onPavel, of bringing about Makar's liberation when her lover was not onhand. And the more she thought of thus repaying his loving care forherself the keener became her joy in the plan.
Still, the general situation looked so discouraging, that with all herthrills of amorous delight, she was in a state of black despair. Thetruth of the matter was that the provision man, who was eager to earn afew hundred rubles and to be plucky, had proved to be a most unreliable,boastful coward. Clara was cudgelling her brain for some new scheme, forsome new line of action, when an important suggestion came from anunforeseen quarter. Mme. Shubeyko arrived at the prison, all in aflutter with a discovery: Father Michail, the prison priest, boreconsiderable resemblance to Makar.
"That's so, but what of it?" Clara said between irritation and agreeablesurprise.
"What of it! Why,--I have thought it all out, you may be sure of that.It all occurred to me only an hour ago. Even less," she said with thatsilly smile of hers which usually so annoyed Pavel and which at thismoment exasperated Clara even more than it would her quick-temperedlover.
"What did occur to you?" Clara asked, with the least bit of venom on the"did."
Mme. Shubeyko started to explain, but her listener divined the restherself: Makar might pass out in the disguise of a priest, while FatherMichail was with the prisoners.
"It's an excellent idea!" she murmured gravely. She could scarcely bringherself to believe that the plan had emanated from an absurd brain likethat of the woman before her.
"Someone could detain Father Michail until it was all safely over," Mme.Shubeyko went on. "He's awfully fond of card-playing, and if a prettyyoung lady like yourself was his partner he would never have the heartto get u
The Sparrow, however, overruled the whole plan. Father Michail had beenconnected with the prison for twenty years and the two gatemen knew himas they did their own wives. What was more, the day gateman and thepriest were particularly fond of each other and often exchanged jokes.
Clara's hands dropped to her sides. Then she clenched a fist and said:"Oh, nonsense. He'll never know. If Father Michail did not speak to himhe wouldn't think it strange, would he?"
"No, but the gateman might speak to him. Besides, you'll have to get upearly to fool him, lady." Every officer in the prison building had hisnickname, and this vigilant gateman who was a very fat man was known asDouble Chin. He seemed to be dozing half the time; but the Sparrowassured Clara that when his little eyes were shut they saw even betterthan when they were open.
"Nonsense. Your imagination carries you too far. Anyhow, nothingventure, nothing have. We must get that man out."
"Ready to serve you, young lady, only if I may say so, I don't like theplan at all, young lady."