The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (readera ebook reader txt) 📕

Usually The Orgies Remain Quite Innocent,  Of A Character That

Certainly Might Trouble The Temperance Societies But Need Not Make

M. Le Senateur Berenger Feel Involved.

A War Whose Powder Fumes Reeked Still,  A Revolution Whose Last

Defeated Growls Had Not Died Away At The Period Of These Events,

Had Not At All Diminished The Nightly Gayeties Of Kretowsky.  Many

Of The Young Men Who Displayed Their Uniforms That Evening And

Called Their "Nichevo" Along The Brilliantly Lighted Paths Of The

Public Gardens,  Or Filled The Open-Air Tables,  Or Drank Vodka At

The Buffets,  Or Admired The Figures Of The Wandering Soubrettes,

Had Come Here On The Eve Of Their Departure For The War And Had

Returned With The Same Child-Like,  Enchanted Smile,  The Same Ideal

Of Futile Joy,  And Kissed Their Passing Comrades As Gayly As Ever.

Some Of Them Had A Sleeve Lying Limp Now,  Or Walked With A Crutch,

Or Even On A Wooden Leg,  But It Was,  All The Same,  "Nichevo!"

The Crowd This Evening Was Denser Than Ordinarily,  Because There

Was The Chance To Hear Annouchka Again For The First Time Since The

Somber Days Of Moscow.  The Students Were Ready To Give Her An

Ovation,  And No One Opposed It,  Because,  After All,  If She Sang Now

It Was Because The Police Were Willing At Last.  If The Tsar's

Government Had Granted Her Her Life,  It Was Not In Order To Compel

Her To Die Of Hunger.  Each Earned A Livelihood As Was Possible.

Annouchka Only Knew How To Sing And Dance,  And So She Must Sing

And Dance!

When Rouletabille Entered The Krestowsky Gardens,  Annouchka Had

Commenced Her Number,  Which Ended With A Tremendous "Roussalka."

Surrounded By A Chorus Of Male And Female Dancers In The National

Dress And With Red Boots,  Striking Tambourines With Their Fingers,

Then Suddenly Taking A Rigid Pose To Let The Young Woman's Voice,

Which Was Of Rather Ordinary Register,  Come Out,  Annouchka Had

Centered The Attention Of The Immense Audience Upon Herself.  All

The Other Parts Of The Establishment Were Deserted,  The Tables Had

Been Removed,  And A Panting Crowd Pressed About The Open-Air Theater.

Rouletabille Stood Up On His Chair At The Moment Tumultuous "Bravos"

Sounded From A Group Of Students.  Annouchka Bowed Toward Them,

Seeming To Ignore The Rest Of The Audience,  Which Had Not Dared

Declare Itself Yet.  She Sang The Old Peasant Songs Arranged To

Present-Day Taste,  And Interspersed Them With Dances.  They Had An

Enormous Success,  Because She Gave Her Whole Soul To Them And Sang

With Her Voice Sometimes Caressing,  Sometimes Menacing,  And

Sometimes Magnificently Desperate,  Giving Much Significance To

Words Which On Paper Had Not Aroused The Suspicions Of The Censor.

The Taste Of The Day Was Obviously Still A Taste For The Revolution,

Which Retained Its Influence On The Banks Of The Neva.  What She

Was Doing Was Certainly Very Bold,  And Apparently She Realized How

Audacious She Was,  Because,  With Great Adroitness,  She Would Bring

Out Immediately After Some Dangerous Phrase A Patriotic Couplet

Which Everybody Was Anxious To Applaud.  She Succeeded By Such Means

In Appealing To All The Divergent Groups Of Her Audience And Secured

A Complete Triumph For Herself.  The Students,  The Revolutionaries,

The Radicals And The Cadets Acclaimed The Singer,  Glorifying Not

Only Her Art But Also And Beyond Everything Else The Sister Of The

Engineer Volkousky,  Who Had Been Doomed To Perish With Her Brother

By The Bullets Of The Semenovsky Regiment.  The Friends Of The

Court On Their Side Could Not Forget That It Was She Who,  In Front

Of The Kremlin,  Had Struck Aside The Arm Of Constantin Kochkarof,

Ordered By The Central Revolutionary Committee To Assassinate The

Grand Duke Peter Alexandrovitch As He Drove Up To The Governor's

House In His Sleigh.  The Bomb Burst Ten Feet Away,  Killing

Constantin Kochkarof Himself.  It May Be That Before Death Came He

Had Time To Hear Annouchka Cry To Him,  "Wretch!  You Were Told To

Kill The Prince,  Not To Assassinate His Children."  As It Happened,

Peter Alexandrovitch Held On His Knees The Two Little Princesses,

Seven And Eight Years Old.  The Court Had Wished To Recompense Her

For That Heroic Act.  Annouchka Had Spit At The Envoy Of The Chief

Of Police Who Called To Speak To Her Of Money.  At The Hermitage In

Moscow,  Where She Sang Then,  Some Of Her Admirers Had Warned Her Of

Possible Reprisals On The Part Of The Revolutionaries.  But The

Revolutionaries Gave Her Assurance At Once That She Had Nothing To

Fear.  They Approved Her Act And Let Her Know That They Now Counted

On Her To Kill The Grand Duke Some Time When He Was Alone; Which

Had Made Annouchka Laugh.  She Was An Enfant Terrible,  Whose Friends

No One Knew,  Who Passed For Very Wise,  And Whose Lines Of Intrigue

Were Inscrutable.  She Enjoyed Making Her Hosts In The Private

Supper-Rooms Quake Over Their Meal.  One Day She Had Said Bluntly

To One Of The Most Powerful Tchinovnicks Of Moscow:  "You,  My Old

Friend,  You Are President Of The Black Hundred.  Your Fate Is Sealed.

Yesterday You Were Condemned To Death By The Delegates Of The Central

Committee At Presnia.  Say Your Prayers."  The Man Reached For

Champagne.  He Never Finished His Glass.  The Dvornicks Carried Him

Out Stricken With Apoplexy.  Since The Time She Saved The Little

Grand-Duchesses The Police Had Orders To Allow Her To Act And Talk

As She Pleased.  She Had Been Mixed Up In The Deepest Plots Against

The Government.  Those Who Lent The Slightest Countenance To Such

Plottings And Were Not Of The Police Simply Disappeared.  Their

Friends Dared Not Even Ask For News Of Them.  The Only Thing Not In

Doubt About Them Was That They Were At Hard Labor Somewhere In The

Mines Of The Ural Mountains.  At The Moment Of The Revolution

Annouchka Had A Brother Who Was An Engineer On The Kasan-Moscow Line.

This Volkousky Was One Of The Leaders On The Strike Committee.  The

Authorities Had An Eye On Him.  The Revolution Started.  He,  With

The Help Of His Sister,  Accomplished One Of Those Formidable Acts

Which Will Carry Their Memory As Heroes To The Farthest Posterity.

Their Work Accomplished,  They Were Taken By Trebassof's Soldiers.

Both Were Condemned To Death.  Volkousky Was Executed First,  And

The Sister Was Taking Her Turn When An Officer Of The Government

Arrived On Horseback To Stop The Firing.  The Tsar,  Informed Of Her

Intended Fate,  Had Sent A Pardon By Telegraph.  After That She

Disappeared.  She Was Supposed To Have Gone On Some Tour Across

Europe,  As Was Her Habit,  For She Spoke All The Languages,  Like A

True Bohemian.  Now She Had Reappeared In All Her Joyous Glory At

Krestowsky.  It Was Certain,  However,  That She Had Not Forgotten Her

Brother.  Gossips Said That If The Government And The Police Showed

Themselves So Long-Enduring They Found It To Their Interest To Do

So.  The Open,  Apparent Life Annouchka Led Was Less Troublesome To

Them Than Her Hidden Activities Would Be.  The Lesser Police Who

Surrounded The Chief Of The St. Petersburg Secret Service,  The

Famous Gounsovski,  Had Meaning Smiles When The Matter Was Discussed.

Among Them Annouchka Had The Ignoble Nickname,  "Stool-Pigeon."

Rouletabille Must Have Been Well Aware Of All These Particulars

Concerning Annoucbka,  For He Betrayed No Astonishment At The Great

Interest And The Strong Emotion She Aroused.  From The Corner

Where He Was He Could See Only A Bit Of The Stage,  And He Was

Standing On Tiptoes To See The Singer When He Felt His Coat Pulled.

He Turned.  It Was The Jolly Advocate,  Well Known For His Gastronomic

Feats,  Athanase Georgevitch,  Along With The Jolly Imperial Councilor,

Ivan Petrovitch,  Who Motioned Him To Climb Down.

"Come With Us; We Have A Box."

Rouletabille Did Not Need Urging,  And He Was Soon Installed In The

Front Of A Box Where He Could See The Stage And The Public Both.

Just Then The Curtain Fell On The First Part Of Annouchka's

Performance.  The Friends Were Soon Rejoined By Thaddeus

Tchitchnikoff,  The Great Timber-Merchant,  Who Came From Behind The

Scenes.

"I Have Been To See The Beautiful Onoto," Announced The Lithuanian

With A Great Satisfied Laugh.  "Tell Me The News.  All The Girls

Are Sulking Over Annouchka's Success."

"Who Dragged You Into The Onoto's Dressing-Room Then?  Demanded

Athanase.

"Oh,  Gounsovski Himself,  My Dear.  He Is Very Amateurish,  You Know."

"What!  Do You Knock Around With Gounsovski?"

"On My Word,  I Tell You,  Dear Friends,  He Isn't A Bad Acquaintance.

He Did Me A Little Service At Bakou Last Year.  A Good Acquaintance

In These Times Of Public Trouble."

"You Are In The Oil Business Now,  Are You?"

"Oh,  Yes,  A Little Of Everything For A Livelihood.  I Have A Little

Well Down Bakou Way,  Nothing Big; And A Little House,  A Very Small

One For My Small Business."

"What A Monopolist Thaddeus Is," Declared Athanase Georgevitch,

Hitting Him A Formidable Slap On The Thigh With His Enormous Hand.

"Gounsovski Has Come Himself To Keep An Eye On Annouchka's Debut,

Eh?  Only He Goes Into Onoto's Dressing-Room,  The Rogue."

"Oh,  He Doesn't Trouble Himself.  Do You Know Who He Is To Have

Supper With?  With Annouchka,  My Dears,  And We Are Invited."

"How's That?" Inquired The Jovial Councilor.

"It Seems Gounsovski Influenced The Minister To Permit Annouchka's

Performance By Declaring He Would Be Responsible For It All.  He

Required From Annouchka Solely That She Have Supper With Him On The

Evening Of Her Debut."

"And Annouchka Consented?"

"That Was The Condition,  It Seems.  For That Matter,  They Say That

Annouchka And Gounsovski Don't Get Along So Badly Together.

Gounsovski Has Done Annouchka Many A Good Turn.  They Say He Is In

Love With Her."

"He Has The Air Of An Umbrella Merchant," Snorted Athanase

Georgevitch.

"Have You Seen Him At Close Range?" Inquired Ivan.

"I Have Dined At His House,  Though It Is Nothing To Boast Of,  On

My Word."