Chapter XVI: The Mystery of Prince Zastrow

Events now began to move with an almost bewildering rapidity, at least, so far as they affected the immediate temporal concerns of Nitocris and her father. For days and weeks a furious storm raged round the famous lecture, and the atmosphere of the scientific world was thick with figures and formulæ, diagrams and disquisitions; but since none of the learned disputators proved himself capable of detecting the slightest flaw in the lecturer’s mathematics, it had very little interest for him, and therefore has none for us. In fact, so little did he seem concerned with the tempest he had raised, that a few days later, to the astonishment and chagrin of his baffled critics, he and Nitocris bade adieu to their more intimate friends and disappeared on a wandering trip of undetermined destination for change of air and scene and a much-needed holiday for the over-worked Professor. At least, that is the reason which Nitocris gave to Lord Leighton and the Van Huysmans, and the few others to whom she thought it necessary to give any explanation at all.

The day before they left, Merrill lunched at “The Wilderness,” took a fitting leave of his lady-love and his prospective father-in-law, and departed to join his ship, slightly mystified, perhaps, by recent happenings, but still believing himself with sufficient reason to be the happiest and most fortunate Lieutenant-Commander in the British Navy.

The true reasons for the sudden departure of the now more than ever famous Professor and his beautiful daughter from the scene of his latest and most marvellous triumph may be set forth as follows:

On the evening of the third day after the lecture Franklin Marmion was going back by train to Wimbledon after a long day at the British Museum among the relics of Egyptian antiquity--which, as may well be understood, he studied now with an interest of which no other man living could have been capable; and as soon as he was seated in a comfortable corner, and had his pipe going, he opened his Pall Mall Gazette, and, as was his wont on such occasions, began with the leading article and read straight along through the Special Article and the Occ. Notes, until he came to the news of the day, skipping only the financial news and quotations, which, under his present changed conditions of existence, he dare not trust himself to read lest he might be tempted by the unrighteousness of Mammon, a form of idolatry which he had always heartily despised.

The first item on the news page was headed in bold type:

~”MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF A

RULING GERMAN PRINCE.

“SUSPICION OF FOUL PLAY.

“IMPORTANT STATE PAPERS VANISH WITH

HIM.--SPECIAL.~

“In spite of the most rigorous censorship of the Press Bureau, it

has now become a matter of practical certainty that Prince Emil

Rudolf von Zastrow, the youthful and very capable ruler of Boravia,

who, during the last two or three years, has become one of the most

brilliant figures in European society, has disappeared under

circumstances so strangely mysterious as to suggest some analogy

with the tragedy of which the unhappy Prince Alexander of Bulgaria

was the central figure.

“The facts, so far as they have been ascertained, are briefly as

follows:--Up to about a fortnight ago, the Prince was living in

semi-retirement with his consort, the Princess Hermia, in his

picturesque Castle of Trelitz, which, as every one knows, looks

down over the waters of the Baltic from a solitary eminence of rock

which rises out of the vast forests that cover the rolling plains

for leagues on the landward sides. It will be remembered that every

year since his accession, the Prince has been wont to retire to

this famous hunting-ground of his to enjoy at once the pleasures of

the chase and the society of his beautiful young consort in peace

and solitude after the whirl of the European winter season. As far

as is known, the only guests at the Castle were the Count Ulik von

Kessner, High Chamberlain of Boravia, who is believed to have been

present on business of State, and Captain Alexis Vollmar, of the

55th Caucasus Regiment, at present attached to the Imperial

Headquarter Staff at St Petersburg. Captain Vollmar, in addition to

being a brilliant young officer, is also a scion of two of the

wealthiest and most aristocratic families in Russia.

“It is now fully established that on the evening of the 6th of this

month--that is to say, nearly three weeks ago--the Prince and his

two guests returned after a long day in the forest, and that the

Prince retired to rest very shortly before supper. From that day to

this he has never been seen, either at home or in society. What

makes the disappearance more strangely striking is the fact that

the Prince, who is Colonel of the 28th Pommeranian Regiment, did

not put in an appearance at the recent review in the Kaiserhof when

the German Emperor held his usual inspection. Although it was

obvious that His Majesty was both puzzled and annoyed by his

absence, no official explanation of it has been given, and all

information on the subject is rigidly withheld. Our own comes from

a personal friend, and, as far as it goes, may be absolutely relied

upon.”

For some reason or other, which, after his recent experiences, he thought it would be as well not to try and fathom for the present, these few paragraphs made a strangely persistent impression on him. When he got home he gave his evening papers as usual to his daughter, and at dinner the Zastrow mystery was the chief, in fact almost the only, topic of conversation.

“Yes, it certainly is very extraordinary,” said Nitocris. “The papers make mysteries enough out of the disappearance, of the most everyday, insignificant persons, who were probably only running away from their debts or their domestic troubles, but for a real Prince to utterly vanish like this--that certainly looks like a little more than an ordinary mystery. And I suppose,” she went on, after a little interval of silence, “if there really has been foul play--I mean, granted that Prince Charming, as all the Society papers got to call him, has been spirited away for some hidden reason of State or politics and is never intended to see the light of day again, who knows how many secrets may be connected with this affair which might be like matches in a powder magazine? And--Oh yes--why, Dad, it was this same Prince Zastrow who has been mentioned by most of the best European papers as the only possible Elective Tsar of Russia if the Romanoffs are driven out by the Revolution, and the people go back to the old Constitution. In fact, some of them went so far as to say that nothing but his selection could prevent a scramble for the fragments of Russia which could only end in general conflagration.”

“Yes, of course I do,” replied her father. “But what an atrocious shame, if it is so! One of the most popular of the minor princes of Europe spirited away, and perhaps either murdered or thrown into some prison or fortress, where he will drag out his days and nights in solitude until he goes mad: a young, bright, promising life ruined, just because he happens to stand in the way of some unscrupulous ambition, or vile political intrigue!

“It would be a crime of the very first magnitude, that is to say, of the most villainous description, and all the more horrible because it would be committed by people in the highest of places. Really, Niti, it is enough to make one think that there ought to be some higher power in the world capable of making these political crimes impossible. The inner history of European politics--I mean, the history that doesn’t get into books or newspapers--would, I am certain, prove that quite half the wars of the world, at least during the period of what we are pleased to call civilisation, would have been avoided if some means could have been found of putting an end to the miserable personal ambitions and jealousies which have never anything to do with the welfare of nations, but quite the reverse. I shouldn’t wonder if poor Prince Zastrow has been the victim of something of the sort. It is quite possible that expiring Tsardom had a finger in the pie. At any rate, there was a Russian officer in the Castle the day he disappeared. I should very much like to see the sort of explanation he could give of the affair, if he chose.”

“But is there not such a power in the world now, Dad?” asked Nitocris, looking across the table at him with a peculiar smile.

He looked back in silence for a moment or two. Then he replied slowly:

“I see what you mean, Niti. Of course, I suppose we shall be able to read each other’s thoughts now, or even converse without speaking, or when we are out of earshot of each other. The same idea came to me while I was reading the account of this affair in the train; but should I, or, rather we, be doing right in interfering actively in the transactions, political and otherwise, of the world--by which I mean, of course, the state of three dimensions? It would be a terrific responsibility. Remember what tremendous powers we are capable of wielding by simply--it is so very simple now--simply transferring our personalities to the higher plane. What if we were to do wrong? We might involve the whole world in some unspeakable catastrophe.”

“And which do you consider to be the greatest catastrophe, or, perhaps I ought rather to say the greatest evil, that has ever afflicted the world, Dad?” she asked, with just a suspicion of a smile in her eyes, though her lips were perfectly serious.

“Oh, war, of course!” he replied, with his usual emphasis when he got on to that topic. “What was I saying only just now about personal intrigues and ambitions that make war? What have I always thought about war? It is the most appalling curse----”

“Then, Dad,” she interrupted in her sweetest tones, “do you think that, supposing we possess these wonderful powers, they could be better used than in preventing any war which may possibly arise out of this disappearance of Prince Zastrow, and so convincing those who are wicked enough to plunge the human race into blood and misery that henceforth all wars of aggression and ambition will be impossible?”