wait there until somebody begins to notice that no one goes in and out, and chances to mention it to the landlord—which few people would take the trouble to do. Did you come here from Moscow?”
“I know nothing,” said Marco.
“You might remain in the good little black cellar an unpleasantly long time before you were found,” the man went on, quite coolly. “Do you remember the peasants who came to see your father two nights before you left?”
“I know nothing,” said Marco.
“By the time it was discovered that the house was empty and people came in to make sure, you might be too weak to call out and attract their attention. Did you go to Budapest from Vienna, and were you there for three months?” asked the inquisitor.
“I know nothing,” said Marco.
“You are too good for the little black cellar,” put in the Lovely Person. “I like you. Don’t go into it!”
“I know nothing,” Marco answered, but the eyes which were like Loristan’s gave her just such a look as Loristan would have given her, and she felt it. It made her uncomfortable.
“I don’t believe you were ever ill-treated or beaten,” she said. “I tell you, the little black cellar will be a hard thing. Don’t go there!”
And this time Marco said nothing, but looked at her still as if he were some great young noble who was very proud.
He knew that every word the bearded man had spoken was true. To cry out would be of no use. If they went away and left him behind them, there was no knowing how many days would pass before the people of the neighborhood would begin to suspect that the place had been deserted, or how long it would be before it occurred to some one to give warning to the owner. And in the meantime, neither his father nor Lazarus nor The Rat would have the faintest reason for guessing where he was. And he would be sitting alone in the dark in the wine-cellar. He did not know in the least what to do about this thing. He only knew that silence was still the order.
“It is a jet-black little hole,” the man said. “You might crack your throat in it, and no one would hear. Did men come to talk with your father in the middle of the night when you were in Vienna?”
“I know nothing,” said Marco.
“He won’t tell,” said the Lovely Person. “I am sorry for this boy.”
“He may tell after he has sat in the good little black wine-cellar for a few hours,” said the man with the pointed beard. “Come with me!”
He put his powerful hand on Marco’s shoulder and pushed him before him. Marco made no struggle. He remembered what his father had said about the game not being a game. It wasn’t a game now, but somehow he had a strong haughty feeling of not being afraid.
He was taken through the hallway, toward the rear, and down the commonplace flagged steps which led to the basement. Then he was marched through a narrow, ill-lighted, flagged passage to a door in the wall. The door was not locked and stood a trifle ajar. His companion pushed it farther open and showed part of a wine-cellar which was so dark that it was only the shelves nearest the door that Marco could faintly see. His captor pushed him in and shut the door. It was as black a hole as he had described. Marco stood still in the midst of darkness like black velvet. His guard turned the key.
“The peasants who came to your father in Moscow spoke Samavian and were big men. Do you remember them?” he asked from outside.
“I know nothing,” answered Marco.
“You are a young fool,” the voice replied. “And I believe you know even more than we thought. Your father will be greatly troubled when you do not come home. I will come back to see you in a few hours, if it is possible. I will tell you, however, that I have had disturbing news which might make it necessary for us to leave the house in a hurry. I might not have time to come down here again before leaving.”
Marco stood with his back against a bit of wall and remained silent.
There was stillness for a few minutes, and then there was to be heard the sound of footsteps marching away.
When the last distant echo died all was quite silent, and Marco drew a long breath. Unbelievable as it may appear, it was in one sense almost a breath of relief. In the rush of strange feeling which had swept over him when he found himself facing the astounding situation upstairs, it had not been easy to realize what his thoughts really were; there were so many of them and they came so fast. How could he quite believe the evidence of his eyes and ears? A few minutes, only a few minutes, had changed his prettily grateful and kindly acquaintance into a subtle and cunning creature whose love for Samavia had been part of a plot to harm it and to harm his father.
What did she and her companion want to do—what could they do if they knew the things they were trying to force him to tell?
Marco braced his back against the wall stoutly.
“What will it be best to think about first?”
This he said because one of the most absorbingly fascinating things he and his father talked about together was the power of the thoughts which human beings allow to pass through their minds—the strange strength of them. When they talked of this, Marco felt as if he were listening to some marvelous Eastern story of magic which was true. In Loristan’s travels, he had visited the far Oriental countries, and he had seen and learned many things which seemed marvels, and they had taught him deep thinking. He had known, and reasoned through days with men who believed that when they desired a thing, clear and exalted thought would bring it to them. He had discovered why they believed this, and had learned to understand their profound arguments.
What he himself believed, he had taught Marco quite simply from his childhood. It was this: he himself—Marco, with the strong boy-body, the thick mat of black hair, and the patched clothes—was the magician. He held and waved his wand himself—and his wand was his own Thought. When special privation or anxiety beset them, it was their rule to say, “What will it be best to think about first?” which was Marco’s reason for saying it to himself now as he stood in the darkness which was like black velvet.
He waited a few minutes for the right thing to come to him.
“I will think of the very old hermit who lived on the ledge of the mountains in India and who let my father talk to him through all one night,” he said at last. This had been a wonderful story and one of his favorites. Loristan had traveled far to see this ancient Buddhist, and what he had seen and heard during that one night had made changes in his life. The part of the story which came back to Marco now was these words:
“Let pass through thy mind, my son, only the image thou wouldst desire to see a truth. Meditate only upon the wish of thy heart, seeing first that it can injure no man and is not ignoble. Then will it take earthly form and draw near to thee. This is the law of that which creates.”
“I am not afraid,” Marco said aloud. “I shall not be afraid. In some way I shall get out.”
This was the image he wanted most to keep steadily in his mind—that nothing could make him afraid, and that in some way he would get out of the wine-cellar.
He thought of this for some minutes, and said the words over several times. He felt more like himself when he had done it.
“When my eyes are accustomed to the darkness, I shall see if there is any little glimmer of light anywhere,” he said next.
He waited with patience, and it seemed for some time that he saw no glimmer at all. He put out his hands on either side of him, and found that, on the side of the wall against which he stood, there seemed to be no shelves. Perhaps the cellar had been used for other purposes than the storing of wine, and, if that was true, there might be somewhere some opening for ventilation. The air was not bad, but then the door had not been shut tightly when the man opened it.
“I am not afraid,” he repeated. “I shall not be afraid. In some way I shall get out.”