arranged. If he were murdered out here it would be months before the Czar even heard of it, and years before any investigation could be conducted to a conclusion. For the first time he was uneasy, less for himself than for Helena. 'Why, Alexander, was Paul Zinnovy sent here? Stop for a moment and think of that.'
'He was in trouble'--Rotcheff was worried now--'and of course, he is a capable officer.'
'Do you remember Paul's last duel? Rodion announced he was going to demand an investigation into some of the Company affairs, and three days before he was to appear before the Czar he was challenged to a duel by Zinnovy over some fancied slight. And Rodion was killed.'
Rotcheff was silent. There was much to be said for Helena's interpretation of the situation although he was hesitant to admit that Paul Zinnovy might have been sent out for the express purpose of removing him. Three groups were involved in the affairs of Russian America. The Grand Duke's party, of which he was one, wanted to sell the territory of Alaska to the United States, if they could be induced to buy. The Russian American Company were bleeding the Indians white to pay dividends, but they were also bleeding their own stockholders and the government as well. The third group, of whom some were stockholders in the present company, wished to secure the lucrative charter for their own group who were establishing a new company with even greater dividends in prospect. Suppose he were murdered by a drunken native? Or fell overboard in a storm? Or was suddenly taken ill? Who but Zinnovy would prepare the report? Even at Sitka, it would be Rudakof, who would do what Paul Zinnovy told him. Count Rotcheff knew that if the investigation he was conducting brought out the evidence the liberal party believed it would, if it substantiated the complaints the government had received from parties in or visiting Russian America, then the Company's charter would not be renewed nor would another be granted. 'Helena,' he said abruptly, 'I believe you should return to St. Petersburg. If the situation is as serious as you believe, this is no place for you.' 'On the contrary, it is all the more reason I should be with you.' She glanced over her teacup. 'Have you thought of Jean LaBarge? He might help us.'
In his rooms, Jean sat over the books spread out on the table before him. He ran a finger over a small map, searching for Kootznahoo Inlet. He had checked all the reports of furs bought in San Francisco in the last four months and nothing had come from Kootznahoo. He listed it as a likely call, then added four more names to the list.
This first trip must be fast. The places he visited must be near the accepted route but where he could lie at anchor in concealment, and every stopping place must have more than one opening so that if discovered he could get out fast. The deal for the schooner had been consummated, the rifles, ammunition and trade goods had been loaded. Kohl wasted no time, and the schooner was a tight, shipshape craft, easily handled and loaded. She would carry but one gun, and despite her strength and capacity she was a 'light' ship with none of the bulky, overweight gear that characterized so many ships. The sour-faced man who had been in the saloon at the time of the Sullivan fight appeared and was signed on as second mate, and the last two members of the crew were signed. Gant was a broad-built man, and Boyar was tall, stooped in the shoulders, and spoke fluent Russian.
Kohl looked at him without favor. 'You a Russky?' 'I'm a Pole. But I worked for the Company.' Kohl turned to Jean. 'Cap'n, you sure you want this man?'
LaBarge turned. 'Take off your shirt, Shin.' Shin Boyar shucked off his shirt and turned his back for Kohl and Captain Hutchins to see. Scars lay like livid bands across his back, scars like twisted cords of white. Kohl glanced at them, then at Boyar's face.
'I served in the Navy under Zinnovy. That was ten years ago.' The tall man pulled on his shirt. 'I have a good memory, sir, a very good memory.' 'We can use you,' Kohl said.
'After that I was promyshleniki for the Company, and I smuggled gold out of Siberia to China for a while. I was thrown into prison, but escaped.' 'No argument,' Kohl said. 'You'll do.'
'After Monday,' LaBarge told Kohl, 'I want the crew kept aboard. No more than two men ashore at any time, and ready to sail at a moment's notice. When a man goes ashore, you know where he'll be, just which place. No last-minute delays.' When all were gone he concealed his invoices under a board behind a bookshelf. Then, finally, he wrote one of his rare letters to Rob Walker. He was, he told Rob, going to Alaska himself. When he came back--
Behind him there was a slight rustle. An envelope had been slipped beneath his door.
He ripped it open. From the feminine handwriting and perfume he knew at once who it must be.
Can you come to see us? It is important.
* Helena
'Us' she wrote. She wanted him to come and see them both, but nonetheless, it was signed Helena.
He got up and walked to the window. Outside the street was empty and still. It was now Friday, and by Monday he wanted to be at sea, sailing north, and the master of his own ship. To Alaska ... to Sitka. They would be leaving soon, and he might even see them there. He remembered how Helena had looked that first day, flustered, mussed, and angry. He grinned at the thought. And then how prim, with her lifted chin, her too precise English.
She was charming, and so lovely, and he was in love with her and it would do him no good at all. She was married, and to a good man, a man of her own kind, her own rank.
He was a fool ...
But on Monday there would be the sea, the wind and spray in his face, and beyond there the places where nobody would mind, and where at night in the lonely hours, watching the seas roll aft, he could remember or forget.
Chapter 12
The tawny slope of the hill lay before them, dull gold in the afternoon sun, and beyond the hill the blue Pacific waters rolled to the horizon. When the two riders reached the trail's end high above the waters, Jean drew rein and relaxed in the saddle.
It was their second ride in two days, and might be their last. When riding Jean wore a tight-fitting Spanish- style jacket of buckskin, fringed in the Indian manner. It molded itself against his wide shoulders and was, Helena decided, most becoming.
'You ride like a vaquero,' she said.
He pushed his flat-crowned Spanish sombrero back on his head and hooked a knee around the saddle horn. Filling his pipe, he watched her profile against the sky. 'What about the plans for Alaska?'
'It is really the Baron who interests you, isn't it?'
'Of course. But when Count Rotcheff leaves, you will leave.'
'We have more reason to fear the Baron than you, Jean. He is our enemy also.'
'But you are the niece of the Czar!'
'You know what they say? 'God's in His heaven and the Czar is far away.' ' Far out at sea a windjammer was beating in toward the Golden Gate, and they watched it for several minutes without speaking. There was intimacy in the silence, and it was such moments they had come to treasure above all else. There was no need to use words to build a fence about their emotions; during those long silences the barriers were down and something within each of them reached out to the other.
'You see, Jean, any investigation of what happens in Russian America would require a great deal of time. And any investigator they might send from Siberia would be corrupt, and whoever came from St. Petersburg would have to ask questions of the very people who have most to conceal. Paul has power even in St. Petersburg, Jean. Actually, he was sent out here because he was in trouble, but it is temporary only, a mild punishment, a means of keeping him out of the way for the time being. I believe he was sent here for other reasons as well. I believe his friends decided to accomplish two objectives with the one move. Get Paul Zinnovy out of the way of more severe punishment, but also place him where he could be of use to them.'
She paused. 'You know, in Russia he is considered very dangerous. He has killed several men in duels. And sometimes these duels are not exactly what they seem. Often it is not a case of offended honor but simply that some powerful person wishes to be rid of a man.'
'Suppose,' Jean suggested tentatively, 'the charter is not renewed, nor another granted. What will become of Alaska then?'
'Who knows? It might be sold, but certainly not to England. Perhaps to the United States.'
Jean lit his pipe, which had gone out. 'I suppose it could be done if the negotiations were handled carefully. But it wouldn't be easy. There are a lot of Americans who think that Alaska's only a wasteland, not worth a penny.' The sailing ship was closer now, making slow time of it against the strong current and a wind that helped little.
