artillery may be moved with ease across the South Caspian to Herat, while the cavalry move through Persia. Once we are in Persia, the British will have warning of our attempt, but by then it will be too late ? far too late. We shall proceed through Kandahar and Kabul, assisted by the hatred which the Afghans owe the British, and so ? to India.
'There are, by reliable report, twenty-five thousand British troops in India, and three hundred thousand native soldiers. These latter present no problem ? once a successful invasion is launched, the majority of them will desert, or join in the rebellion which our presence will inspire. It is doubtful if, six months after we cross the Khyber, a single British soldier, civilian, or settlement will remain on the continent. It will have been liberated, and restored to its people. They will require our assistance, and armed presence, for an indefinite period, to guard against counter- invasion.'
At this I heard East mutter, 'I'll bet they will.' I could feel him quivering with excitement; myself, I was trying to digest the immensity of the thing. Of course, it had been a fear in India since I could remember ? the Great Bear coming over the passes, but no one truly believed they'd ever have the nerve or the ability to try it. But now, here it was ? simple, direct, and certain. Not the least of the coincidences of our remarkable eavesdrop was that I, who knew as much about Afghan affairs from first hand, and our weakness on the north Indian frontier, as any man living, should be one of the listeners. As I took it in, I could see it happening; yes, they could do it all right.
'That, your majesty,' Ignatieff was saying, 'is an essential sketch of our purpose. We have all studied the plans in detail, as has your highness, and unless some new points have arisen from my resume, your majesty will no doubt wish to confirm the royal assent already given.' He said it with deference, trying to hide his eagerness ? your promoter anxious to get the official seal.
'Thank you, Count.' It was the weak voice again. 'We have it clear. Gentlemen?' There was a pause. 'It is a weighty matter. No such attempt has ever been made before. But we are confident—are we not?'
Khruleff nodded slowly. 'It has always been possible. Now it is a certainty. In a stroke, we clear the British from India, and extend your majesty's imperial … influence from the North Cape to the isle of Ceylon. No Tsar in history has achieved such an advance for our country. The troops are ample, the planning exact, the conditions ideal. The pick of Britain's army, and of her navy, are diverted in the Crimea, and it is certain that no assistance could be rendered in India within a year. By then—we shall have supplanted England in southern Asia. '29
'And it can begin without delay?' says the Tsar's voice.
'Immediately, majesty. By the southern route, we can be at the Khyber, with every man, gun, and item of equipment, seven months from this night.' Ignatieff was almost striking an attitude, his tawny head thrown back, one hand on the table. They waited, silently, and I heard the Tsar sigh.
'So be it, then. Forgive us, gentlemen, for desiring to hear it in summary again, but it is a matter for second, and third thoughts, even after the resolve has been given.' He coughed, wearily. 'All is approved, then—and the other items, with the exception of—yes, Item Ten. It can be referred to Omsk for further study. You have our leave, gentlemen.'
At this there was a scrape of chairs, and East was kicking at me, and jabbing a finger at the door behind us. I'd been so spellbound by our enormous discovery, I'd almost forgotten where we were but, by gad, it was time we were no longer here. I edged back to the door, East crowding behind me, and then we heard Ignatieff s voice again.
'Majesty, with permission. In connection with Item Seven—the Indian expedition—mention was made of possible diversionary schemes, to prevent by all means any premature discovery of our intentions. I mentioned, but did not elaborate, a plan for possibly deluding the enemy with a false scent.'
At this we stopped, crouched by the door. He went on:
'Plans have been prepared, but in no considerable detail, for a spurious expedition through your Alaskan province, aimed at the British North American possessions. It was thought that if these could be brought to the attention of the British Government, in a suitably accidental manner, they would divert the enemy's attention from the eastern theatre entirely.'
'I don't like it,' says Khruleff's voice. 'I have seen the plan, majesty; it is over-elaborate and unnecessary.'
'There are,' says Ignatieff, quite unabashed, 'two British officers, at present confined in this house— prisoners from the Crimea whom I had brought here expressly for the purpose. It should not be beyond our wits to ensure that they discovered the false North American plan; thereafter they would obviously attempt to escape, to warn their government of it.'
'And then?' says Duhamel.
'They would succeed, of course. It is no distance to the Crimea—it would be arranged without their suspecting they were mere tools of our purpose. And their government would at least be distracted.'
'Too clever,' says Khruleff. 'Playing at spies.'
'With submission, majesty,' says Ignatieff, 'there would be no difficulty. I have selected these two men with care—they are ideal for our purpose. One is an agent of intelligence, taken at Silistria—a clever, dangerous fellow. Show him the hint of a design against his country, and he would fasten on it like a hawk. The other is a very different sort—a great, coarse bully of a man, all brawn and little brain; he has spent his time here lechering after every female he could find.' I felt East stiffen beside me, as we listened to this infernal impudence. 'But he would be necessary—for even if we permitted, and assisted their escape here, and saw that they reached the Crimea in safety they would still have to rejoin their army at Sevastopol, and we could hardly issue orders to our forces in Crimea to let them pass through. This second fellow is the kind of resourceful villain who would find a way.'
There was a silence, and then Duhamel says: 'I must agree with Khruleff, majesty. It is not necessary, and might even be dangerous. The British are not fools; they smell a rat as soon as anyone. These false plans, these clever stratagems ? they can excite suspicion and recoil on the plotter. Our Indus scheme is soundly based; it needs no pretty folly of this kind.'
'So.' The Tsar's voice was a hoarse murmur. 'The opinion is against you, Count. Let your British officers sleep undisturbed. But we thank you for your zeal in the matter, even so. And now, gentlemen, we have worked long enough ?'
East was bundling me on to the dark landing before the voice had finished speaking. We closed the door gently, and tip-toed across towards our passage even as we heard the library doors opening down in the hall. I peeped round the corner; the Cossack was snoring away again, and we scuttled silently past him and into East's room. I sank down, shaking, on to his bed, while he fumbled at the candle, muttering furiously till he got it lit. His face was as white as a sheet ? but he remembered to muffle the mouth of the hidden speaking-tube with his pillow.
'My God, Flashman,' says he, when he had got his wind back. We were staring helplessly at each other. 'What are we to do?'
'What can we do?' says I.
'We did hear aright ? didn't we?' says he. 'They're going for India ? while our back's turned? A Russian army over the Khyber ? a rebellion! Good God ? is the thing possible?'
I thought of '42, and the Afghans ? and what they could do with a Russian army to help them. 'Aye,' says I. 'It's possible all right.'
'I knew we were right to watch and listen!' cries he. 'I knew it! But I never dreamed—this is the most appalling thing!' He slapped his hands and paced about. 'Look—we've got to do something! We've got to get away—somehow! They must have news of this at Sevastopol. Raglan's there; he's the commander—if we could get this to him, and London, there'd be time—to try to prepare, at least. Send troops out—increase the north-west garrisons—perhaps even an expedition into Persia, or Afghanistan -'
'There isn't time,' says I. 'You heard them—seven months from tonight they'll be on the edge of the Punjab with thirty thousand men, and God knows how many Afghans ready to join in for a slap at us and the loot of India. It would take a month to get word to England, twice as long again to assemble an army—if that's possible, which I doubt—and then it's four months to India -'
'But that's in time just in time!' cries he. 'If only we can get away—at once!'
'Well, we can't,' says I. 'The thing's not possible.'
'We've got to make it possible!' says he, feverishly. 'Look—look at this, will you?' And he snatched a book from his bureau: it was some kind of geography or guide, in Russian script—that hideous lettering that always made
