trotted away toward the iron grille giving access to the prison courtyard, which looked particularly grim in the flaring light of two torches. There he made them wait again while he summoned two men to work the winch to raise the grille.
Ten minutes later he was back with two figures behind him, and at the sight of the taller of the two Marianne's heart beat faster. A moment later, overcome by a joy she could not control, she had cast herself on Jason's chest laughing and crying at once, and his arms had closed automatically around her.
'Marianne!' he exclaimed with stupefaction. 'You, here? It can't be! Am I dreaming?'
'No, you are not dreaming,' Jolival broke in, thinking that this was not the moment for mutual congratulations. 'Nor is there time for it. We must get out of here, and quickly. The governor has released you but the danger is not over yet, far from it.'
Nevertheless he himself was more moved than he cared to admit, and he submitted to a warm embrace from Craig O'Flaherty while the sentry looked on indulgently at a reunion of which he probably comprehended very little. Marianne and Jason meanwhile were locked in one another's arms, oblivious of all the world.
The two prisoners wore long beards and were filthy dirty but Marianne did not care. The body pressed to her belonged to Jason, the mouth crushing her own was Jason's mouth and she asked nothing better than to lose herself with him in a kiss which, if each had had their way, would have lasted for an eternity.
But Jolival decided that it had gone on long enough and parted them.
'Come,' he told them gruffly. 'That will do. You'll have time enough for kissing when we are on our way, but for the present let us be away from this place. I do not like it.'
Craig's cheerful laugh rang in his ears. 'Nor we, faith! Let's find a decent tavern! I'd give my right arm for a bumper of good old Irish whiskey.'
Marianne came back to earth and stared at the two men with some bewilderment.
'But—are there only the two of you? Where are the others? Where is Gracchus? The governor gave orders for the release of all the crew—'
'Precisely,' Jason answered her. 'And all the crew means us—all that's left of it, at least. This governor of yours doesn't seem to have much idea of the ways of soldiers, my pet. The commodore of the fleet that captured us saw no reason why the prison authorities should be at the charge of maintaining all the riffraff of the Mediterranean. He let the crew go as soon as we got ashore to go to the devil in their own way. Only Craig and I had the honor to be made prisoners of war.'
'But Gracchus? Where is he? Did they free him too?'
Seeing that she was really worried, Jason tightened the arm that he had slipped around her waist as they walked.
'Gracchus is French, my love, and that being so, in more danger than either of us. These devils would have shot him without mercy. He played stupid while we were still at sea, but he's an enterprising lad and when we came into the bay just before dawn, he jumped into the sea and swam ashore.'
'Good God! He may be dead!'
O'Flaherty gave a shout of laughter.
'You don't know him! Gracchus is quite the most astonishing broth of a boy it's ever been my luck to meet. Do you know where he is at this moment?'
As they talked they had crossed the ancient drawbridge with its rusty chains which had not been raised for more than a century, and now, at the foot of the rocky outcrop on which the citadel was built, the cluttered maze of the harbor lay before them. O'Flaherty pointed to the squat shape of a little synagogue.
'Do you see that Greek tavern in between the synagogue and the big grain warehouse attached to the distillery? Gracchus got himself taken on as a waiter there. He talks a weird mixture of Greek and Turkish that he learned in Constantinople and doesn't manage too badly, especially as he's picked up a fair smattering of Russian since his arrival.'
'But how do you know where he is?'
'Because we've seen him. When he'd been there a few days he took to hanging around the citadel and whistling French sea songs. Our prison looked out over the rock that side and so we were able to communicate with him. Sometimes…' He paused and heaved a deep sigh that testified to the real depth of his gratitude. 'Sometimes the dear lad even managed to smuggle us in a bottle or so to comfort us. Unfortunately, we couldn't get out by the same way the bottles came in. The window was too narrow, and the walls too thick.'
The night was growing cooler and a light wind had sprung up off the sea. It caught at the four hurrying figures and the two seamen breathed in the smell of seaweed with delight.
'God, but it's good to be free!' Jason sighed. 'At last we can put to sea again. Do you hear how it's calling us, my sweet? Oh, for the feel of my own deck under my feet again!'
Marianne shivered a little, knowing that the difficult moment had come. She opened her mouth to tell Jason the truth but Jolival, guessing how hard it was for her, spoke first.
'You are free, Jason,' he said deliberately, 'but your ship is not. In spite of all that we could do, the Duc de Richelieu refuses to give her up.'
'What?'
'Try to understand, and above all do not lose your temper. It's wonderful enough that we were able to get you out of that rat hole. The brig is a prize of war and is now the property of the Russian navy. There is nothing that the governor can do about it.'
Marianne felt Jason's fingers harden against her side. His voice remained very nearly level, but there was a disturbing note in it, as if he were very tense.
'I have stolen her once before. I can do it again. It's becoming something of a habit.'
'Have no illusions. That is not possible here. The brig is anchored out there, near the end of the long mole, and there are Russian vessels all around her. And besides, if it were daylight you could see that there are men at work making some alterations in her. What is more to the point, we have to leave this place without delay.'
'Why so? Have I or have I not been released on the governor's orders?'
'Yes. But you must be out of Odessa before sunrise. That is the order. If you are found here you will be imprisoned again and then neither we nor anyone else will be able to get you out. Not only that, Marianne is not precisely on the best terms with the governor. He was inclined to be rather more—er—friendly than she cared for. So make up your mind. Stay and try to recover your ship and you will be running the risk of prison for yourself and the governor's bed for Marianne. I think our wisest course will be to leave as soon as possible.'
With Jason's arm about her, Marianne held her breath. At that moment she wanted to laugh and cry at once and she could have kissed her old friend for managing to put the matter in such a way as to avoid awkward questions. Jason was not an easy man to deceive, and he knew how to cross-examine as skillfully as any experienced lawyer. She could feel his heart beating more quickly under her hand, and a wave of pity, mingled with acute anxiety, swept over her. At that moment he was going to make his choice between her and the ship, which she had often accused him of loving more than her, more indeed than anything in the world.
Jason took several deep breaths. Then his arm tightened spasmodically, almost fiercely around her, and Marianne knew that she had won.
'You are right, Jolival. Indeed, you are always right. Let's go. But where to? It will be daylight in an hour.'
There was a brief silence and Marianne guessed that Jolival was picking his words, choosing those least likely to provoke a stormy reaction from the hot-tempered American. He made up his mind at last and murmured reflectively like a man thinking aloud: 'I think our best course… will be to travel farther into Russia… to make for Moscow, for example. We heard on our arrival here that the Grand Army had crossed the Lithuanian frontier and was marching on the Russian holy city. Our best chance is to make contact with it and then—'
The reaction came, but it was less violent than Marianne had feared.
'Make contact with Napoleon! Have you gone mad, Jolival?'
'I don't think so. Isn't he responsible for the mess that you and Marianne have been in this past year? He owes you something. Even if only a ship out of Danzig or Hamburg to carry you to America.'
This time he had spoken the magic words. Jason's fierce grip on Marianne loosened gradually and his voice was almost cheerful as he said: 'That's not a bad idea. But I have a better.'
'What is it?' Marianne asked softly, sensing more trouble ahead.
'I've no truck with Napoleon but you're right, I do need a ship to get back home and play my part in the war.
