In the Name of the People

by Arthur W. Marchmont

A murmur of surprise greeted this statement, and Barosa paused in evident enjoyment of the effect his words had produced.

“They are Conte Carvalho Listoa and Colonel Antonio Castillo. You will agree that I do not exaggerate when I say that that fact makes failure impossible. He will be received by six officers of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Guards——” and he gave a string of names which I do not remember.

“These, as we know well, are also our staunch friends, pledged like ourselves to give their lives for their rightful king. Dom Carlos will thus be without a single supporter, and absolutely in our power. He has, as you know, made use of the same landing-stage on the occasion of former private visits to the city, and the arrangement has always been that a carriage drew up close to the stage. That will not be practicable to-morrow, although he does not know it. You will see two thin red lines on the plans. Those indicate the lines of excavations, which have been made for some supposed building and drainage operations. I have been able to get that work started without creating any suspicion as to the real object—which is to render it impossible for a carriage to approach within fifty yards of the landing-stage.”

“Good,” exclaimed some one and the others murmured assent.

Barosa then explained the scheme in elaborate detail.

It was this. The king was to be met at the landing-stage and the officers were to explain why the carriage was not in the usual place; and that it was in waiting for him at a spot most easily reached through the smaller of two sheds used for wharfage purposes. A door at the back of this shed opened on to a narrow way between two buildings. The officers were not to leave the shed, as it was deemed desirable that they should not take any personal part in what followed. The two friends of the king were to walk a few yards with him and then excuse themselves on the plea that they had left something on the launch, but if this proved impracticable, they were to drop behind.

From the door of the shed to the end of the passage was a distance of some forty yards and a carriage was to be in full view; but this was to be one provided by Barosa and intended for the escape of those in the plot who would not be needed after the attempt had been carried out. The king’s carriage, sent from the Palace, was to wait at a spot fifty yards in the other direction.

Except the two servants with Barosa’s carriage, not a man was to show himself in the path between the shed door and the carriage, lest the king’s suspicions should be roused. The coachman was to signal with his whip when the king appeared, and then to make it appear that the horses were restive and to back them past the corner of the building on the left hand of the narrow passage.

Round this corner the conspirators were to wait and when the king reached it, a cloak was to be thrown over his head and he was to be gagged and hurried through an adjoining shed to some water steps where the launch would be waiting to rush him to the Rampallo, where a cabin had been specially prepared for him. The yacht was to make at full steam for Oporto, where he was to be delivered over to the revolutionary party there and forced, under threat of assassination, to abdicate in favour of Dom Miguel.

After Barosa had finished his explanation, a long discussion followed on many of the details. The scheme was hailed with approval, but the tone of the speakers convinced me that, while ready to take part in an abduction plot, they were against assassination, and Barosa had to give very specific assurances that nothing of the sort would be attempted.