"Ah, if you speak and think thus, count, you are one of us; you will wish to have a share in our work of liberation."
"Yes, I demand my share, and the greater and more perilous it is, the more welcome it will be."
"We all risk our lives," said Kraus solemnly, "and if we are defeated, we shall all be lost; for the Emperor Francis will not protect us—he will abandon us to Napoleon's wrath, in order to prove that he had no part in our plans. With this conviction, we must begin our work and arrange our affairs as if we were going into a battle."
"My affairs are arranged, and I am ready," replied the count solemnly.
"Hush! listen! All our friends, like you, are ready, and the conspiracy winds like a great chain through all the countries of Europe. Every one who loves his native land, and therefore hates Napoleon, has laid his brave hand on this chain and will add the link of his manly strength. In France, in England, in Spain and Italy, in Sweden, in Russia and Turkey, everywhere, our friends are waiting for the decisive act which must take place here. In England they have bought arms and ammunition and sent them to Heligoland Thence members of our league have brought them here and distributed them among the brothers. In the harbor of Genoa a Swedish and an English ship lie ready for our service; the English one to aid our escape and convey us to England, if our enterprise fails; the Swedish one to serve as a transport vessel, if we succeed. Everywhere our friends are working, everywhere they are preparing the insurrection; Tyrol is like a well-filled bomb which needs only the application of a spark to burst and scatter confusion around it, and in the minds of individuals patriotism has increased to a fanaticism which deems even murder a justifiable means to rid Europe from the shameful yoke of the tyrant. If we cannot execute our plan, if we do not succeed in abducting Napoleon, perhaps the dagger of an assassin will he raised against him—an assassin who does not regard his deed as a crime, but as a sacred duty."
"And why are we content with an abduction?" asked the count fiercely. "Why should not the blood of the man who has shed so many torrents of blood, be shed also?"
"Because that would be too light a punishment," said Kraus, with an expression of gloomy hate. "Because it would be an atonement for all his crimes, if he fell beneath the daggers of murderers. Such daggers rendered the tyrant Julius Cæsar a hero, a martyr, and they would also transform Napoleon into a demi-god. No, we will not grant him such a triumph, such a glorious end—we will not allow him a speedy death. He shall ignominiously disappear; he shall die slowly on some barren island in the ocean; die amid the tortures of solitude, of weariness, of powerless rage. This must be the vengeance of Europe; this must be the end of the vampire who has drunk her heart's blood."
"You are right? it shall, it must be so," cried the count, with sparkling eyes. "Now tell me, what have I to do? What part is assigned to me?"
"You will go to Genoa, count. Here is a letter from General Nugent to the captain of the Swedish ship Proserpina, now lying in the harbor."
"But it is not sealed?" asked the count, taking the paper offered.