SCENE IV.
A quiet side street in the City of Infantlonia, leading from the crowded thoroughfare of Rolling Motion to that of Drifting Tide. Off this side street runs a mews, the stables lining one side thereof, and a long wall facing them the other. This wall encloses a garden, lying at the back of an unpretentious house looking into the quiet street. It has been purchased by Vulnar, Lord of Avenamore, in the principality of Bernia; and is occupied by one Fortunatus, the youthful leader of the Evolutionist Party.
Fortunatus (entering the garden from a room on the ground floor): “Time’s dragging slowly. Scrutus should be here To tell us what the verdict is. Methinks ’Twill be one quite in keeping with the faith Which cries aloud ‘Judge not,’ and yet condemns Unceasingly all those who mock at it. Vergli will be condemned. Of course he will, Or I have much misjudged the character Of the fierce opposition of that clique Called ‘Church and State,’ which rules our destinies. Vergli will be condemned. A gibbet tree Will be the offering of barbarism— That ugly child, offspring of Superstition, Who crushes thought and dulls the intellect, Degrades the Woman and deforms the Man. Man who might be so noble, but for it. Let them condemn you, Vergli. Have no fear, We’ll save you, Prince of Scota. Escanior Loved you, Vergli; Isola loves you too, Because Escanior loved you, and because You will not trample Woman to the ground And bid her hearken to the great Saint Saul. You know her degradation is Man’s shame. You scout the orders of Most Holy Church. You advocate Fair Play to all Mankind, Mercy and tenderness unto the brute. You are a Man, as every Man should be— Brave, without fear, yet tender, loving, kind. Vergli, e’en if I feared the hand of Death, I’d grasp it eagerly to set you free. Let them condemn you. Freedom shall be yours, E’en though I lose thereby Sweet Liberty.”
A shrill whistle sounds in the street. Isola quickly draws one of these from her breast pocket and blows a clear note upon it, then passes rapidly through a door leading from the garden into the mews. The movement of many men’s feet can be heard therein. From afar a rumbling sound is heard, and the rapid trot of horses sends its echoes ahead. In the mews stand Vulnar and Fortunatus. Past them rushes a wild, eccentric looking man, singing:
“The Canyons are coming, They are not afar, The pigeons are homing, Go forth to the war, Strike hard for the freedom Of God’s noble son; They’d give him a cold tomb, We’ll give him Life’s Sun.”
Vulnar (in a low voice): “Ready, men! Ready! Hold yourselves alert! Hark! ’tis the rumble of the prison wheels. Make ready to rush forth at the first sign From Fortunatus. Watch his every move, You know the signal. Steady! Vergli’s life Hangs in the balance. All depends on you. Hark! It comes nearer, that revolving sound, That rumbling and that rapid, ringing trot, Hush now; all eyes on Fortunatus! Hush-sh-sh.”
Fortunatus, standing near the entrance to the mews, looks round suddenly, and drops a handkerchief. Instantly a score or more of men rush out into the street. A prison van, surrounded by mounted police, comes by at a rapid trot. The head of every horse is seized, and revolvers held pointed at their riders, others emptying the holsters of their captives. Vulnar, Scrutus, and Fortunatus make straight for the door of the van and demand, from the policeman inside, admittance. He refuses.
Vulnar. “Then, stand back, man, care for your life, have care! We’ll fire and smash the lock. Here, Volio, boy, Fire through the keyhole; quick, no time to lose, So ho! well done, you’ve shivered it in two. Open the door. Be quick. Vergli, art there? God bless thee, Vergli; we’d all die for thee.”
Vergli is hurried into the mews by Vulnar, Fortunatus and Scrutus, and disappears from sight. At the same time the reins are taken off the van horses, and bridles slipped off those of the mounted men. All is confusion, during which the conspirators, all of whom are masked, slip away unobserved. Some time elapses before the rescue becomes known. Policemen hurry to the spot. The van is entered and the policeman inside is found to be dead. He had not taken Vulnar’s warning, and the bullet which smashed the lock had entered his heart. (This rescue scene is taken from a notable one some ten years ago.)[[4]]
End of Act III.