The Ruler of the Ocean of the Air/Chapter IV

Chapter IV: The Conspirators
Slowly the sun was sinking in the west, and its rays were giving a golden hue to the mirror of the Black Sea.

The towers of the port of Odessa were sticking out of the haze. This was the city which played such a great role in the time of Russian unrest.

The sun was shining on the harbor and on the mighty breakwaters, everywhere were the masts of ships which had come into the harbor.

On the piers there were large crowds of people, workers, merchants, soldiers, there was a hustle and bustle such as can always be found in a port.

But still there was something strange about this crowd, everywhere you could see frightened faces. Especially the numerous Jews which could be found here showed a fear which they were trying to hide in vain.

There was something in the air, a kind of doom seemed to hover above this city which played such an important role in the history of the Russian unrest.

The sinister looking characters who appeared in the alleys from time to time cast suspicious glances around them. They disappeared if policemen of groups of soldiers were in sight, but reappeared afterwards. Then they whispered among each other, they made threatening grimaces and in many cases they threatened the frightened Jews with cudgels, upon which the Hebrews took flight.

But even in the harbor something seemed to be not quite right, because there were many people there looking out upon the mighty surface of the water. All of them were looking into the distance, as if they were expecting to see something unusual.

There was much whispering and mumbling, something seemed to be out of the ordinary, but what this was no one could tell. Maybe these curious people didn’t know themselves.

At last the bright red sun set, like an evil omen, and the crowd at the shore began to disperse, probably because the soldiers on patrol began to clear the harbor of this riffraff.

A few well-dressed and respectable looking gentlemen had already left the harbor earlier.

They stood at the pier and kept staring into the distance. Now they were leaving in a hurry, but not toward town. Instead they passed the Alexandrowsky Place and continued towards those park-like areas which are known as Datsches.

This is where the city's botanical gardens were, the cemeteries and also some barracks. But along the road which led through this park area there were a number of large villas.

Most of these had large yards, and they were separated from each other by the park.

The three men, who would have been taken for well-to-do citizens of Odessa, were headed for one of these villas.

They were all middle aged and as they entered the villa their faces, until recently harmless looking, changed expressions. Anyone looking into the eyes of these men would have been frightened of them.

In the villa itself there were people dressed as servants, but these servants addressed the three men with great familiarity.

These returned their greeting with equal familiarity. One of the three men said, "Well, what is it? Nothing to see yet?"

"No, nothing at all," grumbled one of the returning men. "There was no trace of any ship to be seen on the ocean. We are getting very worried. It is possible that everything went wrong, and then our operation would be impossible. Only with the help of these ships can we accomplish anything and realize our far-reaching plans."

"They'll get here, old man," the other replied confidently. "We are dealing with men of iron and steel. Maybe the time just isn't right yet. If any suspicion were created, half our plans would be ruined. The surprise has to be complete, then we will be masters of the Black Sea, then everyone else will be powerless, then we will be able to dictate our conditions, we will demand immense payments of all the ports and our ships will be loaded with treasure."

No doubt, there was a conspiracy being planned here. But the speaker stopped here, and with his two companions he ascended the stairs while the other men remained below.

"Shouldn't we post a lookout?" one of the pseudo servants asked the men as they were gong up the stairs.

"Not necessary," was the answer. "At midnight we will go onto the flat roof. And this night will be dark. Should any ships arrive, we will hear their signals, and will see the searchlights. Just post a guard to watch the street. If any policemen or soldiers should come, give the signal. We are not in a hurry, but we have to be prepared just in case."

A few minutes later the three men were in a room upstairs and locked the door behind them.

"What do you think?" asked one of them who seemed to have some authority. His companions called him Orloff. "Do you trust Matuschewsko, do you think he will be able to carry out his plans? What do you think, Gregor, Wassil, are you still convinced that I picked the right man to be in charge of the ships?"

"Yes, we are absolutely sure," replied Wassil, exchanging knowing looks with his companions. "Matuschewsko is the right man, he has energy and daring, he will seize any opportunity, he is wild as a tiger and will put everyone to the sword."

"Yes, he is wild," Orloff said, deep in thought. "Wild, like a wild beast. I would prefer if he were a little more deliberate. Then he could accomplish more."

"Why are you looking so gloomy?" Gregor demanded of the spooky looking Orloff who was staring into the corner absentmindedly.

"Oh, I was just thinking of the engineer," was the answer. "You know who I am talking about, that fool, the one of whom no one know where he came from. He once said he was a German-American, that his parents were German and that he had been born across the ocean. Possibly he was telling the truth. That was the kind of man, if he had agreed to our plans, with his help the world would have been ours. But this fool had moral hangups and when he found out what our plan was he rebuffed us. He threatened to expose our bold plans to the government."

"But he paid dearly for that," replied Wassil," it is just lucky that we never revealed ourselves to him, that we always were disguised when dealing with him. Otherwise we might be in Siberia by now, or we might have died at the hand of the executioner. He was skilled, though, you are not likely to find another like him. But when we discovered that he wanted nothing to do with our plans, when he demanded that we should give up our ideas which he called 'crimes,' that's when we got even with the fool. He thought he was at the height of his bliss. He had settled at the Caucasus, in Georgia, that's where he wanted to spread his crazy ideas of human rights. He was the kind of man to philosophize about such useless ideas. But we put him out of commission, we showed him what it means to insult us or even to threaten us. We set his property on fire and killed everything that was there. It was just bad luck that he wasn't at home at the time, otherwise his days would have been numbered as well. But even so we had our revenge. Through cleverness, subterfuge and forged papers we caused him to be denounced as the worst criminal, his wanted poster was everywhere, he was hunted like a wild animal. Who knows now, where he might have croaked. But it was too bad. He could accomplish the most amazing things. I was amazed one time when he showed me his plans and designs. It was just a brief look, but I saw some incredible things. I wonder what might have happened to his papers. I think he always carried them with him."

"Forget about that fool," shouted Orloff, "he is burning in hell by now. Now let's think about our plans, our great work which will make us masters of the Black Sea. Bring wine, we want to drink! That fog, that cold, wet air at the harbor left made us cold. At midnight we want to go up onto the flat roof."

Wine was brought and the conspirators, for that is what these men were, began to carouse.

Only when the clock proclaimed the hour of midnight did they rise, put on their coats and leave the room.

There was a flight of stairs leading to the flat roof. This was the kind of roof such as is found on many villas at the Black Sea. The roof itself was rather large and surrounded by a railing, and it also had a kind of garden. This roof afforded a magnificent view of the Black Sea, which was now covered by the shadow of night.

The gaze of the men was directed into the darkness.

They saw the signal lights of the harbor, the lights of Odessa, and also the smaller lights on the ships that were anchored in the harbor.

But on the ocean itself everything was black and dark.

"Just say it!" Gregor suddenly shouted. "It does not seem to have worked out. Maybe the impetuous Matuschewsko has spoiled everything. And we told him to be cautious, we reminded him not to rush anything. Hell and damnation, what if Matuschewsko blew his cover, or what if he got captured?"

"He won't betray us," said Orloff, "I am sure of it, he would let himself be cut to pieces first."

"Well, I wouldn't bet on it," remarked Wassil.

"Matuschewsko is not afraid of the naked steel, but he is afraid of the whip, and it they work him over with that, if they beat the skin of his back, then he might tell them everything. Hell, we have to be careful. Our lives aren't safe anymore."

Orloff had not been listening to the last words.

"Listen," he suddenly exclaimed. "Didn't you hear anything?"

The others said they hadn't.

"It seemed to me," said Orloff, "as if I had heard something, as if there was someone on the roof with us. It was a soft coughing and it was very close."

"Nonsense," Gregor growled. "that was just the wind."

"No, no, that was a really suspicious sound." Orloff said again. "It is so damn dark, but we have to take a look. Just think, what if someone had eavesdropped on us?"

"Quit imagining things," Gregor interrupted the conversation. "Who should have climbed up here? Only a bird could do that. The only way up here is through our room, and we locked the door to that."

But Orloff still wasn't satisfied and was just about to search the flat roof when he was distracted by a loud shout from Wassil.

"Look, look over there," yelled the conspirator. "Look over the ocean, there are the signals, it is them! Matuschewsko has done his job well. Now he is using his searchlights."

And he was right, for now bright flashes of light could be seen piercing the darkness above the ocean, flickering cones of light, gliding across the sky.

And these cones of light could only come from ships which were approaching from the distance.

In an instant the conspirators had forgotten everything, they were no longer thinking of the suspicious sound, or of Orloff's strange remarks. They were dancing with joy on the flat roof and acting like maniacs.

Again and again the light from the searchlights could be seen, and this had to come from approaching ships.

"Down, down," Orloff suddenly shouted. "Quickly to the harbor, we have to meet them and give signals. Tomorrow morning we rule Odessa."

In a hurry the three men rushed down the stairs, the trap door fell shut behind them.

On top of the roof it was quiet, but someone was moving about, someone who had been eavesdropping. Behind the orange trees was a dark figure which could barely be seen.

Again there was the soft coughing that Orloff had heard, and also some whispering.

"It was them, they were the ones," it sounded in strange tones. "I recognized them by their voices, the wretches, who once made me the most miserable of men. But there are more of them, not all of them met here on the roof. There are more of these ruffians and I will neither quit nor rest until I have brought these villains to justice. They are planning the most despicable betrayal, an insurrection, they are planning to murder and rob, but I will destroy these devious plans, I will rid the world of these wretches. I must have them, the ones who destroyed my bliss. I will judge them, and a terrible judge I will be. Cruel, without mercy, for there is no room for mercy here!"

Then the strange man, who must have had a secret way of getting onto the roof, stood still and waited.

He waited until the door of the villa was opened below, until he heard the whole group of men in the street. He heard the sound of their steps as they made their way toward the harbor.

Then something strange happened.

It was too dark to see much of anything, but there were three red flashes of light on the roof, like a signal, and a short while after that there was a rushing sound in the air, as if something was being lowered. There was a muffled roar, as if from a machine.

In spite of the darkness a large, shapeless object could be seen floating above the villa. It sounded as if something was dropped, a dark shadow moved upward and disappeared in the large object. Then again there was the muffled roar, the rushing sound and then the mighty black shadow rose into the air like some nocturnal apparition.