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diff --git a/old/62777-0.txt b/old/62777-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 16507b4..0000000 --- a/old/62777-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7283 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Kings in Adversity, by Edward S. (Edward -Sims) Van Zile - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Kings in Adversity - - -Author: Edward S. (Edward Sims) Van Zile - - - -Release Date: July 28, 2020 [eBook #62777] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KINGS IN ADVERSITY*** - - -E-text prepared by D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustration. - See 62777-h.htm or 62777-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62777/62777-h/62777-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62777/62777-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/kingsinadversity00vanziala/ - - - - - -[Illustration] - - -KINGS IN ADVERSITY - -by - -EDWARD S. VAN ZILE - -Author of “The Manhattaners,” “The Last of the Van -Slacks,” etc. - - - “Kings are like stars—they rise and set, they have - The worship of the world, but no repose.”—SHELLEY. - - -[Illustration] - - - - - - -New York -F. Tennyson Neely -114 Fifth Avenue -1897 - - - * * * * * * - -Neely’s Prismatic Library. - -GILT TOP, 50 CENTS. - - “I know of nothing in the book line that equals Neely’s - Prismatic Library for elegance and careful selection. It sets a - pace that others will not easily equal and none surpass.”—E. A. - ROBINSON. - - -SOUR SAINTS AND SWEET SINNERS. By Carlos Martyn. - -SEVEN SMILES AND A FEW FIBS. By Thomas J. Vivian. With full-page -illustrations by well-known artists. - -A MODERN PROMETHEUS. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -THE SHACKLES OF FATE. By Max Nordau. - -A BACHELOR OF PARIS. By John W. Harding. With over 50 illustrations by -William Hofacher. - -MONTRESOR. By Loota. - -REVERIES OF A SPINSTER. By Helen Davies. - -THE ART MELODIOUS. By Louis Lombard. - -THE HONOR OF A PRINCESS. By F. Kimball Scribner. - -OBSERVATIONS OF A BACHELOR. By Louis Lombard. - -KINGS IN ADVERSITY. By E. S. Van Zile. - -NOBLE BLOOD AND A WEST POINT PARALLEL. By Captain King. - -TRUMPETER FRED. By Captain King. Illustrated. - -FATHER STAFFORD. By Anthony Hope. - -THE KING IN YELLOW. By R. W. Chambers. - -IN THE QUARTER. By R. W. Chambers. - -A PROFESSIONAL LOVER. By Gyp. - -BIJOU’S COURTSHIPS. By Gyp. Illustrated. - -A CONSPIRACY OF THE CARBONARI. By Louise Muhlbach. - -SOAP BUBBLES. By Dr. Max Nordau. - - * * * * * * - - -F. Tennyson Neely, -Publisher, -New York, London. - -Copyrighted in the United States and Great Britain in MDCCCXCVII by F. -Tennyson Neely. - -All rights reserved. - - - - -KINGS IN ADVERSITY. - -THE CROWN PRINCE OF REXANIA. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -Almost within a stone’s throw of the antique structure that for a full -century has been known to New Yorkers as St. Mark’s Church stands a -mansion that has had, like Eden, its glory and its fall. Once it was the -home of aristocracy and wealth. To-day it is an eating-place for those -whose lot is poverty and whose faith is democratic. - -At the moment at which our story opens, the rooms in which in the old -days portly Knickerbockers indulged in stately feasts are crowded -with picturesque waifs from the Old World, who have, for a variety of -reasons, crossed the Atlantic to air their woes in a freer atmosphere -than surrounded them at home. A _table-d’hôte_ dinner, greasy, cheap, and -plentiful, is the magnet that has drawn from the East Side many of its -most daring spirits, men with great grievances and enormous appetites. -While emphasizing the former and appeasing the latter, these men grow -loquacious and blow white clouds of cigarette smoke toward the ceilings; -and the dinner nears its end. - -It is with a group of four foreign malcontents that we must seat -ourselves in spirit, for they have a mighty matter under discussion, and -in their conversation lies the explanation of certain startling episodes -that occurred in the metropolis last year, the details of which have not -been made known hitherto either to the public or to the police. - -“You feel sure, Posadowski,” a frowzy-headed, full-bearded man was -saying in the purest Rexanian, a dialect spoken by only a few hundred -East-siders, “you feel sure that you have the dates exactly as they -should be?” - -“I will read you the letter, Rukacs, and you can make your own -calculations,” answered Posadowski, a better-groomed man than his -companions, nearing middle age, but with a fresh complexion and a clear, -gray eye that could look like ice or gleam with fire, as the spirit of -the man ordained. His companions bent toward him eagerly, as he took -from his pocket a letter bearing a foreign postmark. Lighting a fresh -cigarette, Posadowski read, in a low voice, the following epistle: - - “DEAR BROTHER: Strange things have happened in Rexania. The - crown prince has left here in disguise. Three men only know - this, the king, the prime minister, and myself. If they knew - that I held their secret, this would be my last letter—eh, - my friends? But they will never suspect me—the best servant - in the palace—of communicating with such rebellious rascals - as you, Posadowski and Rukacs and the rest of you. The king - was bitterly opposed to Prince Carlo’s journey. But Carlo is - no longer a boy. He is a clever, active-minded, studious man, - who might have been one of us if he had not been born a crown - prince. He has great influence over Prime Minister Fejeravy, - and persuaded him to plead with the king. Carlo has set out - for America, and travels incognito. I have risked my life to - tell you that he will reach New York on the _Wiendam_, under - the title of Count Szalaki. He has promised to return as soon - as he has crossed the continent and visited Chicago and San - Francisco. The fact is that the prince is anxious to see for - himself how a country looks that is governed by its people. - Poor fellow! I have long felt sorry for him. Upon his firmness - at his father’s death will depend the maintenance of the - Rexanian monarchy, and I feel sure that he is only half-hearted - in his assumed regard for royalty. But I dare not waste more - time on this hasty letter. I am obliged to spend nearly all my - time quieting suspicions that I fear I may have aroused in this - palatial hotbed of treachery and intrigue. Nevertheless, my - brothers, reflect on this: fate has placed a great opportunity - in your power. The king is old and failing. If the crown prince - is not at hand when the king dies—well, there will be no more - kings in Rexania. The people love the prince; but if he is not - here when the sceptre falls from his father’s hand he will - never be crowned. It is in your control—the future of Rexania. - I and my fellow-republicans—we are very quiet at present—leave - it to you to make Rexania free. If the king dies and the crown - prince is not here, no power on earth can prevent the republic. - My love and devotion to you all. Courage! We trust to you.” - -The faces of the conspirators had turned pale as Posadowski had slowly -and impressively emphasized the pregnant sentences of the revolutionist -who defied death at the king’s right hand. - -“He is magnificent,” exclaimed Posnovitch, the oldest member of the -quartette, a gigantic man, with picturesque gray locks. - -“Yes. How little we have to fear, compared with a spy who knows the -king’s secret thoughts and who lives under Fejeravy’s eye,” remarked -Rukacs. “But tell me, Posadowski, have you a plan of action in your mind?” - -“There is only one thing to do,” said Ludovics, a small, black-whiskered -man with feverish eyes and nervous manner. “Count—Count Szalaki, I think, -was the name he took, was it not?—must not leave this country alive.” - -“Hush!” whispered Posadowski, imperatively, as a waiter refilled their -coffee-cups. “You were always reckless, Ludovics. There may be a way open -to us that does not require bloodshed. The crown prince, we are told, is -not a monarchist at heart.” - -“Don’t be deceived by that fact—if it is a fact,” returned Ludovics, -hotly. “He won’t abdicate. Whatever may be his inner convictions, he -has an hereditary liking for a throne, and I’m sure that his visit to -this country will destroy all fondness that he may have begotten, in his -imagination, for republics.” - -His companions looked at the speaker suspiciously. Was he growing -reactionary in his views? was the question that came into their minds. - -“Don’t mistake me,” he continued, noting their look of consternation. “I -am as good a republican as walks the earth, but I don’t think a surface -view of this country will have an influence upon the crown prince tending -toward a great renunciation on his part. He will return to Rexania more -determined than he is at present to rule. I tell you, my brothers, the -prince must be destroyed, if he won’t be converted.” - -There was silence for a time. Finally, Posnovitch beckoned to a waiter -and ordered brandy for the quartette. - -“Posadowski, what do you propose?” asked Rukacs, smiling as he glanced -confidingly at the real leader of the group. - -The clear-eyed Rexanian gazed thoughtfully at his companions. “Our steps -must be guided by circumstances,” he remarked, guardedly. “The _Wiendam_ -is due here on the 7th. It is now the 5th. One of us must make it his -duty to shadow the prince and keep informed of his every movement.” - -“You’re the man to do it, Posadowski,” exclaimed Posnovitch, with -conviction. “You have become more Americanized than the rest of us, and -won’t create suspicion. Will you accept the responsibility?” - -Posadowski sat silent for a time, puffing cigarette smoke thoughtfully -and looking at his companions, who were watching him eagerly. - -“Perhaps you are right, Posnovitch. I see no reason why I should not -take the prince in tow. But let me impress several things upon you -all. Listen. We must arrange a plan whereby I can summon you here at an -hour’s notice. I have in mind a scheme that will require firmness on our -part, but is not attended with any great danger. Not that any of you -fear that. We all got used to it in the revolutionary days, ten years -ago. Rexania was not a bed of roses at that time, was it, Rukacs? But -to the point. That brandy has made me sentimental, and I’m tempted to -dwell on the past rather than the future. Now, my brothers, if you really -wish to leave this matter to me for the time being, I will do my best -to satisfy you all. Our aim is simply this: to keep the crown prince in -this country—which means, of course, within our immediate vicinity—until -the king dies. An interregnum of even one day would be fatal to monarchy -in Rexania. To-morrow night I will tell you all the details of my plan. -Meanwhile, let us be seen together as little as possible. Posnovitch, -come to me in the morning. I have a journey that I want you to make into -Westchester County. And be careful of the brandy to-night. You must -have a clear head to-morrow to carry out your part of the plan. Do you -understand me?” - -“Well enough to keep sober,” answered the elderly giant, good-naturedly. - -“And so good-night, my brothers,” said Posadowski, as he arose to leave -the room. To each of them he gave his hand, and before he turned to -go bent down to them and in solemn tones cried, feelingly, “God bless -Rexania and make her free!” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -“I consider him,” said Mrs. Strong, wife of Gerald Strong the banker, “I -consider him, Kate, the handsomest and most attractive man I have ever -met. Everybody on the steamer was charmed with him. Even your father, who -is not impressionable, was fascinated by Count Szalaki.” - -“His name sounds like the toothache,” remarked Kate Strong, gazing -at her mother with an unbending countenance. They were seated in the -drawing-room of one of the most luxurious homes in upper Fifth Avenue, -half an hour before the time set for dinner. - -Kate Strong resembled her mother in face and figure. They were tall, -graceful women, with clear-cut, patrician features. The difference in -their ages was not strongly marked. Mrs. Strong often remarked playfully -that she and her daughter had grown up together. But, while Mrs. Strong’s -hair had begun to turn white beneath the touch of advancing years, the -golden glory of youth still rested upon Kate’s head. Furthermore, there -was a great contrast in the habitual expression that animated their -respective faces. There were firm, almost harsh, lines around Mrs. -Strong’s mouth that told of a strong will and indicated a set purpose in -life. Kate’s face, beautiful in contour and dazzling in the freshness of -its tints, betrayed a rebellious, restless nature that had not yet found -in existence an ambition that fully satisfied her soul. The mother’s lips -seemed fashioned for command, the daughter’s for something they had not -yet tasted. - -“You are so flippant, Kate,” remarked Mrs. Strong, reprovingly. “I am -sure that when you see the count you will not feel inclined to joke about -anything connected with him—not even his name.” - -“He seems to have hypnotized you, mamma. Tell me about him. Is he very -high in rank?” - -Mrs. Strong smiled at her daughter’s show of interest. It pleased her. - -“We really don’t know, Kate, just how prominent he is in Rexania. It’s -a queer country, you know. They’re always having outbreaks there, and -the kings and nobles have to go armed most of the time. But your father -says that the count, although he is very reticent about his country and -its affairs, seems to be on intimate terms with all the crowned heads of -Europe.” - -At this moment, Ned Strong, a youth a few years older than Kate, entered -the room, carefully attired in evening dress. - -“I suppose, mamma, that your friend the count will be late. It’s a way -those foreigners have. There’s no snap about them: is there, Kate?” - -The girl looked up admiringly at her tall, handsome brother, whose manly, -vibrant voice indicated an energetic temperament that possessed large -dynamic possibilities for good or evil. - -“That’s the reason I like them,” she exclaimed, inconsistently. “They -don’t seem to feel that they were put into the world to do something. -They are clever. They made their ancestors do their work.” - -Ned Strong glanced at his mother quizzically. - -“I wish,” he said earnestly, “that we could get Kate to have a few firm -convictions. What she is in favor of one day she is sure to be opposed to -the next. It is so hard to tell what she really thinks.” - -Kate smiled amusedly. “Forgive me, Ned,” she implored. “I’m sorry I don’t -please you. But I’ll make you a promise. If you are really anxious to -know what I think of Count Szalaki, I’ll tell you to-night after he has -gone. But here’s papa. He knows more about Count Szalaki than mamma does.” - -“Yes, father,” put in Ned, rising as Gerald Strong, a portly, -clean-shaven, gray-haired man, entered the drawing-room. “Tell us about -the count. Is there anything to him besides his title?” - -“Yes, Ned, I think there is,” answered Mr. Strong, seating himself and -looking at his watch. “He’s got manners and good looks, speaks several -languages, and seems to have read a good deal. But he’s awfully green -about this country. He really seemed to think that Chicago was more of -a place than New York. He’ll get over that, of course. I wanted to have -him meet some of our people to-night, but he begged me to receive him _en -famille_. He seems to dread notoriety.” - -“That looks suspicious,” commented Kate. - -“I am astonished, Kate,” exclaimed Mrs. Strong. “One would think that you -could not trust your father and myself to travel alone for fear that we -should be imposed upon. Count Szalaki wants to see the country, not to be -interviewed by reporters.” - -“By the way,” remarked Ned, looking at his father, “are there many -Rexanians in New York?” - -“A few hundred, I believe, on the East Side,” answered Mr. Strong, who -had taken a practical interest in politics during the revival of reform -movements. “Most of them came over here about ten years ago, when the -present king banished a large number of revolutionists. I have heard that -they make good citizens, but are inclined to talk anarchy when under the -influence of beer.” - -“Did you talk politics with the count?” - -“I tried to,” answered Mr. Strong, again glancing at his watch, for -he was sorely in need of a dinner. “He is a very sensible young man, -considering the fact that he has a title and estates in a monarchical -country. But he got more out of me than I obtained from him. He asked -me a hundred questions—some of them really laughable—about our form -of government and my opinion of the ability of a free people to rule -themselves.” - -“Of course,” remarked Ned, sarcastically, “you gave him to understand -that we place entire confidence in the ‘people,’ _hoi polloi_, _demos_. -You said nothing to him about ‘bosses’?” - -Mr. Strong glanced at his son deprecatingly. - -“Satire is not your strong point, Ned. Of course I didn’t dwell upon the -defects of our system to the count. I rather encouraged him to think that -our experiment in self-government had been a thorough success.” - -“It certainly has, father—for the bankers,” commented the young man, -gazing quizzically at Mr. Strong. - -“Isn’t Ned unbearable!” cried Kate, warmly. “Perhaps, Ned, you’ll be -willing to tell the count just how this country ought to be governed.” - -“I leave that to you, Kate. Don’t you attend Professor Smith’s lectures -on representative government? Surely the count can learn more about our -institutions from the women of our set than from the men.” - -“We have more patriotism,” cried Kate. - -“No, you have more leisure,” answered Ned. - -“Be quiet, children,” whispered Mrs. Strong, nervously, as the butler -appeared at the door and announced: - -“Count Szalaki.” - -A young man entered the drawing-room hastily, and bent courteously over -Mrs. Strong’s outstretched hand. - -“He looks like Lord Byron,” whispered Kate to her brother. Then she -turned and met the smiling eyes of a youth whose glance was strangely -magnetic. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -“You have never been in Europe, then, Miss Strong?” - -Count Szalaki turned smilingly to his _vis-à-vis_ as they seated -themselves at the dining-table in a room that appeared luxurious even to -the eye of the guest. There was a peculiarity in his pronunciation that -defies reproduction in cold type. His voice was gentle and carefully -modulated, and the English language seemed to do homage to his rank, for -it fell from his lips in a musical softness that was extremely pleasing -to the ear. - -Kate Strong was fascinated, against her will, by the dark gray eyes of -the picturesque youth at her side. His black hair curled romantically -about a high, white brow, and his mouth, symmetrically curved, indicated -an imaginative and generous temperament. His white, even teeth added -vastly to the brilliancy of his smile. There was a touch of embarrassment -in his manner, now and then, that seemed to exact sympathy from his -entertainers. - -“Not since I was quite young,” answered Kate, with the air of one who has -reached extreme old age. - -“My sister,” remarked Ned Strong, as the butler removed his -soup-plate—“my sister, Count Szalaki, is a tremendous democrat, you know. -She won’t go to Europe, I fear, until every country over there has -become a republic.” - -“How unfair!” cried Mrs. Strong, glancing deprecatingly at her son. - -“Then, Miss Strong, you don’t approve of foreign aristocrats?” asked the -count gently, smiling at Kate in a confiding way. - -“Indeed I do,” she returned, looking defiantly at Ned. “We should be very -dull in our set, you know, without them.” - -“But you don’t take them _au sérieux_?” asked the count, anxious to stand -on solid ground. - -“Indeed we don’t,” cried Kate. “We marry them, you know.” - -Count Szalaki looked at his host in a puzzled way, and Mr. Strong smiled -benignantly. - -“I think I told you on the steamer, count,” remarked Mr. Strong, “that -you would find it easier to understand our political institutions than -our American girl, did I not?” - -Count Szalaki looked at Kate, an expression of admiration in his eyes -that savored not at all of boldness. “I think,” he said, “that I shall -take your politics for granted and attempt the solution of the greater -puzzle.” - -“Take my advice and don’t do it, Count Szalaki,” cried Ned. “Our politics -are laughable, but our American girl is—is——” - -“Is what, Ned?” asked Kate, with mock cordiality. - -“Is dangerous,” answered her brother. “You see, count, you come here -several years too late. When I was young,” he continued, smilingly, “that -is, about two years ago, we were not under the depressing influence of -the New Woman. But now it is different. The New Woman——” - -Count Szalaki’s mobile face bore an expression of bewilderment. - -“Pardon me,” he exclaimed. “I am what you call—puzzled. I have not heard -that expression heretofore. What do you mean by the New Woman?” - -“Don’t speak, Ned,” cried Kate, imploringly. “Let me tell Count Szalaki -what the New Woman is.” - -“That is better, Ned,” remarked Mr. Strong, diplomatically. “It would be -unfair for the count to get your definition first.” - -“I really think,” put in Mrs. Strong, anxiety in her voice, “that we -ought to change the subject.” - -Count Szalaki glanced at her with a mournful smile on his lips and a -pleading glance in his eloquent eyes. - -“But, Mrs. Strong, you must take pity on me. Remember, I am only a -barbarian. In my country, you know, we go very slowly. We cling to old -forms, old customs, old ideas. That is why I came over here. I wished to -broaden my mind and to keep in touch with the progress of the age.” - -“Then there are no advanced women in Rexania?” asked Ned, courteously. - -Count Szalaki seemed to wince as the name of his fatherland was brought -into the discussion. Kate afterward said that he actually turned pale. - -“I can hardly say that,” answered their guest, rather sadly, as -it seemed. “There are women there who are discontented with our -institutions, who are desirous of changes in all directions. I was only -a boy at the time of the great outbreak in my country, ten years ago, -but I remember that among the rioters were many women. One woman led a -party of malcontents who attacked the palace. The guards were preparing -to shoot her, when I saw what they were about to do and ordered them to -lower their guns. Five years later, I was thrown from my horse while -hunting in a forest, not far from Rexopolis, and broke my arm. I was -carried to a hut in the woods, and an elderly woman very gently cared -for me until help arrived from the palace. Before they took me away, -she confided to me that she was the rebel who had led the attack on the -palace and whose life I had saved. She became a loyal subject from the -moment I gave the order that saved her life. She is now in the employ of -the king, and is doing good service in keeping him informed of the doings -of those who plot against the throne.” - -An expression of surprise had crossed the faces of the diners at their -guest’s tale. - -“Pardon me,” remarked Ned, as the count ceased to speak, “but do you live -in the palace at Rexopolis?” - -If Count Szalaki felt any annoyance at his own loquacity he controlled -it successfully. The influence of his surroundings had made him quite -forget, for the time being, that he was hiding behind an incognito, and -that ordinary prudence demanded that he should keep his secret. With a -strong effort, he succeeded in suppressing all signs of dismay at his -unguarded recklessness. His life had tended to make him diplomatic, but -his nature was frank and confiding, and he was very sensitive to his -environment. “Surely,” he thought, “these hospitable, kindly, democratic -people are not of a suspicious character.” The thought reassured him, -and he said: - -“I have a relative near the throne, you know. I sometimes spend several -weeks with him at the palace.” - -“Then you know the king?” cried Kate, interestedly. “I have read so much -about him. And the crown prince? Is he as handsome as the newspapers say -he is?” - -It was an embarrassing question, and the prince drank a half-glass of -champagne before answering his fair _vis-à-vis_. - -“I may be prejudiced in his favor,” he said, at length, “but he is young -and in good health, and, I think, pleasing to the eye.” Then he added, -hurriedly, “But I am here to learn all about this country, not to talk -about my own. Tell me, is Chicago far from New York?” - -The conversation gradually drifted into safer channels, and Count Szalaki -had begun to feel that his indiscretion had given him the only nervous -shock that he would experience during the evening, when the butler -approached the guest’s chair and said, apologetically: - -“Pardon me, monsieur, but this note has just been presented at the door -by a man who says that it must reach you at once.” - -Count Szalaki’s face flushed and then turned very pale. His hand trembled -slightly as he took the envelope from the outstretched tray. It bore the -name he had chosen for his incognito, and in the corner were written, in -the Rexanian dialect, the words “Important and immediate.” - -“Will you forgive me,” said the count, glancing at Mrs. Strong, “if I -open this at once? There seems to be some mystery about it.” - -His hostess smiled and bowed, and the youth opened the missive and -read the following startling sentences, written, like the words on the -envelope, in the purest Rexanian: - - “YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS,—A great danger threatens you. But trust - to us. We are your friends. Dismiss your carriage on leaving - the house, and walk down the avenue. Two men will join you who - love you and your house. We are under oath to guard you from - harm, and take this way to warn you. In the name of Rexania, be - prudent.” - -The letter was unsigned, and an expression of consternation and -perplexity rested on the prince’s face as he reread the note and then -carefully inserted it in a pocket of his waistcoat. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -By a strong effort of will, the prince controlled his agitation, and, -eying the butler keenly, asked: - -“Is the man who brought this note awaiting an answer?” - -“No, monsieur. He went away at once.” - -“Very good!” exclaimed the Rexanian. Then, as if coming suddenly to a -determination, he continued, “Will you kindly dismiss my carriage? I will -walk back to my hotel.” - -After Mrs. Strong and Kate had left the men to their _liqueurs_ and -cigars, Count Szalaki, as we shall continue to call him, turned to his -host and asked: - -“Are there many of my countrymen in New York, Mr. Strong?” - -“I was telling my son about them before you arrived,” answered Mr. -Strong, whose curiosity was greatly excited by the episode that had just -occurred. “There are a few hundred Rexanians on the East Side. By the -way, I forgot to remind you, Ned, that our man Rudolph is from Rexopolis. -It slipped my mind at the moment. You see, count, I have dabbled a little -in politics. After an election a few years ago, a Rexanian who had -made some political speeches for us on the East Side applied to me for -work. It happened that I wanted a man to live in the lodge of our old -homestead up in Westchester, and I gave Rudolph the place.” - -“He has served you well?” asked Count Szalaki, whose manner still gave -slight evidences of suppressed excitement. - -“He has been very faithful. He drinks a little too much brandy now and -then, I believe, but he is well fitted for his not very onerous duties. -You see, our old homestead—I was born there, as my grandfather and father -were before me—has been allowed to fall into disuse. My family have -always preferred Newport to Westchester in summer, and I have never had -the heart to sell the place. Rudolph’s duty is to take care of the house -and grounds, and mine to resist all temptation to sell them.” - -“I am glad,” remarked Count Szalaki, courteously, “that one of my people -has been of service to you. But tell me about these few hundred Rexanians -on the East Side. Are they quiet, reputable citizens? Do they give you -any trouble?” - -“They are considered, I believe,” answered Mr. Strong, carefully weighing -his words, “very industrious and law-abiding men; rather clannish, but -great enthusiasts regarding our form of government.” - -Count Szalaki sipped his Chartreuse meditatively. He had a decision to -make that seemed to him to be of great moment. He was placed in a very -awkward position. The fact that there were men in the city who knew his -name and his rank had come to him as a stunning blow. It had been a great -relief to him to get away from Rexopolis, a hotbed of intrigue and peril, -and to find himself in a great city in which, as he had fondly believed, -he could come and go without a thought of danger or the necessity of -using any especial precautions. And now in the twinkling of an eye he had -been confronted by a mystery and a menace. He felt a curious sensation -of utter helplessness, a desire for advice, and the certainty that there -was no one who could give it to him. Young though he was, he was a man -of great physical and moral courage, but he was also a youth of strong -imaginative powers, and the position in which he was now placed appeared -to his overwrought mind to be filled with lurking perils against which he -could think of no way to protect himself. Then his mind dwelt upon the -kind and loyal words of the note that he had just received, and he felt -impelled to put his trust in those who had sent it to him. The people of -Rexania had always been fond of the crown prince: when he had appeared to -the crowds in Rexopolis the cheers had ever been heartfelt and inspiring, -and the youth felt sure that the mass of his people loved him. But there -were schemers and rebels among them, as he well knew, and the feeling -had been upon him for years that at any moment he might meet with a -violent death. It was to get a few months’ relief from this oppressive -sensation that he had come to the New World. It was, therefore, a bitter -disappointment to find that even in the land of universal freedom the -heir to a throne may be shadowed by those who know his secret and who may -or may not desire his destruction. - -If Count Szalaki had been a man of wider experience, if he had realized -that conditions prevailing in Rexopolis were impossible in New York, -he would have taken steps at this crisis that would have solved his -difficulties at little or no risk to himself. A frank statement of the -whole affair to Gerald Strong would have placed the Rexanian prince in -perfect touch with his novel environment. It would have enabled him to -remove the annoyances that threatened him as easily as the wind puts a -fog to flight. But he kept his secret to himself, and thus made his first -great blunder in a series of missteps that were followed by consequences -affecting a vast multitude in Europe and a good many people on this side -of the Atlantic. - -As they rejoined Mrs. Strong and her daughter in the drawing-room, -the Rexanian made a great effort to throw off the depression that had -affected his spirits while he puffed his cigar. - -“You look more cheerful, Count Szalaki,” remarked Kate, sympathetically. -“I hope you have received no bad news?” - -“Not at all,” he answered, with forced gayety. “A friend is awaiting me -outside to walk to my hotel with me; and I fear that he is a bore.” - -“How very sad!” commented Kate, while the feeling crept over her that -here was a man who had about him a great mystery. It was the one thing -lacking to make him irresistibly fascinating to a girl who was surfeited -with men about whom there was nothing new to learn. - -“Perhaps,” went on the Rexanian, brushing the dark locks back from his -forehead with a white, tapering hand, “perhaps you will take pity on me, -Miss Strong, and give me courage for my walk to-night by the prospect of -a stroll with you to-morrow afternoon?” - -He was not quite sure that, even in the land of liberty, this proposition -would be considered good form, but his mood had grown somewhat reckless -under the pressure of events. - -“Thank you,” answered Kate, frankly. “It will give me great pleasure to -show you something of our city. I shall expect you about three o’clock.” -She held out her hand to him as he arose to make his adieux. - -Ned Strong had succumbed, as had his parents and sister, to the magnetism -of their guest. - -“I should be pleased to look you up to-morrow morning, Count Szalaki,” he -said cordially. “If you are fond of driving, I’ll stop at the hotel with -my cart before noon.” - -“That is very charming,” cried the Rexanian. “You have all been so -kind to me. I cannot find terms in which to express my gratitude.” The -hand-clasp he gave his host and hostess proved the sincerity of his words. - -He was gone, and Ned Strong stood looking at his sister. - -“You promised me, Kate,” he said playfully, “that you would tell me what -you thought of him. Now is the appointed time.” - -“I think,” answered Kate, slowly, “I think, Ned, that Count Szalaki is a -delightful man—who is in very great trouble.” - -“Kate is right, Gerald,” commented Mrs. Strong, looking at her husband. -“What do you suppose that note said?” - -“I can’t imagine,” answered Gerald Strong, musingly. “I shall cable our -agent at Vienna in the morning to go to Rexopolis and find out who Count -Szalaki is.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -At seven o’clock that evening Posadowski and Posnovitch had entered an -elevated car at Houston Street, bound up-town. They were dressed with -more regard for appearances than usual. On their faces was an expression -of suppressed excitement, and their gestures, as they talked earnestly -in their native tongue, indicated that they had a grave matter under -discussion. - -“I will tell you all that I have done,” said Posadowski, after they were -seated. “Part of it you know. You have fixed Rudolph, and the house is -ready for us. Did he give you much trouble?” - -“No,” answered Posnovitch. “Give Rudolph plenty of liquor, a little -money, and appeal to his patriotism, and he is an easy tool to handle.” - -“Good!” returned Posadowski. “Now I have sworn in fifteen men who have -agreed to devote their time for the next few weeks to this matter. Eight -of them went up to Rudolph’s place at six o’clock. At four o’clock -to-morrow morning they will be relieved by the others. I have arranged -the shifts so that the work will be easy for all of us.” - -“But how,” asked Posnovitch, eagerly, “will you get the prince to leave -the house alone?” - -“I know the man,” answered Posadowski. “I am depending upon his pride and -the fact that he will not dare to make a confidant of any one of his new -friends.” - -“How did you learn where he was going to dine?” - -“That was not difficult,” answered Posadowski modestly. “I heard him tell -the clerk at his hotel this afternoon to send any cable despatch that -came for him this evening to No.—Fifth Avenue. I telegraphed Rukacs, -in cipher, to watch the house and to have the carriage ready for us. -Svolak—I swore him in this morning—will be on the box alone. There is -only one thing now that can defeat our scheme.” - -“And that is——?” asked the gigantic Rexanian, eagerly. - -“The refusal of the prince to look upon us as friends.” - -“He will be suspicious, of course. And we can’t use violence on Fifth -Avenue in the early evening.” - -Posadowski smiled confidently. Taking a letter from his pocket, he handed -it to his companion. It was a short note, addressed to “My Good Friend -Posadowski,” signed by the King of Rexania, and expressing the gratitude -of the writer for services performed by the recipient. - -“It is easily explained,” remarked the arch-conspirator. “My brother, -you know, was a loyalist. He did the king many good turns in the days -of the revolution. When my brother died, his effects were sent to me; I -found this letter among them. The Rexanian officials on the border are -sometimes very careless. Of course I have always taken good care of -this epistle. I had a feeling that it would be of value to me some time -or other. I am inclined to think that the success of our plans to-night -rests on the king’s signature.” - -“You heard from the palace to-day?” - -“A short cable despatch in cipher. The king is restless; his physicians -are worried about him.” - -“Good!” cried Posnovitch. “I think they have good cause to be. Both he -and his kingdom are on their last legs.” - -When the train reached Forty-seventh Street the two Rexanians made a -hasty exit and hurried down the stairs. It was a hot, close night in -September. Somehow the summer, dissatisfied with its career, had impinged -upon the fall and was now engaged in maliciously breaking a record. The -sky was overhung with heavy clouds, and now and then a flash of lightning -glared through the streets. - -Posadowski and his towering companion turned up Fifth Avenue, and after a -short walk were accosted by Rukacs. Pointing to a house just opposite to -where they stood, he said, with a tremor of excitement in his voice: - -“There’s where he is dining. He has been in there over an hour.” - -“Good!” cried Posadowski. “Wait here until I rejoin you.” - -Crossing the street, the Rexanian mounted the steps of Gerald Strong’s -mansion, rang the bell, and, after a short discussion with the attendant, -left in his hands the note that informed the prince that friends awaited -him outside—a note that, as we know, he received and acted upon. - -When he returned to the sidewalk, Posadowski, noting carefully that he -was not being watched from the house, approached the carriage that was -awaiting the prince’s exit. - -“Listen, Svolak,” he said to the liveried driver, who had dismounted from -the box. “If you are dismissed by an order from the house, drive off and -station yourself by that corner light, half a block down the street. Wait -there until you get another order from me. Understand me?” - -“Thoroughly,” answered Svolak, remounting the box. - -A moment later Posadowski had rejoined Posnovitch and Rukacs on the -opposite side of the street. The front door of the house opened; the hall -attendant ran down the steps and gave an order to Svolak. The carriage -rattled over the noisy pavement and made its way down-town. - -“All goes well, my brothers,” cried Posadowski, joyfully. “If he leaves -that house alone, no power on earth can save the kingdom of Rexania from -destruction. Never before in the history of the world did the birth of a -republic depend upon whether a guest left his host in company or alone. -But that is just how the crisis stands at this moment. I have played the -whole game on the chance that the prince will not care to have his new -friends learn his secret. I believe that he will come out to us alone. If -he does, success is in our hands. If he doesn’t, we must wait for another -chance.” - -Time went by: the conspirators grew restless and impatient. So much was -at stake on the opening of the front door of a Fifth Avenue mansion that -they were appalled by the possibilities suggested by the line of thought -Posadowski had struck out. It was not too much to say that peace or war -in Europe might depend upon the details of the next exit that should take -place through the entrance that glared at them across the street. - -Suddenly Posadowski clutched Rukacs’ arm. “Here he comes,” he whispered. -“Walk down toward the carriage. I will join him at once. Let me do the -talking. You can put in a word of loyalty at first, but keep quiet after -that. Go!” - -On the steps opposite to them stood the prince, gazing up and down the -street, as the door closed behind him. There for a moment he paused, the -incarnation of an anachronism, a youth who had failed to conceal his -awful crime of being born a king. For that one moment he stood, poised -on the brink of a precipice, while Reaction and Progress trembled in the -balance. Then slowly he descended the steps and found himself face to -face with Posadowski. As he scanned his fellow-countryman searchingly, -the Crown Prince of Rexania felt reassured. - -“Let us walk down the avenue together,” said Posadowski, quietly, -purposely avoiding the young man’s title. “I have much to say to you, and -friends await us down the street.” - -For one moment the prince hesitated: his eyes sought the house he had -just left, as though the mansion contained something from which he had no -wish to part. Then he turned and accompanied Posadowski down the avenue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -“These men are your friends and know your secret,” whispered Posadowski -to the prince, as they approached Rukacs and Posnovitch, who were -standing boldly in the glare of an electric light by the side of the -carriage. - -He who called himself Count Szalaki was somewhat paler than usual, but -his step was firm, and there was that in his bearing that caused a -pang of regret in the mind of his companion. It takes a very hardened -conspirator to cast youth into captivity without a touch of remorse. - -“Rukacs, Posnovitch,” said Posadowski, in a low tone, as the quartette -formed by the sidewalk’s edge, “you know who this man is. What is our -duty toward him.” - -“To protect him and defend him with our life-blood, when the need shall -come,” answered Rukacs and Posnovitch in concert. - -Count Szalaki’s dark eyes glowed with the effort he was making to search -the souls of the men around him. - -“What do you wish from me?” he asked haughtily, withdrawing himself from -too close contact with his companions. - -“We have no time to lose, your—your majesty,” whispered Posadowski, -impressively. “It is growing late. If you doubt our sincerity, a short -drive will take us to my rooms. We have in our possession letters and -diagrams taken—to be frank with you—from certain of our countrymen living -in this city. These documents will prove to you that a plan has been -perfected that puts your life in peril.” - -“Why did you not bring the papers with you?” asked the prince -suspiciously. - -“It would have been a reckless thing to do,” answered the gigantic -Posnovitch. - -Posadowski put up his hand deprecatingly. - -“Allow me to explain,” he said, in a firm voice. “We dare not let this -evidence leave our hands. It would cost us our lives if your enemies -found that we had betrayed them. And they are very keen-witted. They -have placed you under surveillance at your hotel: if you examined these -documents at your rooms they would know of it, and our efforts to protect -you would be vain.” - -Count Szalaki’s face wore an expression of bewilderment and uncertainty. -He was frank and unsuspicious by nature, but the atmosphere of a -court had done much to destroy that confidence in his fellow-man that -pertained to his temperament and his years. The men surrounding him -impressed him favorably. They seemed to him to belong to that class of -Rexanians—merchants and men of affairs who desired no change in the -government—who had always been in Rexopolis the firmest friends of his -house. But he hesitated to put himself in their power. In a strange land, -surrounded by customs and conditions with which he was unfamiliar, he -began to feel that he might be in even greater peril than that which -surrounded him at all times in the palace at Rexopolis. It was simply a -choice between two evils that confronted him, and he had about decided -to defy the danger which, he had been told, menaced him from a general -conspiracy, rather than place himself in a closed carriage with the -bewhiskered men at his side, when Posadowski, observing the prince’s -indecision, said: - -“It is not surprising, your royal highness, that you find yourself in a -quandary. We say that we are your friends. That is no proof that we tell -the truth. But time is precious. We can wait no longer. I will convince -you on the instant that you can trust us.” - -The arch-conspirator drew a letter from a pocket in his coat. - -“One moment,” he said, moving nearer to the light, with the letter in his -hand. “Is there anything familiar to you in my face?” - -The youth from whose grasp a throne was slipping glanced keenly at -Posadowski’s countenance. - -“Truly,” he said, “I seem to have seen your face before. Your name is——?” - -“Posadowski,” answered the Rexanian. - -A puzzled expression crossed the prince’s face. “I thought,” he said -musingly, “that Posadowski died.” - -“I did not die,” cried the other. “I left Rexania and came to this city. -Time presses. Here is a letter to me from your father. It will prove to -you that I have always been, as I am to-night, loyal to you and to your -house.” - -The prince seized the letter that Posadowski had read to Posnovitch in -the elevated train. - -“It is enough,” he exclaimed, smiling cordially as he returned the -epistle to Posadowski. “I believe that you are my friends. If you play -me false, great will be your punishment. If you are true—and I think you -are—your reward shall be worthy of my father. Come! Let us go.” - -With a countenance that showed intense relief and a light heart that -beat with pleasure at the sight in that distant land of his father’s -signature, the prince entered the carriage. He was followed by Posnovitch -and Posadowski, who took the seat opposite to the crown prince. Rukacs -mounted the box beside Svolak. The latter, turning his horses around, hit -them a clip with the whip, and the vehicle bounded at a rapid rate up the -avenue. - -There was silence inside for a time. Finally the prince, taking out his -cigar-case, offered it to the men in front of him. Posadowski refused to -smoke, but Posnovitch and the prince at once began to fill the vehicle -with the fumes of tobacco. The latter felt the need of something to quiet -his overwrought nerves. He found himself in a curious state of mind. -Fully did he realize that it was incumbent upon him to keep his attention -fixed upon his companions and his surroundings, for the position in which -he was placed had revived the suspicions that had beset him before he had -read his father’s note. But, try as he might, his will refused to direct -the current of his thoughts. He found himself dwelling with strange -pleasure on the events of the evening. The face of Kate Strong, with -its clear-cut features, brilliant eyes, and a golden glory of waving -hair, smiled at him in the darkness and made him impatient of the night. -He had come to America to study politics; he found his whole heart and -mind engrossed with a girl he had seen but once, and whom the conditions -of his birth placed as far out of his reach as if he had been born an -African slave. The prerogatives of royalty seemed to him at that moment -to be worthless. That he must wed for policy, not for love, he well knew, -and a spirit of rebellion against the hard fate that had made him a crown -prince arose in his soul. He puffed his cigar nervously as the thought -forced itself upon him that, while a duke might marry an American girl, -a king could not. His romantic face grew melancholy as his revery became -more sombre. The air was oppressive, and distant thunder added to the -dismal influences surrounding him. - -Suddenly the prince aroused himself. Pulling out his watch, he saw that -the hour was late. The carriage at that moment was crossing a long -bridge, and the youth caught the gleam of lightning as it was reflected -from the water beneath them. His forebodings instantly reawakened. The -carriage had left the bridge behind it, as the prince placed his hand on -the knob of the door and said sternly to the silent conspirators before -him: - -“Stop the carriage. I wish to talk to you before we go farther.” - -A revolver in the firm grasp of Posadowski gleamed, as the lightning -flashed again, and the prince heard a harsh voice say to him: - -“Be quiet! Make another motion, and there will be one king less in the -world. Do you understand—now?” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -Surrounded by trees and haughtily succumbing to decay, an ancient -mansion, colonial in style, stands half-way between the shore of Long -Island Sound and the old post-road to Boston, not many miles from Harlem -Bridge. On the most brilliant day it is a gloomy, ghostly-looking -structure, and the weed-choked grounds surrounding the house add to the -unattractiveness of a spot that was once pleasing to the eye and noted -for the elegance of the hospitality dispensed by those who made the old -brick homestead a cheery place to visit. The house is built on a generous -plan. A wide piazza, supporting white Corinthian columns, faces the lawn. -At the back of the house, jutting out from the second story, is a large -balcony commanding a magnificent view of the Sound. Inside the structure -wide halls, enormous drawing-rooms, a stately dining-apartment, and, -upstairs, a labyrinth of airy sleeping-rooms, prove that their former -occupants were fond of luxury. The furniture has fallen to pieces, the -hangings are worn and dusty, and the partially dismantled house seems -to breathe a protest in every nook and corner against the negligence -that has allowed its former glories to lose their lustre beneath the -iconoclastic hand of time. - -It was an especially dreary place at the moment at which it demands our -attention. Surrounded by a high wall, nothing can be seen of the house -from the main road but its sloping roof and the gable windows beneath -it. At the side of the large gateway that makes an entrance for the -carriage-path leading up to the mansion is a small cottage that serves as -a modest lodging for the Rexanian, Rudolph Smolenski, in whose charge the -Strongs’ homestead had been placed some years previous to the opening of -this story. - -It is one o’clock in the morning. The day has made a tempestuous -entrance. Lightning flashes across the waters of the Sound, and deep -peals of thunder make the ground tremble with their force. The rain, -after long delay, has come at last, and beats down upon the mansion -and the lodge as though it would wash them clean of all relics of the -past. It leaks through cracks that time has made, and adds to the moist -discomfort of rooms that are never wholly dry. But there are unwonted -signs of cheer in the mansion and at the lodge. There are gleams of -moving lights that meet the storm as it beats against the shuttered -windows of the old house, and a steady ray defeats the darkness in front -of the decaying lodge. - -Let us enter the smaller structure first. Two men are seated at a table -in the front room on the ground floor. An oil lamp dimly illuminates the -barely furnished apartment and casts weird shadows across the uncarpeted -floor. One of these men we have met before. It is the impetuous little -Ludovics, whose patriotism is as indiscreet as it is enthusiastic. His -bright beady eyes gleam in the half light: his thin face is flushed, -partially from excitement, but in a larger degree from the brandy he has -drunk. - -His companion is Rudolph, the lodge-keeper, a flabby-faced, thickset man, -with heavy features and the look of one who enjoys soft places and hard -liquor. They are bending forward, listening. - -“It’s queer they don’t come,” Rudolph remarked, musingly. “I hear no -sound of wheels. Here, man, have another drop to keep you awake.” He -filled Ludovics’ glass from the bottle, and then replenished his own. -Rudolph drank like one who needs renewed vigor, Ludovics like a man -trying to quench the fires of impatience. - -“I hope,” said the latter, looking searchingly at Rudolph, “that they -haven’t got too much of this stuff up at the house.” - -“Only one bottle, this size,” answered Rudolph, fingering the bottle -lovingly. “One quart won’t do much harm among five men. And they’ll need -it, I tell you. That old house takes water like a sponge on a night like -this. I’ve done what I could to make it comfortable for you all, but I -wasn’t prepared for a flood like this.” - -“Hark,” cried Ludovics nervously, turning an ear to the window: “I -thought I heard wheels.” - -“They’re in your head, Ludovics,” remarked Rudolph, jocosely. He had -picked up a good deal of slang from the Westchester urchins who haunted -the lodge gate. “Come, light a cigar. In a storm like this it’s a hard -drive after they leave the bridge. I don’t expect them for an hour yet.” - -They puffed in silence for a time. Finally Ludovics said, with -suppressed excitement in his voice: - -“Rudolph, you’re a man of sense, and you love the cause. Do you realize -the full significance of this night’s work?” - -The lodge-keeper turned his puffy, pallid face full toward his guest and -eyed him keenly. - -“No, Ludovics; and nobody does. It’ll probably cost me my job.” - -Ludovics waved his hand impatiently. - -“I don’t mean that. If we are cautious, I don’t see how you can get into -trouble. What I mean is this: we are to have the whole political future -of our fatherland, the fate of dear old Rexania, right here in our grasp. -No power on earth can despoil us of our absolute grip upon a nation’s -destiny so long as the crown prince is within our control. It is an awful -responsibility that comes to us to-night, Rudolph.” - -The speaker glanced searchingly at his companion. He would have given -a great deal to know how much of an impression he was making on the -phlegmatic Rexanian, who continued to drink brandy without growing one -whit more demonstrative. Finally Rudolph said, as a tremendous crash of -thunder died away in bounding echoes across the Sound: - -“What are you driving at, Ludovics? Can’t you leave the brunt of the -business to Posadowski?” - -The excitable little Rexanian controlled his agitation with an effort. -“He’s so damned conservative, Rudolph!” he cried. “I believe he thinks -he can persuade Prince Carlo to abdicate, even if the king does not die -while his heir-apparent is cooped up here.” Then he jumped from his -chair and strode nervously up and down the room. “It’s all nonsense! -Trying to compromise with a monarchy is like giving your wife your purse: -you get the leather back and she keeps the money. Rudolph,”—and here -the little man stood still and glanced piercingly at his companion—“no -monarchy in Europe can be turned into a republic unless somebody, -somewhere, uses heroic measures.” - -The lodge-keeper smiled cautiously. - -“Don’t you call kidnapping a traveller in this part of the world using -heroic measures?” - -Ludovics flushed angrily. “Only fools,” he cried, “use heroic measures -that are not quite heroic enough. Don’t be stupid, Rudolph. You -understand me. Pish! how I hate half-baked patriots! We’d have won our -fight ten years ago, if we hadn’t had among us men who didn’t dare take -advantage of the power they had grasped. The Rexanian republic must -never be lost again because we revolutionists aren’t equal to the crisis -that confronts us. Do you think,” he cried, again standing in front of -Rudolph and gesticulating wildly, “do you think I care for my liberty -or my life if I can do something that will give my country freedom? I -hate all kings, Rudolph. Who dare say to me that a king deserves mercy -at my hands? Did not a king kill my father and banish me from the land -of my birth? Did not a king seize my patrimony and leave me a pauper, -an outcast, a man without a country and without a hope? Mercy? I would -sooner give meat to a dog that bit my shins than grant life to a king -whose breast was at my dagger’s end. Do you know me now, Rudolph? Do you -read my heart? I tell you, man, the night outside is not blacker than my -soul when I think of kings. Kings! Kings! They say God made them! Then, -by God, the devil shall destroy them. Give me more brandy, Rudolph. -The storm is working in my blood! Ha, but that was a glorious flash! -The sky’s own fireworks light the coming of our prince to our little -dove-cot.” - -A wild crash of thunder seemed to applaud the madman’s words. - -“Keep quiet,” cried Rudolph, jumping up and placing his fat, yellowish -hand on Ludovics’ arm. “I hear the sound of wheels. Yes, yes, man, I am -right. They are here.” - -A carriage stopped outside, and a blow that echoed through the cottage -fell on the iron gate that blocked the roadway. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -“Go back to the city at once, and report here to-morrow afternoon at -four o’clock,” said Posadowski to Svolak, the gate having been opened by -Rudolph and the carriage drawn up in front of the lodge. - -The arch-conspirator had left Posnovitch to guard the crown prince inside -the vehicle. - -“Who is with you?” he asked hastily of Rudolph, as he placed his hand on -the handle of the carriage door. - -“Ludovics,” whispered the lodge-keeper, very softly. “Look out for him. -He is drunk and desperate.” - -A few moments later the four Rexanians—Posadowski, Posnovitch, Rudolph, -and Ludovics—surrounded Prince Carlo in the parlor of the lodge. The -prince’s face was pale, but his mouth bore a determined expression and -his gleaming eyes did not flinch as he gazed searchingly at his captors -in the dim light of the inhospitable apartment. - -“I repeat, your royal highness,” said Posadowski, impressively, “that -you are among friends or enemies as you choose to make us. We are your -friends if you will conform readily to our wishes. We are your enemies if -you offer resistance.” - -“Milk and water,” muttered Ludovics sullenly. Posadowski glanced angrily -at the overwrought revolutionist, but said nothing. - -“I am to understand,” remarked the prince, haughtily, “that I am your -prisoner, and that I can obtain my freedom only under certain conditions.” - -“Precisely,” answered Posadowski. “Those conditions we will outline to -you to-morrow. Rudolph, is his highness’ apartment ready for him?” - -“Yes; we will go up to the house at once, if you wish.” The lodge-keeper -walked to a window and looked out into the night. “The rain has ceased,” -he said. Approaching Prince Carlo, he asked, with marked deference, “May -I offer you some brandy? You have had a hard ride, your highness.” - -The prince hesitated. He felt cold, and a depression of spirits that had -not affected him in the carriage overcame him at this moment. Courteous -as these men were to him, he realized that they were determined and -dangerous characters, the ringleaders in a revolt that, ten years -before, had made them exiles. That they would take every advantage of -the opportunity that chance and his own short-sightedness had thrown in -their way he well knew. But of all the dismal influences that surrounded -him there was none that affected him so unpleasantly as little Ludovics’ -gaze. He could not escape it. Whichever way he turned his face, he -realized that the piercing eyes of the undersized Rexanian were upon him, -pitiless, revengeful, unflinching. Meeting Ludovics’ glance as Rudolph -held out to him a glass half-full of brandy, a chill more penetrating -than any he had ever felt struck to the prince’s marrow, and he drained -the liquor eagerly. His hand trembled slightly as he returned the glass -to Rudolph. - -“Before we leave this place,” said Posadowski, drawing nearer to -his captive and speaking sternly, “you must understand that you are -absolutely powerless. The guard around you night and day will render -escape impossible. The house to which we go at once has long been -deserted, and none but a few tradesmen ever visit this lodge. An exile -in Siberia is no farther removed from outside aid than are you, Prince -Carlo of Rexania. But do not imagine for an instant that your life is -in the slightest danger. You are surrounded by your own countrymen, by -those who admire you personally, while they detest the institutions you -represent—institutions that, I can well imagine, a man of your age and -intelligence cannot, in his heart of hearts, uphold.” - -The pale cheeks of the captive prince turned red at these words. He drew -himself up arrogantly, and the spirit of a regal ancestry gleamed in his -dark eyes as they rested defiantly upon the first man who had ever dared -to question his loyalty to monarchy. - -“Have done!” he cried, imperiously. “Powerless though I may be, there are -words on your lips that I must refuse to hear.” - -“Coward! coward!” shrieked Ludovics. “A king is always a coward! You’re -afraid of the truth! Coward! Coward!” - -The gigantic Posnovitch placed his hand over the dwarfish drunkard’s -mouth. - -“Put him to bed, and keep him there, Posnovitch,” cried Posadowski -savagely. “If he makes any noise thrash him. Come, Rudolph, we will -conduct Prince Carlo to his room.” - -Ludovics glared madly at Posadowski. Twisting, with an agility begotten -by alcoholic stimulants, out of the grasp of Posnovitch, he made a -dash for the table, and, seizing the brandy bottle, would have dashed -it against the head of the crown prince if Rudolph had not stayed his -murderous hand at the last moment. - -“We leave him to you,” said the lodge-keeper, stolidly, as he placed the -struggling Ludovics in the grip of Posnovitch again. “Don’t let him play -you the same trick twice.” - -With Posadowski on one side of him and Rudolph on the other side, Prince -Carlo left the lodge and turned his weary steps toward the gloomy house -at the end of the driveway. The rain no longer fell, but the night was -black and oppressive, and now and again the lightning gleamed fitfully -across the distant waters of the sound. There was no invigoration in the -atmosphere. The storm had left in its trail a moisture that seemed to -take uncanny pleasure in emphasizing the heat. But, in spite of all this, -Prince Carlo felt again that grewsome sensation of cold that had affected -his nerves in the rooms they had just left. As the trio mounted the -broad steps that led to the piazza, beneath which gloomy shadows lurked, -this feeling of chilliness increased, and it was only by a strong effort -of will that he saved himself from trembling beneath the grasp of his -conductors. - -Three men met them at the main entrance. “Silence!” cried Posadowski -to the Rexanians in the hall-way. “Two of you remain here. We will go -upstairs at once.” - -One of the conspirators stalked up the broad staircase in front of the -prince and his companions. A lamp gleamed dimly at the landing, and, -grasping it as he turned into the upper hall-way, their conductor led -them through a doorway into a large, gloomy sleeping-room at the rear of -the house. The apartment exhibited signs of long disuse, disguised in -part by a hasty attempt to make it inhabitable. The old-fashioned bed -was made up with linen furnished by the lodge-keeper. The faded hangings -in front of the windows had been pulled back to conceal their tattered -condition, and, had it not been for the damp and heavy atmosphere of the -room, it would have presented many welcome features to a very weary man. - -“Here we leave you, Prince Carlo,” remarked Posadowski, in a low voice. -“If our hospitality is lacking in luxuries, believe me, it is not our -fault. I assure you it is my sincere hope that you will rest well; for -there are weighty matters to be decided between us to-morrow. Good-night, -your royal highness; good-night.” - -Prince Carlo bent his head slightly in recognition of the -arch-conspirator’s last words, and on the instant found himself alone. -The sound of a closing door and of a key turned in the old-fashioned lock -echoed drearily through the house as the prince stepped hurriedly to one -of the windows and attempted to raise it to air the room. The window was -locked. What it meant to be a prisoner broke darkly upon the young man’s -mind, and he threw himself in despair upon the bed and moaned in utter -misery. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -On the second morning after the crown prince’s abduction, Gerald Strong -and his family formed themselves at breakfast into what Ned called “a -committee of the whole on the Szalaki matter.” - -“I received a cable despatch late yesterday afternoon, dated at -Rexopolis, and signed by our Vienna agent,” remarked Strong the elder, -glancing rather shamefacedly at Kate. “It ran as follows: ‘Szalaki common -name. No nobility.’ I begin to fear that your mother and I were too -easily affected by pleasing manners and a handsome face.” - -“The thing looks queer,” exclaimed Ned, emphatically. “When I drove up -to the hotel yesterday before noon a curious feeling came over me that I -would not find the count. When I asked for him at the desk, a peculiar -expression rested on the clerk’s face, and he looked at me suspiciously. -When I had given him my name, he seemed to feel more confidence in me, -for he told me that Count Szalaki had not returned to the hotel the night -before. About an hour before I reached there yesterday morning a man had -given the clerk a note from Count Szalaki, enclosing the amount of his -bill and directing the hotel people to put all his belongings in the -care of the bearer. The man looked like a foreigner. The clerk carefully -compared the count’s signature on the note with his name on the hotel -register, and became satisfied that they were penned by the same hand. -There was nothing for him to do, of course, but to obey the orders -contained in the note. I tell you, father, it looks queer.” - -Kate Strong had said nothing after seating herself at the table, but her -face showed that she was intensely interested in the conversation going -on between her father and her brother. Her cheeks were paler than usual, -and dark shadows rested beneath her eyes. She ate nothing, and sipped her -coffee languidly. Ned’s emphatic insistence on the “queerness” of the -whole affair seemed to annoy her, for she exclaimed, a slight tinge of -red appearing in her face: - -“I don’t believe, Ned, that Count Szalaki is a fraud. It’s strange, -of course, that he sent me no word of apology for not keeping his -engagement; but, somehow, I feel sure that there is an adequate -explanation for his silence.” - -“But you forget your father’s cable despatch, Kate,” remarked Mrs. -Strong, coldly. She suffered intensely at the idea that her boasted -knowledge of human nature had been insufficient to protect the family -from an impostor. - -“Well, well,” exclaimed Gerald Strong, rather testily, as he motioned to -the butler to hand him a morning newspaper, “no great harm is done even -if Count Szalaki is not what he appeared to be. If he is an adventurer, -we certainly got off very cheaply.” - -Kate Strong did not wholly agree with her father in this conclusion. -She was dissatisfied with herself, and weary for the moment, of her -environment. Whatever Count Szalaki might be—confidence man, rolling -stone, conspirator, or what not—she felt that he had played a more -important _rôle_ in her eyes than either he or her family realized. -How could Count Szalaki or her people know that this self-contained, -worldly-wise, seemingly unimpressionable New York girl, who had been -flattered and petted and obeyed since her nursery days, had found in the -Rexanian the incarnation of her secret dreams of romance? How could they -realize that the very mystery that placed him beyond the pale of Gerald -Strong’s consideration had but added to the fascination that his memory -exerted over the girl? Kate was not by temperament a sickly sentimental -woman, but she was not yet too old or world-worn to dream wild, sweet -dreams, and to long for the day when out of the shadowland of commonplace -would come a royal youth who would lead her up to the sun-kissed palace -of love and mystery that crowns the distant mountain-top. She had seen -Count Szalaki but once, but in the beauty of his face and the soft, -almost caressing accent of his voice she had found reason for the hope -that her dreams might not be mockeries, that in the land of reality there -might be a prince who, kissing the lips of the sleeping maiden, would -awaken her to a life that should satisfy the longings of her weary soul. -All this she hardly dared to admit to herself, but she was honest enough -in her self-communion to acknowledge that Count Szalaki appealed to her -imagination as no man heretofore had touched it. It hurt her pride to -feel that her parents and brother had relegated this visitor from her -land of dreams to the limbo in which honest people placed impostors. As -she mused silently on the accusing fact that had been brought to her -notice regarding the youth who fulfilled in so many details her ideal, an -exclamation of surprise from her father aroused her from her revery. - -“Here’s a long despatch in the _Trumpet_ from Rexopolis,” exclaimed -Gerald Strong, glancing at his son. “Listen. ‘There is much suppressed -excitement in this city. The guards at the palace have been doubled, and -rumor has it that King Sergius III. is dangerously ill. Premier Fejeravy -was seen by your correspondent to-day, but refused to admit or deny the -truth of the report. One of the astonishing features of the situation -lies in the fact that the Crown Prince Carlo has not appeared in public -for some time past. It has been his custom heretofore to show himself to -the people whenever his aged father was indisposed. This has been good -policy on his part, as he is very popular, and there is always talk of a -revolutionary outbreak here when the king is threatened with death. The -maintenance of the monarchy, if King Sergius should die, rests entirely -on the popularity of Prince Carlo, as the undercurrent of feeling in -favor of a republic is very strong. It is suspected that France and -Russia would not be opposed to the overthrow of the reigning house and -the formation of a Rexanian republic. There are many reasons why a buffer -republic at this point would be of advantage to the Franco-Russian -coalition. The Rexanian army has been greatly strengthened of late years, -but its loyalty to the crown is under suspicion. There is little doubt -that a large number of the rank and file, and a few of the officers, -are under the influence of republican ideas. Under these conditions, -every scrap of news from the palace is eagerly awaited by the crowd in -the streets. It is rumored at this writing that a famous specialist -from Paris has just reached the city and is being hurried to the king’s -bedside. Business is practically at a standstill, and any moment may give -birth to events in this city that will affect the whole of Europe.’” - -There was silence for a moment. At length Ned remarked: - -“I can’t make anything out of it, father. I am free to admit that -Count Szalaki impressed me as a thorough gentleman, too young and -unsophisticated to be a dangerous schemer. But he comes to us, and while -here receives a note that affects him strangely. Then he disappears, -leaving no word of apology or explanation behind him. And now we learn -that his country is on the eve of startling events. He told us that he -came here to study our institutions. By Jove, I have it, father! He is a -revolutionist, and the crisis at Rexopolis has called him back at once. -I’ll bet a penny that he sailed for Europe yesterday morning!” - -Gerald Strong rose, and remarked, indifferently: - -“Well, well, Ned, you may be right. I should prefer to learn that he was -a rebel and not a rascal. He was a charming boy. But I doubt if we ever -hear of him again. You don’t look well, Kate. You must get more exercise.” - -“I’m going up to the Country Club to-morrow with Ned,” said Kate, -smiling at her father as she left the table. “We will take a spin on our -wheels and be back here for a late dinner. Isn’t that our plan, Ned?” - -“I believe it is,” answered her brother. “And to-day I shall try to find -out what has become of Count Szalaki.” - -The young man did not know that the expression on his sister’s face was -one of mingled gratitude and hope, born of the words he had just spoken. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -The sun had peeped above the island to the eastward and was throwing -its caressing rays across the Sound. The storm that had chastised the -waters and grumbled its way inland had left a smiling daybreak in its -track. The Crown Prince of Rexania still tossed in feverish sleep upon -his bed upstairs as Posadowski and Posnovitch, who had obtained a short -but thorough rest, stood behind the old manor house, looking out upon the -golden shimmer that gilded the tossing waters of the Sound. - -“There is only one way to deal with Ludovics,” said Posadowski, -emphatically. “There is a great risk in sending him back to the city, but -I dare not keep him here. He’s a murderous little man when in liquor, -and our force is not large enough to keep a close watch upon him. Now, -my plan is this. When the prince awakens, I will persuade him to write a -note giving you authority to get his belongings at the hotel. He wouldn’t -be thoroughly comfortable here in evening dress. I will also put Ludovics -in your charge. You must take him to the city and on your way down -intimate that if he returns here he will be locked up, and if he plays us -false in the city there are fourteen men each one of whom will swear to -have his life. Do you understand me, Posnovitch? Good! Go and call him.” - -A few moments later Ludovics, pale and limp, felt the cool, morning -air kissing his fevered cheeks. He stood before Posadowski trembling, -repentant, and not quite clear in his mind. He vaguely realized that he -had done something mutinous, but just what it was he could not remember. - -“Ludovics,” said Posadowski, sternly, “for the sake of the cause you -love, it is best that you should accompany Posnovitch to the city. Don’t -return here until you get an order from me. Understand?” - -The small man trembled with nervousness, and his eyes filled with tears. - -“Forgive me,” he whispered. “I forget what I did that annoyed you. I will -hereafter do as you wish. Come, Posnovitch,” he continued, meekly, “I am -ready to go with you.” - -“There is no hurry,” remarked Posadowski, more gently than he had spoken -before. “Posnovitch will have to wait here until I get a note for him -from the crown prince.” - -Ludovics’ eyes gleamed as the name of the man he had attempted to brain -with a bottle reached his ear. He gazed about him restlessly for a -moment, and then said, earnestly: - -“Yes, Posadowski, you are right. It is better that I should go back to -New York.” - -At three o’clock in the afternoon of this day, the city editor of the -_Trumpet_ sent for a reporter named Norman Benedict, a discreet but -energetic and ambitious youth, whose record in the office was high. - -“Benedict,” said the editor, “I want you to read this cable despatch. I -will give you your orders afterward.” - -He handed the reporter a proof of the despatch from Rexopolis that -Gerald Strong on the following morning was to read to his family at the -breakfast table. - -“You can keep the proof for reference,” said the city editor, as the -young man glanced up from the despatch. “Now, I want you to get among the -Rexanians on the East Side and interview those who are willing to talk. -They may be close-mouthed, but they are a thirsty crowd, and by spending -a little money on them you will be able to set their tongues a-wagging. -Get your copy in early. I want to make as good a showing as possible on -the city end of this Rexanian business.” - -Half an hour later, Norman Benedict was puffing a cigarette in the -restaurant near St. Mark’s Church, in which the reader first made the -acquaintance of the Rexanian conspirators. It was not yet four o’clock, -and the café was well-nigh deserted. In one corner of the room, however, -sat Ludovics, sipping brandy and smoking cigars. He felt lonely, and an -indistinct impression was upon him that somebody, somehow, had done him -a great wrong. He had depended upon liquor to clear his brain and to -restore him to a thorough comprehension of what had befallen him, but his -constitution was not equal to a full reaction, and the more brandy he -drank the more acute became his sense of wrong and his certainty as to -the source and character of the injustice that had been done him. There -were two ideas in his mind to which he clung tenaciously, and which, by -persistent nourishing, had become to his distorted consciousness facts -of great moment: he had been ill-treated by a king, and that king was -entertaining a few favored guests, with wild revelry, somewhere up in -Westchester County. - -“Pardon me,” said Benedict, who suspected that Ludovics was a -Rexanian, partially because of his presence in the restaurant, but -in a larger degree on account of the little man’s peculiar cast of -countenance—“pardon me, but can you tell me where I can find somebody who -is well acquainted with the city of Rexopolis?” - -The reporter had crossed the café and seated himself at the table at -which Ludovics preserved his wrongs in brandy. The disgraced conspirator -glared at the youth suspiciously. Benedict’s frank, smiling face disarmed -distrust. - -“Before you answer,” went on the reporter, “permit me to order some fresh -cigars, and—and—you are drinking?” - -“Brandy,” answered Ludovics, gratefully, for his supply of cash was -beginning to get low. - -“Very good!” cried Benedict. “Waiter, bring out a pint of your choicest -cognac and half a dozen of your very best cigars.” - -Ludovics smiled cordially. He liked this open-handed youth. - -“You are from Rexania?” asked Benedict, as he lighted a cigar and gazed -earnestly at Ludovics’ flushed face. - -“Rexania!” cried the latter, hysterically. “Rexania! Of course I’m from -Rexania. And, let me tell you, young man, I’m going back to Rexania. Did -you say the king wouldn’t let me? You lie, young man, you lie! He can’t -help it. How can a dead king keep a live man out of his fatherland? Tell -me that, will you?” - -Ludovics paused and glanced around the deserted room suspiciously. Then -he again turned his eyes to the sympathetic face of his companion. He -vaguely felt that he should stop sipping liquor and keep his reckless -tongue quiet, but he was in a mood that craved expression, and Benedict’s -cordial manner was very soothing to the overwrought Rexanian. The -reporter had been successful in his profession from his power of allaying -suspicion and inspiring confidence. - -“But, my friend,” suggested Benedict, quietly, “the king is not yet -dead—though very ill.” - -Ludovics looked almost sober as he flashed an eager and inquiring glance -at the young man. - -“How do you know that? Have you heard from Rexopolis?” - -Benedict did not reply for a moment. He was carefully weighing a bold -step. Should he show this man the proof of the cable despatch he carried -with him? “He will be too drunk in an hour to sell the news to another -paper, even if he knew the ropes well enough when sober,” reflected -Benedict, as he took the proof-slip from his coat and handed it to -Ludovics. - -The effect of the despatch on the Rexanian astonished the reporter. The -little man uttered a shout of triumph and then glanced anxiously around -the room. Seizing his brandy-glass, he drained it to the bottom. Such -glimmerings of common sense as had marked his conversation up to this -point deserted him on the instant. His disordered mind fell back upon -the idea that he had been wronged by a king, and that that king was -holding high carnival up in Westchester County. - -“Young man,” he said, impressively, a wild gleam in his restless eyes, -“I don’t know who you are, but I’d trust you with my life. Listen!” He -leaned forward across the table and placed a clammy hand on Benedict’s -arm. “Listen! I’ve been drinking too much: haven’t I? Don’t lie to me. -I can see it in your face. I’m drunk, and you show it. That’s queer, -isn’t it? But I could tell you something that would make you drunk and me -sober. I’ll try it. Bend nearer to me. They don’t know in Rexania where -the crown prince is. The king is dying. Damn him! let him die. Look here, -boy, I’d kill all kings! Wouldn’t you?” - -The intoxicated Rexanian gazed suspiciously at Benedict. - -“Of course I would,” answered the reporter, heartily. A conviction had -come upon him that the little drunkard had something in his mind that was -not altogether an alcoholic hallucination. - -“I knew you would,” cried Ludovics, in delight. “You’re not made of -dough, like—like—well, never mind their names. But look here, boy, I need -your help. There’s a king up in Westchester—do you hear me—who tried to -take my life.” - -Benedict began to fear that he had been wasting time and money to no -purpose on this madcap foreigner, when the latter noting, with drunken -slyness, the change of expression on the youth’s face, felt that his -pride had been hurt. - -“You doubt my word, boy,” he cried, angrily. “I don’t know who you are, -or what you mean by trying to find out what I mean. But I’m telling you -the truth. We’ve got the Crown Prince of Rexania up in Westchester, -and—and——” A look of horror crossed Ludovics’ face as he realized what he -had done. He trembled violently, and the tears poured down his cheeks. - -“Let me have some more brandy,” he implored, in a weak voice, but before -the waiter could get it for him he had fallen forward on to the table and -into a deep stupor. - -Norman Benedict arose, and, giving the waiter a bill, directed him to -see to it that the Rexanian was cared for until the next day, when he -would look in upon him. Then he hastily left the restaurant and strode -eagerly away. Whether he had received a newspaper “tip” of great value -or only the dregs of a drunkard’s mind he was not sure. But there had -been something in the words and manner of the brandy-soaked Rexanian that -strongly impressed Benedict with the idea that he could not afford wholly -to neglect the hint that had been thrown out. The despatch from Rexopolis -said that the crown prince had not been seen for weeks. Benedict turned -cold at the tremendous possibilities suggested by the thoughts that -crowded through his brain. - -“I’ll abandon the interviews and run my risk,” he finally decided. -“My first step is to find out if there are any Rexanians living in -Westchester County. That ought to be easy. I’ll try the office first.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -At the moment at which Norman Benedict had come to the decision recorded -at the close of the preceding chapter, a ceremony unprecedented in the -history of the New World had reached a crisis in Westchester County. -Rudolph, the lodge-keeper, who was more thoroughly Americanized than his -fellow-Rexanians—perhaps because of his long association with the stray -urchins who haunted the lodge gate—had characterized this function to -his fellow-conspirators as the “putting of a disorderly king through the -third degree.” - -Rudolph’s phrase, however, was not quite accurate, for Prince Carlo -of Rexania, far from being disorderly, had become convinced, after -thoroughly investigating his environment and weighing the possibility of -escape, that his only hope lay in a diplomatic concession, for the time -being, to his captors’ wishes. It was not lack of courage and daring that -had caused him to reach this conclusion. He possessed not only a bold -heart but a clear head. But he fully realized that at the present stage -of the game his opponents held all the trumps. Examining his belongings, -after his luggage had reached his room, he found that all his money had -been taken from him. Even the loose change that he had carried with him -on the night of his capture had been removed from his pockets while he -slept. - -Just how far he had been carried from New York he did not know. He -realized clearly enough, however, that, without money and unacquainted -with the customs of the country, he would be in a most embarrassing -position even if he could elude his vigilant guards and escape to the -city. He had sworn to his father to preserve his incognito, and to keep -from Rexanian consular and diplomatic agents the knowledge of his absence -from his native land. Prince Carlo was at heart a loyal reactionist, and, -having pledged his royal word to his royal father, it never occurred to -him that circumstances might arise that would make the breaking of his -promise justifiable. He possessed a kingly regard for truth that was -absurdly quixotic, and which hampered him in dealing with men who had had -considerable experience in American politics. - -Shortly after three o’clock on the afternoon that found Ludovics too -loquacious and a newspaper reporter quite worthy of his profession, -the balcony jutting out from Prince Carlo’s sleeping apartments and -overlooking the Sound served as a stage for a one-act melodrama that -might find its place, perhaps as a curtain-raiser to a tragedy. - -Kings there have been who sought the New World as an asylum from the -dangers that surrounded them at home. Crowned heads in Europe have bowed -in sorrow over events that have taken place on this side of the Atlantic. -Wherever monarchs rule, the very name of America sends a shudder through -the palace that shakes the throne itself. But never before, in the -strange, weird history of human progress, had a captive king gazed at the -blue waters of Long Island Sound and listened to the burning words of -those who denied his divine right to rule. - -“It is well,” said Posadowski, glancing kindly at Prince Carlo, who was -seated in an old-fashioned easy-chair, around which the arch-conspirator -and his colleagues, Posnovitch, Rukacs, and Rudolph, had grouped -themselves, “it is well that we should come to an understanding as -quickly as possible. And, before we go a step farther, let me reiterate -and emphasize what I have told you once before, that there is not one of -us here who does not feel kindly toward you as a man. We are determined -that no harm shall befall your person. But we are bound, also, by another -oath. You must know by this time what it is. We have sworn that you, -Prince Carlo, shall never mount the throne of Rexania.” - -The youth, whose clear-cut face was pale and drawn, gazed musingly at -the blue waters that grew gloriously cerulean as the autumnal sun crept -westward. Brushing the black curling locks back from his troubled brow, -he seemed to invoke the God of his fathers to give him strength in his -hour of trial. - -“What would you have me do?” he asked, firmly. “State clearly your -wishes.” - -Posadowski’s face was almost benignant, as his eyes rested sorrowfully on -the disturbed countenance of the prince. - -“I regret to tell you, Prince Carlo, that your father is very -dangerously ill,” said the arch-conspirator, gently. - -The young man sprang up from his seat in dismay. - -“My God!” he cried, “can you find the heart to lie to me at such a time -as this? My father, the king, is not ill. You are deceiving me, for some -purpose I cannot grasp.” - -Posadowski drew himself up to his full height and gazed at the prince -with wounded dignity. - -“I do not lie to you, Prince Carlo,” he said firmly, in a low voice. “I -received a cable despatch in cipher direct from the palace this morning.” - -Prince Carlo had sunk back into his chair, and was glancing feverishly -from one Rexanian to another, seemingly in the hope that one of them -would come to his aid and give the lie to Posadowski. But there was that -in the faces and manner of the men surrounding him that slowly but surely -impressed him with the conviction that he was not again a victim of -subterfuge—that what Posadowski had told him was indeed the truth. - -The youth’s hand trembled and his cheeks burned as he felt the tears -welling from his eyes. Recovering himself instantly, he gazed earnestly -at Posadowski, as though he would read the man’s very soul. - -“Do you mean to tell me that you are in communication with the palace at -Rexopolis?” - -“I am,” answered the arch-conspirator, simply. “I have been for some -years past.” - -The prince forgot for a moment that he was anything but a son, soon to be -fatherless, a son who had not been too loyal or obedient at the end. - -“Tell me—tell me,” he implored, “is there no hope? Are you sure?” - -“There is no hope, Prince Carlo, unless a famous specialist from Paris -can perform a miracle. To-morrow I shall know what this man has done for -the king.” - -A sob broke from the overburdened heart of the youth, and tears of honest -sympathy filled the eyes of his countrymen. Suddenly Prince Carlo sprang -up, his face ghastly in its pallor and his eyes aglow with the fervor of -his hope. - -“You will let me go to him? My countrymen, for the love of God, for the -love you bore your fathers, let me go to him! I must—I must see him -before he dies.” - -Posadowski’s lips trembled and his voice faltered, as he said, “We cannot -let you go, Prince Carlo unless—unless——” His voice failed him. - -“Unless what?” whispered the prince eagerly. - -“Unless you will promise us to abdicate the instant your father dies.” - -A dazed look settled on the youth’s face for an instant. - -“Do you mean to tell me,” he asked, hoarsely, “that you would take my -word for such a thing as that?” - -A murmur born of suppressed excitement, perhaps of protest, broke from -the conspirators, but Posadowski raised his hand for silence. - -“We would take your word, Prince Carlo. There is not a Rexanian in all -the world who would not.” - -The youth’s face twitched with the effort he made to suppress the emotion -of mingled astonishment and gratitude that filled his soul. - -“And yet,” he cried, “you would take from me my throne, deny my right -to lead the people I love, who love me! What madness blinds your eyes? -Would you bring ruin on the land you pretend to cherish? Think you that -there is in Rexania a republican leader whose word you would accept as -you would take mine? But I am too deeply grieved at the news you give me -to argue with you now. Plain as your inconsistency is to my eyes, this -is not the time to point it out to you. Please leave me for a while. I -must think—think—think. Wait just one moment. Do not leave me with a -false hope in your heart. Though my father—God be with him!—were dying a -thousand deaths, I would not, could not, blindly sacrifice the trust that -falls to my care to gratify your will, and gain my worthless freedom. -Better for me, better for you, better for Rexania, that I sink beneath -the waters of yonder sun-kissed sea than go hence a false and recreant -prince, damned for all time as a traitor, a coward, a renegade. Leave me -to my sorrow and my tears. Go, and may the God that loves our fatherland -speak to your hard hearts and lead you from the error of your ways. Go!” - -Silently the four conspirators turned and left Prince Carlo to his lonely -grief. Their faces were pale with the conflicting emotions that tried -their souls. The gigantic Posnovitch trembled, as if with cold. - -“He’s grand,” he muttered, as the quartette reached the lower hall. “He’s -every inch a king.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -Will the reader permit us to place him somewhere between earth and sky -two days after the events recorded in the last chapter had occurred? From -this exalted position, and provided, as he is, with far-seeing eyes, he -must observe, with more or less interest, that the streets of Rexopolis, -the capital of Rexania, are thronged with crowds of people who move -hither and thither with a restlessness apparently due to constrained -excitement that has not yet crystallized into any set purpose. Around -the palace, he will notice, regiments of soldiers stand on guard, -while, now and then, up or down the avenues of the well-laid-out city -dash squadrons of light cavalry. The sight will suggest to him that -Rexopolis, at the crisis at which he views it, represents a microcosm in -which all that is characteristic of Old-World monarchies finds physical -expression—a restless and discontented people, an army half-hearted in -its defence of the palace and what that building represents, mystery -and misrepresentation and misery inside the king’s abode, and the wild -mutterings of protest and warning outside the sacred precincts of an -anachronistic cult. - -But it strains the reader’s eyes to look so far afield. Back across the -wide blue expanse of the broad Atlantic his gaze returns, and straight -beneath him he sees various people who approach each other slowly, -ignorant of the strange fact that the impending upheaval in a minor city -of Europe is to have a marked influence upon their respective lives. - -Behold Ludovics, the restless victim of too much patriotism and too -little self-control, pausing in helpless hesitation outside the gateway -of a road-house not many miles above Harlem Bridge. The afternoon has -grown warm, and Ludovics has walked far and fast. Is it strange that he -craves a stimulant? - -Look forward, farther eastward. If your eye has not grown weary, you -will observe that a youth and two women are seated on the piazza of -the Country Club, engaged in the harmless occupation of discussing the -adaptability of the weather and the roads to a spin on their wheels. -Unless our impressions are deceptive, the youth is Ned Strong, and one -of the women is his sister. You have not yet been introduced to their -companion, Mrs. Brevoort, but surely you have heard of the beautiful -widow who last season made herself famous on two continents by refusing -to turn over to an English peer her fortune and her liberty. There are -those who say that she was sufficiently eccentric to love her husband and -to mourn him dead, but the impression has prevailed in the Westchester -set of late that what an English duke failed to accomplish Ned Strong -bids fair to compass. - -Turning your gaze away from this attractive trio, after you have noted, -perhaps, that an air of melancholy seems to surround the tall, lithe -figure of Kate Strong, you will observe that Norman Benedict has just -left a New York train at the New Rochelle station, and that his face -bears an expression of suppressed excitement kept in check by a set -purpose that may at any moment encounter insuperable obstacles. If you -watch him a moment, you will see that he bargains with the driver of a -light, open carriage, and, after making terms, enters the vehicle and is -driven toward the Sound. - -Has your eye grown weary? Surely Prince Carlo is worthy of a little optic -effort on your part. See him seated on the balcony of the ramshackle old -manor house, his cheek resting on his hand as he gazes mournfully across -the restless waves of the Sound and wonders what passes in the palace -at Rexopolis. Could he see, as we have seen, the restless populace, the -armed guards, the busy cavalry, he would know that a crisis in the fate -of his country is at hand, and the look of settled melancholy on his -handsome face would change to an expression of mingled anger and despair. -But Prince Carlo is young, and youth inclines to hope. The beauty of -the scene that lies before him on this bracing autumnal afternoon is -conducive to an optimistic mood, and, in spite of the seemingly desperate -character of his position, the young man dreams rather of love than war, -and the smiling face of a fair-haired American girl comes between him and -the frowning countenance of red-scarred revolution. - -Perhaps Prince Carlo is undergoing a temptation different from any that -ever before assaulted a son of kings. It is possible that under the -influence of a caressing environment, lulling his senses by the beauty -of earth, and sea and sky and the gentle kisses of the warm south wind, -he thinks with a shudder of the horrors that surround him in a palace -far away, and longs for the peace that life in a land where it would -be “always afternoon” would bestow. What if his father died and he, -the crown prince, should never return to Rexania? What if, taking to -his heart a wife who would be his queen in a kingdom where no traitors -lurked, he should forever abandon the cares and perils that had made his -father’s existence one long nightmare, to which death alone could bring -relief? It might be that the historians of his country would call him, in -the years to come, a traitor to the cause he had been born into the world -to uphold, the Judas Iscariot of age-end monarchy. But, for all that, his -gain would be peace and love. - -Prince Carlo’s temptation was not a mere weighing of abstract -propositions, nor even the natural inclination of an imaginative youth -to take the flower-bedecked path of least resistance. There was an -influence at work to make him subservient to the wishes of the men -surrounding him that none of them suspected and that he himself only -vaguely realized. How great an impression the few hours he had spent in -Kate Strong’s companionship had made upon him he was just beginning dimly -to appreciate. He found himself practically unable to compel his mind to -dwell for any great length of time on the weighty problems that were his -to solve. He would discover, to his dismay, that while mentally in search -of a path that would lead him in honor from the difficulties that beset -him, his mind obstinately refused to confine itself to his immediate -environment and all that was involved therein, and would devote itself to -reproducing for his delight the tones of a maiden’s voice, the gleam of -her eloquent eyes, the fascinations of her gestures and her smiles. - -He upon whom rested the destinies of a nation—perhaps the future of -institutions hallowed by time and claiming a divine origin—had become -little more than a love-sick youth, gazing dreamily upon the heaving -bosom of a land-locked sea and longing for the presence of the woman his -young heart craved. - -Thus beneath us have we seen a few of the countless millions upon whom -the September sun shone down that day; and we know that in their comings -and their goings they wove unconsciously that web of destiny whose warp -and woof fashion the garment that hides the mystery of life. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -“Woman in bicycle costume is an acquired taste,” Ned Strong had once -remarked to a friend. That was before Mrs. Brevoort had taken to -wheeling. She had converted him to a belief in the artistic possibilities -of a bifurcated dress for women. He had come to the final conclusion -that the desirability of a bicycle costume, so far as the gentler sex -is concerned, must remain wholly a local issue. Experience was teaching -him that generalizations regarding the progressive woman of to-day are -worthless. Furthermore, he had learned that whether or not he admired -their ways and costumes made little difference to the women of his -set. The iconoclastic tendency of recent years finds no more striking -illustration than in the fact that women no longer sacrifice their -comfort to their dress for the sake of man’s approval, but dare to be -unconventional for the sake of their own comfort. - -And Ned Strong was obliged to acknowledge to himself that Mrs. Brevoort, -dark, _piquante_, vivacious, presented an extremely attractive picture -on this September afternoon as she sat gazing at the blue waters of the -Sound, equipped for a long ride on her wheel. - -That Kate Strong was a much more striking and impressive figure than -Mrs. Brevoort was a fact that had not appealed to the young man’s mind. -Perhaps he had not observed his sister critically. Or it may be that he -had so long taken it for granted that Kate always made a good appearance -that he was not inclined to waste time on the question as to the -adaptability of a bicycle costume to his sister’s use. At all events, the -youth found pleasure in confining his attentions to Mrs. Brevoort, and -failed to notice that his sister’s face wore an expression of melancholy -and that there was a listlessness in her manner that the warmth of the -day could not wholly explain. - -“And you have heard nothing more about him?” asked Mrs. Brevoort, gazing -interestedly at Ned Strong. “It seems very strange that he has never -written you a line.” - -“Doesn’t it?” cried the young man. “And he was such a thoroughbred in his -manner and appearance! Wasn’t he, Kate?” - -“He was very attractive,” answered his sister, somewhat reluctantly, it -seemed. “I feel sure that some day we shall find an explanation to the -mystery.” - -“Oh, I don’t know,” exclaimed Mrs. Brevoort, airily. “You see, I don’t -take a bit of stock in these foreigners. I have seen so much of them! It -may be bad form on my part, but I prefer an American gentleman to the -most fascinating European that ever claimed descent from Charlemagne or -William the Conqueror.” She cast a mischievous, challenging glance at Ned -Strong, and went on: “There’s something about monarchical countries that -begets ideal lovers but impossible husbands. The greatest complaint over -absentee landlords on the other side comes from American girls who have -married titled foreigners.” - -Ned Strong laughed. “On behalf of my fellow-countrymen I thank you, -Mrs. Brevoort. It is too bad that your convictions have not a greater -following here among us.” - -“So much the worse for those who do not agree with me. How much can an -American girl know about a titled foreigner who comes over here looking -for a rich wife? Take the case you have just been telling me about,” -continued Mrs. Brevoort, vivaciously. “This fascinating youth called -himself ‘Count Szalaki.’ How easy it was for you to discover that there -was no such title in Rexania! ’Twas surprisingly clumsy on his part.” - -“That’s one reason that leads me to think,” remarked Ned, “that there is -something more in the affair than a mere adventurer’s escapade. If he had -been a fraud he would have been more careful in his choice of a name. -If he was, as I have sometimes suspected, a man very high in rank, who -wished to disguise his identity, he would have chosen a title that did -not exist, taking it for granted that we would respect his wish to remain -unknown. There are royal personages on the other side who travel under -names that one cannot find in Burke’s Peerage or the Almanach de Gotha.” - -“That’s merely a matter of form,” exclaimed Mrs. Brevoort, glancing at -Kate. “Everybody knows who they are, wherever they go. I was introduced -to a king in Paris who had chosen to trot around under the name of -Mr. Smith, but it was a very thin disguise. He was such a wretched -conversationalist that I knew at once that he concealed a throne behind -his stupidity. A real Mr. Smith could have talked about something besides -the weather.” - -Kate smiled at the sarcastic little woman’s words. - -“What a thorough democrat you are, Mrs. Brevoort!” she remarked. “I -almost suspect that you intend to go in for politics.” - -“Why not?” cried Mrs. Brevoort enthusiastically. “If we don’t take part -in public affairs, other women will. I believe it is our duty to raise -the tone of politics by taking an interest in them. If the men of our -class won’t do their duty by the State, it is for us to take their -place.” She looked at Ned Strong defiantly. - -“I suspect,” he remarked, cautiously, “that you do not approve of my -indifference to public affairs, Mrs. Brevoort.” - -“Most assuredly I do not,” she exclaimed emphatically. “A youth who -claims a divine right to occupy a European throne and defends that -assumed right with cannon and gunpowder is, to my mind, in a false -position, but he is more consistent than a young American who possesses -the prerogative of the ballot and won’t take the trouble to go to the -polls to vote.” - -Ned Strong laughed merrily. “What a long memory you have, Mrs. Brevoort! -It is nearly a year since you learned that I failed to register last -fall, and now you bring a sweeping accusation against me. I fear you do -not find me possessed of the saving grace of patriotism.” - -“Patriotism!” cried the youth’s accuser. “Surely, if you have it, it -finds queer ways of expression, Mr. Strong. You fail to vote, and yet -you are forever denouncing this country for going to the dogs. I really -believe that I have heard you crack a joke at the expense of George -Washington.” - -A smile of amusement crossed Kate Strong’s face. “He deserves what you -are giving him, Mrs. Brevoort. Ned is a thorough believer in his divine -right to let other people save the country.” - -“This is unfair,” cried the young man, with assumed annoyance. “I am -outnumbered two to one. You have me at a disadvantage. But I will not -attempt now, Mrs. Brevoort, to defend my position. And, luckily for me, -here comes my chance for escape. You cannot talk politics on the wheel, -you two. Are you ready to mount? It is just three o’clock, and we are in -good time for a long spin.” - -A boy in livery had brought their wheels to the front of the club-house, -and, mounting quickly, the trio sped down the pathway toward the entrance -that opened on to the grounds from the main highway. Mrs. Brevoort and -Ned Strong led the way, and Kate followed them, a flush of physical -enjoyment mounting to her cheeks as she chased the south wind inland. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -Mrs. Brevoort and Ned Strong sped along in silence for a time. The roads -were dry and hard, and there was enough life in the breeze that had -kissed the sea to make even violent exercise seductive. Ned’s companion -was an enthusiastic and accomplished wheelwoman, and she pedalled on -merrily by his side, sometimes smiling up at him in the mere joy of -physical exertion. They had reached the high-road, and were rapidly -making their way toward New Rochelle when Ned turned to his companion and -said: - -“Tell me, Mrs. Brevoort, what is your idea of Kate’s feeling toward Count -Szalaki? Do you think she is really interested in the man?” - -“How stupid you are!” cried the little woman, who seldom failed to -display either real or assumed enthusiasm regarding any given topic of -conversation. Turning in her saddle, she looked back, and saw that Kate -Strong was wheeling steadily forward a hundred yards to their rear. “But -what else could I expect? All men are stupid about certain matters. -Of course your sister is interested in Count Szalaki. So am I. I am -wild to see the boy. From what you both say of him, he must be simply -irresistible.” - -Ned Strong frowned and impatiently increased the speed of his wheel. He -knew how to withstand the coquetry of a young girl, but the “in-and-out -running of a widow,” as he called it to himself, kept him in a state of -nervous worry most of the time. - -“I suppose,” he remarked crossly, “that what a man needs in these days to -make him interesting are black curly hair and an air of mystery. In that -case I’m out of it completely.” - -Mrs. Brevoort laughed aloud. - -“What a jealous creature you are, Mr. Strong! Your wife will have a sad -life of it, unless she is a very clever woman.” - -“I don’t intend to marry,” remarked the youth sternly. “What a fool I’d -be to sell my birthright for a mess of affectation! And that’s what a -woman is to-day—simply a mess of affectation.” - -“What an elegant expression!” cried Mrs. Brevoort, a gleam of malice -in her laughing eyes as she looked up at the youth, who was gazing -stubbornly forward and pushing the pedals of his wheel as though he had -suffered a great wrong and was obliged to work for his living. “But it -does you credit, Mr. Strong. It indicates on your part a remote but more -or less intimate acquaintance with biblical lore.” - -“But there’s one thing certain,” continued the young man, not heeding her -sarcasm, “and that is that if I _should_ marry I would not tie myself -down to a silly girl who might at any moment meet a curly-haired man with -a title and leave me in the lurch.” - -Mrs. Brevoort laughed mockingly. - -“How self-confident you are, little boy!” she exclaimed. “Let me -tell you, sir, it is my opinion that you will marry a blue-eyed, -golden-haired young doll, who will make you believe that you are the most -wonderful man on earth and that she is the happiest woman. I can see it -all in my mind’s eye. You prize your freedom, as you think, more than -most men. It is just your kind that fall victims to the sweet-faced, -blond-haired little vixens who make the most tyrannical wives in the -world. Do you like the prediction?” - -The youth turned a frowning face to his _vis-à-vis_. “Why, oh, why, Mrs. -Brevoort,” he cried, “will you check the natural flow of my spirits by so -dire a prophecy? Think of the awful fate that awaits me, if your words -are true! I acknowledge that I have seen other men, perhaps as hard to -suit as I am myself, falling into the clutches of spotless young girls -who have lured them into the awful maelstrom of marriage; but I swear to -you that I shall profit by their experience. I should never marry because -I wanted a parlor ornament. When I give up my liberty, I shall insist -upon a _quid pro quo_.” - -“What in the world is that, Mr. Strong?” cried Mrs. Brevoort, looking -shocked as she glanced up at him with exaggerated amazement. - -“That’s Latin,” answered the youth densely. “It’s a dead language, but I -used it for a very live purpose. I am not talking at random, you know, -Mrs. Brevoort. There is method in my madness.” - -Ned Strong looked down at his companion meaningly, but she refused to -meet his gaze. - -“But method never yet saved madness from disaster,” she remarked, sagely. - -Her words seemed to check the youth’s impetuosity, for he cast a -pleading glance at her averted face and then wheeled forward in silence -for a time. - -“The fact is,” he began again, after he had renewed his courage, “the -fact is, Mrs. Brevoort, that you don’t understand me.” - -A smile that he could not see from his exalted perch crossed the widow’s -face. It is only a very young man who ever dares to tell a woman that -she does not weigh him justly. The average man may deceive other men; it -takes a genius to blind a woman. - -“Explain yourself,” she urged, not too warmly. - -“I don’t want to give you the impression,” he went on, hesitatingly, “you -know, that I don’t admire women—that is, some women, don’t you see?” - -“I see,” she answered pitilessly; “you admire women—some women, that -is—for anything, everything, but matrimony. You said a few moments ago -that you would never marry.” - -“Did I?” he asked, almost penitently. “I had forgotten that I went so -far. But, I assure you, I didn’t mean to imply, you know, that under -certain circumstances and—don’t you see—if I got the promise of just the -right woman, that I shouldn’t be very glad to give up my freedom, don’t -you know; that is, if it was perfectly agreeable to her, of course.” - -Mrs. Brevoort laughed outright, as they bowled down a long hill at the -top of which the Strongs’ manor-house peeped above the trees. - -“You are the most amusing man I know, Mr. Strong,” she exclaimed, as they -reached the level road and moved forward more slowly. “If you were more -consistent, you wouldn’t be half so much fun.” - -The youth was not altogether pleased at her remark. He glanced at her -searchingly. - -“You may do me an injustice, Mrs. Brevoort,” he said firmly. “It is more -than possible that I am more consistent than you suspect.” - -“In what?” she asked, rather recklessly, looking up at him mischievously. -The expression in his eyes caused her a pang of regret at the challenge -she had made. - -“In my ideas regarding matrimony, in my convictions as to the woman I -should wish to marry,” he answered, meaningly. “Shall I explain?” - -Mrs. Brevoort gave a questioning glance at his face and realized that he -must not explain. She turned in her saddle, as if seeking the support of -an ally at a crisis that must be averted at any cost. - -“Why, where is Kate?” she cried, checking the speed of her wheel and -gazing back eagerly along the road and up the hill that crept toward the -manor-house. - -Ned Strong turned, rather impatiently, and saw that the road was -deserted, save that half-way up the hill an open vehicle, that he and -Mrs. Brevoort had been too absorbed in conversation to notice when it -passed them, was slowly mounting toward the summit. - -“We must go back and find her,” cried Mrs. Brevoort, dismounting from her -wheel and looking at Ned anxiously. - -“It would be useless,” he said, stubbornly. “She has grown tired of -riding alone and has gone back to the club-house. Or perhaps she has -stopped at the lodge to speak to Rudolph. That’s our old homestead up -there, you know, Mrs. Brevoort. Really, I don’t think it would pay us to -climb that hill on the remote chance of finding her. We’ll turn off the -main road just above here and get back to the club-house at once if you -wish. It’s a shorter cut than we could make by retracing our road over -the hill.” - -Mrs. Brevoort reluctantly remounted her wheel. - -“If you had not talked so much nonsense,” she remarked unjustly to Ned -Strong as they resumed their way, “we would not have lost track of Kate.” - -“A remark that I consider highly complimentary,” commented the youth, -smiling contentedly down at the disturbed countenance of Mrs. Brevoort. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -Posadowski passed through Prince Carlo’s sleeping-room and stepped out -upon the balcony. The heir to a throne was still dreaming of love and -peace in a land where Cupid should reign supreme, as the arch-conspirator -joined him. The young man’s face was pensive with the gentle longings -that tinged his revery with sadness. He turned toward Posadowski and said -cordially: - -“Be seated. I wish to talk with you.” - -The clear gray eyes of the exiled Rexanian rested searchingly on the -pale, clean-cut face of the youth, and he smiled benignly as he drew -a chair toward his captive and, seating himself, awaited the latter’s -pleasure. - -“How long have you lived in this country, Posadowski?” asked the prince, -abandoning his smiling visions with an effort and returning to the dreary -realities of life. - -“Nearly ten years,” answered the revolutionist, whose gray hair proved -that he was older than his smooth pink and white complexion would have -indicated. - -“I wish to ask you a few questions,” continued Prince Carlo. “I feel—in -spite of the fact that you deceived me at our first meeting—that in the -larger matters pertaining to the questions at issue between us I can -trust you implicitly. I give you credit, Posadowski, for being a man of -good intentions and honest in your avowed love for Rexania.” - -The arch-conspirator bowed gratefully, in acknowledgment of the generous -words of the man he had wronged. - -“Tell me frankly,” went on the prince, “do you find, Posadowski, that -in this land of democracy the people of the lower classes—for I learn -that there are class distinctions in America—are in better case than -the working-people of Rexania? Compare, for instance, the rich and the -poor in Rexopolis and the rich and the poor in New York. Is there not -more awful poverty in yonder city than in my capital across the sea? -Conversely, is there in Rexania a nobleman who wields over the lives -of others an authority as tyrannical as that exercised by the great -landlords of New York?” - -Posadowski gazed at Prince Carlo in bewilderment. He had come to point -out to his royal captive the far-reaching influence his abdication of a -crown would have upon the oppressed millions of the human race who still -live and struggle and perish beneath the crushing weight of thrones -and what those thrones demand; and, lo, this incarnation of obsolete -systems and archaic theories had asked him a few pertinent and practical -questions that rendered Posadowski’s present mission seemingly absurd. -For the arch-conspirator was a clear-headed, honest-hearted man, whose -constitutional detestation for shams had long ago made him a rebel -against monarchy, and now rendered him dumb as he slowly took in the full -significance of the line of inquiry Prince Carlo had put forth. - -“You do not answer, Posadowski,” went on Prince Carlo, his voice and -manner growing sterner as his words flowed more freely. “Do you know, -man, why I came to this country, why I defied my father’s wishes and ran -a risk greater even than I imagined at the moment? I wished to see for -myself what popular government has really done for a great people in a -century of time. They told me on the steamer, these New Yorkers, facts -that made even the hard heart of a king bleed for the poor devils who -chased the _ignis fatuus_ of freedom into the very stronghold of human -tyranny. These are harsh words, Posadowski. Do you dare tell me that they -are false—you who know the East Side of that great city in which you, and -thousands of deluded Europeans, have toiled in misery that makes the lot -of a Rexanian peasant easy, even luxurious, in comparison? Perhaps I have -been misinformed. Perhaps I have failed to read aright the newspapers -that have come to my hand since I reached this strange, distorted land. -But what I have heard, what I have read, forces me to the conviction -that no Rexanian in Rexopolis has ever suffered from a form of tyranny -so pitiless as that which keeps our countrymen in New York poorer and -more hopeless than they were in their native land. If I am wrong, if I -am deceived through insufficient data, I am sure you will set me right. -Speak, man. Have I told the truth?” - -Posadowski was silent for a moment. Then he answered, a note of -stubbornness in his voice: - -“Industrial conditions here are not as they should be. That is true. But -surely a monarchy would not set them right.” - -“Ha!” cried Prince Carlo, “that is just the point. A monarchy would not -solve the problems of this country. On the other hand, a republic would -not remedy the defects in Rexania’s body politic. I am liberal in my -views, Posadowski. I will grant you that if I should mount the throne -of Rexania I could not rule after the fashion of my great-grandfather. -The king and his people must walk hand-in-hand to-day, not at sword’s -points. But let Rexania become a republic on the instant, and what would -result? Dissensions among the people, and political chaos: possibly -the annexation of the country by a stronger power on our border. You -talk of the selfishness of kings. Are they not the most heroic figures -of the age? Take my father—God be with him! He has loved Rexania with -a devoted unselfishness that only those who have been near him can -appreciate. Weary, sad at heart, sometimes almost hopeless, he has had it -in his power to accumulate a vast fortune, put it into portable shape, -and abandon his country for a land in which he could live in peace and -idleness. Do you think that such a step has been no temptation to him? -You have so long looked at only one side of this matter that it will be -hard for you to realize the full force of my question. I tell you that my -father has loved Rexania with more fervor than you have ever felt for our -fatherland, that he has displayed more courage and patriotic devotion in -his life than any one of his rebellious subjects has ever shown, and that -he has understood the practical necessities of our country’s environment -better than the dreamers who have fostered discontent among the people. -My father has been a grand and unselfish man, Posadowski, and you—you -would crucify him.” - -The arch-conspirator had grown pale as the youth, with a calmness that -was almost uncanny in its exhibition of self-control, had given voice -to the thoughts that had taken form in his mind during his days of -captivity. Presently he spoke again, observing that Posadowski had, at -that moment, no arguments to advance. - -“What dire calamities you may bring upon Rexania by holding me here a -prisoner I dare to contemplate. Granting that you keep me captive from -the very highest motives of patriotism, can you not see that you are -endangering the very cause for which you strive? Let us suppose that my -father dies and that Rexania becomes a republic. Unless you kill me, -Posadowski, I shall eventually return to Europe. Not only that, but I -shall be placed upon the throne of Rexania by forces against which your -republican brethren could make no resistance worthy of the name. You -are a clear-headed man, Posadowski. I can see by your face that what I -have said has made an impression upon you that will give you, surely, a -different point of view.” - -A grim smile crossed the arch-conspirator’s countenance. “I will -acknowledge, Prince Carlo, that I have not at this moment arguments at -hand to answer the line of reasoning you have advanced. I am a slow -thinker, and, as you can well understand, I am confronted by a dilemma of -tremendous import. I must ask you to give me time to weigh your words. -If, after close consideration, I reach your conclusions—a result that -necessitates the rejection of convictions that I have cherished for many -years—I will discuss frankly with you the step that we should take.” - -Posadowski arose and approached the prince. - -“Let me ask you, Prince Carlo,” he said, before taking his leave, “let me -ask you not to discuss the matters we have in hand with my colleagues. -There is not one among them who would have allowed you to explain your -position as I have done. You understand me?” - -“Fully,” answered the prince, smiling up at the gray-eyed Rexanian, “I -understand you, Posadowski, and I trust you.” - -At that very moment Ludovics was making his exit from a road-house a -mile away, the fumes of brandy imprisoned in the cells of his brain. -With the money that Norman Benedict had left for him at the restaurant -in St. Mark’s Square, Ludovics had purchased a revolver and had gone on -a hunting expedition into Westchester County. It was big game that he -was after—nothing less than a king who was making wild merriment at his -expense; and where that king was Ludovics well knew. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -Just below the lodge gate, and at the very top of the hill, Kate Strong -had fallen from her bicycle and sprained her ankle. The sudden and -excruciating pain had begotten a momentary faintness that had prevented -her from crying out in time to attract the attention of Mrs. Brevoort and -her brother, who were at that instant coasting down the hillside at a -merry pace. - -Dizzy and sick with the shock she had sustained, Kate, realizing that she -could not recall her companions, decided to arouse Rudolph at the lodge -and send him at once for a physician. The pain in her ankle seemed to -grow worse every moment, and she began to doubt her ability to reach the -gate of her ancestral home, when an open carriage was dragged over the -top of the hill by a panting horse, seemingly one of Westchester County’s -Revolutionary relics. The owner and driver of the ancient steed and -ramshackle vehicle was wont to remark solemnly that his faithful horse -had withstood the wear and tear of years and labor until the bicycle had -begun to haunt his footsteps. The effect of wheels operated by men upon -the nervous system of an old-fashioned and conservative horse, whose -career of usefulness had been rendered possible by the prosperity of the -livery-stable business, cannot be appreciated by a flippant mind. In -the case under our immediate consideration, the sight of a prostrate -bicycle lying by the roadside affected the aged steed instantly. A snort, -perhaps of triumph, burst from the supersensitive horse as it planted its -forefeet stubbornly in the dust of the roadway and looked down at the -overturned wheel. - -The sudden halting of the carriage aroused Norman Benedict from an -intense concentration of mind. He had been attempting to decide upon a -course of action in case the rather unpromising clew he was now following -should not result in the discovery of a Rexanian who, as he had been -told, had charge of a deserted manor-house somewhere in the neighborhood. -The sight that met his eyes caused the reporter to spring hastily from -the carriage. - -“Are you badly hurt?” he asked Kate Strong, who had managed to rise to -her feet by the aid of the fence toward which she had crept. She stood -with one hand on the railing, her face pale and drawn. - -“I’ve sprained my ankle, I think,” she answered, trying to smile -gratefully at the stranger’s kindly interest in her plight. “If I could -get to the lodge, there, our man Rudolph could make me comfortable until -a doctor reached me.” - -“Draw up here,” cried Benedict to his driver. “Put your hand on my arm, -Miss—Miss——” - -“Miss Strong,” answered Kate, resting her hand on his elbow and hobbling -toward the carriage. - -“Now drive slowly up to that gate,” ordered Benedict again, as he turned -and lifted Kate’s bicycle from the ground and wheeled it along by the -side of his improvised ambulance. - -As the carriage stopped in front of the lodge gate, the reporter rang a -bell whose vibrations in these days of an international crisis always -gave Rudolph Smolenski’s nerves a severe shock. Since the Crown Prince -of Rexania had become his prisoner, the lodge-keeper never opened the -gate without first making a close and lengthy examination of those who -craved his attention. The tradesmen and urchins who had occasion to beard -the Rexanian in his lair had noticed of late that he had grown surly -and unsociable, and that he allowed no one to pass the gloomy portals -of a domain over which his long service had rendered him practically -autocratic. - -At the moment at which Norman Benedict pulled the knob that set a bell -within the lodge a-trembling, Rudolph was deep in revery, and wondering -what would be the outcome of Posadowski’s mission to the prince. If he -had known that at that very instant Prince Carlo was advancing arguments -that tended to shake the arch-conspirator’s devotion to the enterprise -in which the Rexanian exiles were engaged, Rudolph would have felt even -greater dissatisfaction than influenced his mood at the time. He had -begun to grow impatient and restless. He had almost become a convert to -Ludovics’ belief in heroic measures. The fact was that Rudolph felt that -he was risking more than any one of his colleagues in this lawless effort -to make European history in a secluded corner of Westchester County. The -longer the temporizing policy pursued by Posadowski was continued, the -more certain was Rudolph of the ultimate discovery of his secret and the -loss of a place that was in all respects satisfactory to his indolent and -rather unsociable nature. The thought of returning to the East Side to -slave in a sweater’s establishment filled him with horror. - -There was something ominous in the sharp summons of the bell that caused -him to lay aside his pipe with trembling hand, while his flabby cheeks -turned white. He could think of no one who would be likely to disturb -the lonely lodge at that hour, unless, as he reflected with conflicting -emotions, Ludovics, the impetuous, had found his way back to the centre -of high pressure. - -Hurrying toward the entrance, his heart beating with unpleasant rapidity, -Rudolph opened a peep-hole in the iron gate and looked out. His eyes -first rested on Norman Benedict: there was nothing in the reporter’s -appearance to increase the lodge-keeper’s apprehensions. But, as his -glance fell upon the carriage, drawn up on the outside of the antique -stepping-stone to the left of the gateway, a cold perspiration broke out -upon his hands and face, and his short, puffy legs trembled beneath him. -He had seen his employer’s daughter often enough to recognize instantly -the pale, patrician face of Kate Strong. For an instant consternation -rendered him powerless. Then he turned from the gate and ran frantically -toward the manor-house. Rukacs was on guard on the front piazza. - -“Rukacs,” cried the lodge-keeper, excitedly, “keep close behind the -pillars, and don’t show yourself where you can be seen from the lodge. -Tell Posadowski and the others to keep out of sight. And be sure that not -a sound issues from this house until you hear from me again. Miss Strong, -daughter of my employer, is at the lodge gate. She looks very pale: I -think she may have fainted, or something of that kind. But keep a close -watch, Rukacs. I’ll do my best to hold her at the lodge, but you must -keep your eye on the game.” - -Rudolph, his legs working clumsily under the pressure of a great crisis, -rushed back to the gate, leaving Rukacs white with dismay. The lodge, as -he passed it, seemed to tremble with the noise of a bell that froze the -Rexanian’s soul with its threatening insistence. Opening the gate, he -confronted Norman Benedict. - -“Miss Strong has sprained her ankle,” said the reporter, who realized -that this was no time for padding his news. “Come out and help me to get -her on to a sofa. What are you staring at, man? Don’t you speak English?” - -Rudolph made a strong effort of will and approached the carriage. A spasm -of pain crossed Kate’s face as she gave one hand to Rudolph and the other -to Benedict and stepped to the ground. - -“I will go into the lodge, Rudolph,” she said. “I couldn’t stand the -motion of that old conveyance a moment longer.” - -The lodge-keeper was white and speechless as he helped the injured -girl into the parlor of the lodge, while the reporter drew the only -comfortable piece of furniture in the room, an antique lounge, toward the -front windows and arranged a tattered pillow at its head. - -“There is a doctor not far from here?” asked Benedict, turning to the -lodge-keeper and giving him a penetrating glance. There was something in -Rudolph’s manner that struck the quick-witted reporter as peculiar. - -“Half a mile down the road,” answered Rudolph, his voice unsteady. - -“Get into the carriage and bring him here at once,” ordered Benedict, -sharply, noting instantly the reluctance Rudolph’s manner expressed. Kate -Strong also noticed her retainer’s hesitation. - -“Do as this gentleman directs, Rudolph,” she commanded; and the -lodge-keeper, seeing no alternative at hand, turned and left the room -with hesitating steps. - -“Pardon me, Miss Strong,” remarked Benedict, stationing himself at a -window from which he could see the roadway, “your man is a foreigner?” - -“Yes,” answered Kate. “He is a Rexanian, I believe.” Her reply caused the -reporter to regret for the moment that he had allowed the lodge-keeper to -leave his sight. Of what significance was a girl with a sprained ankle, -compared with the greatest newspaper “beat” of the year? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -“You are to drive me half a mile down the road and back again,” -said Rudolph sullenly to the aged Jehu who had carried Nemesis in a -tumble-down vehicle to the gateway of the lodge. “Don’t stop to think -about it. The sooner its done the sooner its over.” - -With this philosophical remark, the Rexanian entered the carriage and -seated himself gloomily behind the taciturn and dispirited driver. -There was a melancholy aspect to the conveyance as it moved slowly away -from the lodge gate. The broken-hearted steed seemed to be plunged in -a gloomy revery regarding the iconoclastic influence of bicycles; the -driver cracked his tattered whip in a hopeless way, as if he realized -the impotence of his efforts to give an appearance of life and activity -to his antiquated turnout; while Rudolph’s face wore an expression of -mingled apprehension and dismay that grew more intense the farther he -rolled away from the manor-house. - -It was this depressing caravan that met the restless gaze of Ludovics -about a quarter of a mile below the lodge. He had cut loose from his -alcoholic moorings at the road-house, and was tacking toward Rudolph’s -ill-fated residence with a purpose much more steady than his steps. He -paused by the side of the roadway and aroused Rudolph from his dark -forebodings by a loud cry. - -“Rudolph!” shouted Ludovics. “Rudolph! Have they turned you out? Good! I -knew you were the right kind! Here, man, give me the grip.” - -The little inebriate had reached the side of the carriage and seized -Rudolph’s cold, damp, flabby hand. - -The lodge-keeper gazed calmly at his unruly compatriot. The thought had -entered his mind that it was possible to save time by sending Ludovics -for the doctor while he and his disheartened driver returned to the lodge. - -“Ludovics,” remarked Rudolph, diplomatically, “I’m glad to see you.” Then -he leaned down over the back wheel and whispered, “Be cautious, Ludovics. -The driver there is not one of us.” - -Ludovics flashed a glance of withering scorn at the bent back of the -phlegmatic Jehu. - -“I see,” he said, with drunken gravity, “you have hypnotized him, -Rudolph. It is well.” - -“Yes, that’s it,” answered the lodge-keeper, who was weighing all the -chances and trying to reach a decision. Finally he said, “Ludovics, I -must get back to the lodge at once. You passed a large white house with -pillars in front of it, about a quarter of a mile below here. There’s a -sign on the gate reading ‘Dr. C. H. Moore.’ Now I want you to go back -there and tell the doctor to come to the lodge at once. Do you understand -me?” - -Ludovics drew himself up haughtily, as if Rudolph had cast a slur upon -his intellectual ability. - -“Of course I understand you,” he answered, petulantly. Then a vivid -suspicion flashed through his befuddled brain. - -“Tell me, Rudolph,” he cried, in low, feverish tones, “is he sick? Didn’t -his food agree with him? Ha ha! Well done, Rudolph! I knew you were the -right kind, Rudolph. He needs a doctor, does he? Good! I’ll go and get -the doctor, Rudolph. Give him something more to eat and drink before the -doctor gets there, brother. He’s a stubborn boy, you know. But I trust -you, Rudolph, I trust you. Dr. Moore, you said? Dr. Moore? Down the road? -Very good, Rudolph. I’m off.” Ludovics laughed with a fiendish glee that -horrified even the unimpressionable lodge-keeper. - -“Be careful what you say, Ludovics,” he said, harshly. “Simply ring -the bell and say that Dr. Moore is wanted at the Strongs’ manor-house. -Understand me! Don’t talk too much, or you may get into trouble. Now go.” - -Leaning forward, Rudolph directed the driver to arouse himself and his -horse from lethargy and return to the lodge gate. A moment later the -broken-spirited horse was retracing his steps hopelessly, while Rudolph -was leaning back in his seat in a more contented frame of mind. He had -saved at least ten minutes by entrusting his mission to Ludovics. - -The latter had turned his back on the vehicle and was making his way down -the road at a pace that indicated a set purpose and a slight recovery -from alcoholic domination on his part. Suddenly he paused, looked back -at the retreating carriage, and, leaving the road, leaned against a -fence and indulged for a moment in an inward debate. Then he took from a -pocket in his coat a flask that he had purchased at the road-house, and, -removing the cork, swallowed a fiery mouthful of the raw liquor. - -“I wonder,” he said argumentatively to himself, “I wonder if Rudolph is -a truly patriotic cook? There’s a king up here in Westchester County who -needs a doctor. I’m going for the doctor. I look well, don’t I, Ludovics, -getting a doctor for a sick king? I wish I knew how sick he is. If he’s -as sick of himself as I am of kings, he’ll die anyway.” He staggered to -the road and turned again toward the manor-house. - -“I don’t think I’m a success going for doctors,” he mused. “I do better -when I’m going for kings.” He placed an unsteady hand on the rear pocket -of his trousers and satisfied himself that the revolver he had purchased -with a part of Norman Benedict’s gratuity was in its place. - -“There’s nothing so good for a sick king as pills,” he muttered. “Pills! -Pills made of lead! They’re much more certain than Rudolph’s cooking. -Rudolph means well, but he doesn’t drink enough brandy.” - -As this conclusion forced itself upon him, he stopped again and drew -fresh patriotic inspiration from his flask. It was beginning to grow -dark as Ludovics reached the high fence that enclosed the grounds of the -manor-house and ran up flush with the front wall of the lodge. The sun -had sunk in the west like a glowing cannon-ball blushing for its crimes. - -“It’s lucky I’m small,” mused Ludovics, as he nimbly mounted the railing -and let himself down on the other side. For a moment it struck him as -curious that he could climb a fence with more assurance than he could -follow a roadway. - -“That must be good brandy,” he muttered. “It doesn’t help my walking -much, but it makes me climb like a cat.” - -Stealthily he made his way through the tangled grass that covered the -lawn until he stood beneath the balcony at the rear of the manor-house. -The waters of the Sound were leaden-hued, and the gathering gloom of -night gave a dreary aspect to the scene before him. - -“The doctor has come,” said Ludovics to himself, a mocking smile -overspreading his face as he glanced upward and saw how easy it would -be for a man of his weight and agility to reach the second story of the -manor-house. “Just where my patient is, I don’t know, but I’m almost sure -that Rudolph said he was going to put the king in the rear room on the -second floor.” The cold, damp breeze that had arisen when the sun went -down chilled the murderous little Rexanian to the marrow: another pull at -the flask was necessary to check the trembling of his hands. - -“I’ll cure him,” he continued, leaning against one of the posts that -supported the balcony. “I’ll cure him. My medicine chest is ready for -use. It never fails. When I doctor a king—eh, Ludovics?—he’s never sick -again, is he? Rudolph’s cooking is not so sure as my little pills. -One pill in a vital part, and the man is never sick again! Isn’t that -wonderful? Never sick again!” - -Thus muttering to himself, Ludovics began to climb the post at the -southern end of the balcony, his teeth gleaming in the half-light as he -grinned maliciously, while his eyes glanced with feverish eagerness at a -ray of light that flared from a window above him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -Norman Benedict had removed Kate Strong’s legging and the long buttoned -shoe that had covered her sprained ankle, and had deftly bound up the -injured member with a handkerchief, after he had relieved the pain by -applying cold water and a gentle massage. - -“You have been very kind to me,” said Kate, gratefully, as she leaned -back on the sofa and realized how much more comfortable the reporter’s -skill had made her feel. “I owe you a great debt of gratitude.” How much -she was indebted to Benedict she did not fully realize, for he had been -under a strong temptation to follow Rudolph at any cost when he had -learned that the lodge-keeper was the very Rexanian he had come up into -Westchester to find. - -“Your man, there,” said Benedict, questioningly, glancing at his watch, -“has he been long in your service?” - -“Several years,” answered Kate. “I believe he was exiled from Rexania -after the revolution of ten years ago.” - -Her remark tended to increase the reporter’s interest in the lodge-keeper. - -“They are a curious people, those Rexanians,” he remarked, drawing a -chair toward the sofa and seating himself where he could watch Kate’s -face. “I have seen something of them on the East Side.” - -Kate felt an almost irresistible desire to confess to the youth that -they were a race in which she took at that moment an interest that was -founded on a most unhappy incident. - -“You see,” Benedict went on, noting the animated expression on her -face, “I am a newspaper reporter, Miss Strong, and in my work I come -into contact with many curious phases of life and queer kinds of people -in New York. Of course you have never met a Rexanian, excepting your -lodge-keeper, Rudolph?” - -“Oh, but I have,” cried Kate, who did not fully realize that her accident -had rendered her slightly feverish and therefore somewhat more loquacious -than usual. “A Rexanian dined at our house in the city a few nights ago. -He had come over on the steamer with my father and mother. He was a very -charming man.” - -There was something in her voice that impressed Benedict as peculiar. - -“One of the Rexanian nobility, of course?” he asked, diplomatically. - -“Yes,” she answered, with some hesitation. “He was a count—Count -Szalaki.” Her face flushed as the thought flashed through her mind -that her frankness in the presence of a newspaper reporter was, to say -the least of it, indiscreet. But there were many influences at work to -render Kate Strong less reticent than she ordinarily was by habit and -temperament. The sudden disappearance of their Rexanian guest and the -shadow that had been cast upon his memory by her family had made her -impatient to clear up the mystery that surrounded the only man who had -ever fully satisfied the romantic longings that pertained to her youth -and her self-centred nature. - -That Ned Strong was fitted neither by temperament nor by experience to -solve a problem that grew more and more inexplicable as time passed, his -sister well knew. Already he had lost interest in a mystery that grew -more important to Kate the longer it remained unsolved. She herself was -powerless to prosecute a line of inquiry that, she felt sure, would, if -carried forward to the end, exonerate the Rexanian whose melancholy and -fascinating face had impressed her as that of a man whose soul was too -lofty for subterfuge and fraud. - -Fate had thrown her into the enforced companionship of a man whose -journalistic training had thoroughly fitted him for solving mysteries of -the kind that now weighed upon her overwrought mind. Conflicting emotions -warred within her. She possessed many of the prejudices and all the -self-control that pertain to the real patrician; added to these was a -maidenly fear that somebody might discover the secret that agitated her -heart—a secret that she hardly dared to whisper to herself. On the other -hand, she had grown almost desperate in her anxiety to learn something -more of Count Szalaki, to receive an explanation of his seemingly -churlish silence that would vindicate her innermost conviction that he -was what her fancy painted him. Perhaps under other circumstances her -natural disinclination to grow too confidential with a man about whom -she knew almost nothing would have prevailed, but the reaction following -her accident had rendered her will-power less active than usual and her -inclination to give way to an impulse stronger. - -“Count Szalaki!” exclaimed Norman Benedict, musingly. Suddenly an -expression of eagerness crossed his face. “His name was on the passenger -list of one of the incoming steamers recently. I noticed it at the time. -And so he is a Rexanian! That is very interesting. You were kind enough -to say a moment ago, Miss Strong, that you owe me a debt of gratitude. -That is hardly true, for what I have done for you has been a pleasure to -me. But, frankly, you can do me a kindness. I should very much like to -meet Count Szalaki.” - -A mournful expression rested on Kate Strong’s face. - -“I am sorry,” she said regretfully, “but I cannot gratify your wish. -We—we—don’t know where Count Szalaki is.” - -Norman Benedict sprang up in excitement. There was something in the -girl’s face and voice that revived the nervous tremor that had affected -him when the tremendous possibilities of the hints thrown out by Ludovics -had first seriously impressed him. - -“Do you mean to tell me,” he asked, eagerly, “that Count Szalaki has -disappeared?” - -“We have seen and heard nothing of him since the night he dined with us,” -answered Kate. - -The reporter paced up and down the room impatiently. - -“What do you know about him?” he cried, at length. “Are you sure, Miss -Strong, that—that his title was genuine?” - -Kate had found the reporter’s excitement contagious, and she did not -notice the bald discourtesy of his question. Her desire to gain Benedict -as an ally in her efforts to re-establish the reputation of her father’s -guest had become irresistible. - -“We know,” she admitted, “that there is no such title as that of Count -Szalaki in Rexania.” - -Norman Benedict stood still and looked down at her with an expression of -eager interest on his face for which she could not satisfactorily account. - -At that moment the carriage in which Rudolph had gone on his futile -mission in search of a physician rattled up to the gate, and before the -reporter could put further questions to Kate the lodge-keeper had entered -the room. - -“The doctor will be here directly, Miss Strong,” said Rudolph, nervously. -“Shall I dismiss the carriage?” - -“Let the carriage wait,” answered Norman Benedict, harshly. Striding up -to the pale-faced Rexanian, he said, in a stern voice: - -“Did you ever hear in Rexania, man, of a certain Count Szalaki?” - -It was, in a sense, a random shot, but it struck home. Rudolph’s face -looked like a mask of bluish-white paste in the twilight gloom of -the darkening chamber. He put up his hand, as if to ward off a blow. -Kate Strong strained her eyes to catch the changing expression on the -Rexanian’s countenance. A deep silence fell upon the trio. Suddenly the -answer came to the reporter’s question, but not from Rudolph Smolenski. - -Muffled by distance, but unmistakable in its horrid import, there echoed -from the manor-house the ugly crash of a pistol-shot. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - -Mrs. Brevoort and Ned Strong had found, upon inquiry at the club-house, -that Kate had not been seen since she had wheeled away with them. They -stood at a corner of the piazza and held council with each other. - -“How careless you have been, Mr. Strong!” Mrs. Brevoort was saying, -chidingly. “It is well that you have decided never to marry. How can a -man who loses track of a sister hope to keep his eye on a wife?” - -“You are exacting,” he returned. “Why should I expect to perform -miracles? I am not possessed of second-sight, nor of eyes in the back -of my head. But, Mrs. Brevoort, it is a condition, not a theory, that -confronts us, as a famous man once said. Now, if you are tired of -wheeling, won’t you walk over to our old house with me? Kate did not come -down the hill, you remember. I am inclined to think that something may -have happened to her wheel, and that she stopped to have Rudolph, our -lodge-keeper, repair it. It is not much of a walk, by a short cut I know -how to make.” - -“I think, Mr. Strong,” answered Mrs. Brevoort, “that you had better go -alone. It is getting late, and I must dress at once.” - -“A woman’s eternal excuse for unsociability!” cried the youth petulantly. -Then he grew beseeching. “I ask so few favors of you, Mrs. Brevoort,” he -pleaded. “And, remember, Kate may have met with an accident. She would -feel very lonely in that old lodge if I had to go for a doctor. I appeal -unselfishly to you, Mrs. Brevoort. Walk over to the lodge with me. Please -do!” - -Mrs. Brevoort gazed at the blue waters of the Sound musingly. She was not -anxious to bring a problem that must soon be solved to an issue at once. -But she was really worried about Kate Strong and impatient to learn what -had befallen her best friend. Furthermore, she knew that the short cut -to the manor-house was not a lover’s lane, in that the path for the most -part demanded the single-file formation. Her hesitation, therefore, was -short-lived, and she was soon hurrying away from the club-house, with Ned -Strong, in a gay mood, striding along at her side. - -“I cannot understand, Mr. Strong,” she remarked severely, after they had -left the main road and were following the narrow path that led toward -the rear of the manor-house, “I cannot understand how you can be so -light-hearted under these depressing circumstances.” - -“The fact is, Mrs. Brevoort,” explained Ned, “that I am not greatly -worried about Kate; and as for myself, I was never more contented in my -life.” - -He glanced back at Mrs. Brevoort merrily. - -“And you will be late for dinner, too,” exclaimed his companion. “Surely -you are one man among many thousands, Mr. Strong, to grow jolly with such -a dismal fate staring you in the face.” - -The youth laughed aloud. Then he half-turned around, and said, -impressively: - -“I eat nothing in these joyous days, Mrs. Brevoort. Food has not -passed my lips for a week. I live on air, I walk on air, I am an airy -nothing with a local habitation and a name. Speaking of that name, Mrs. -Brevoort——” - -“But we weren’t speaking of that name,” cried the little _mondaine_, -emphatically. “You were talking about the ethereal nature of your -favorite food. I am sorry to say that I require something more -substantial than country air to satisfy my appetite. You will observe, -Mr. Strong, that this is a veiled hint intended to make you increase your -pace. At the rate at which you are now walking, it will be scandalously -late before we get anything to eat.” - -“Alas,” cried Ned, in assumed despair, “how little encouragement a man -gets to cultivate the poetic side of his nature in these days! Just look -at this scene before us,” he continued, turning as they reached the top -of a knoll that gave them a view of the Sound and of the rear balcony -of the manor-house. They stood in silence for a time, watching the -changing tints that the early evening scattered with prodigality across -the surface of the land-locked sea. Over toward the Long Island shore a -brilliantly lighted steamboat, a great hotel escaping by water toward the -east, threw its merry gleam across the waves. - -Suddenly Ned Strong laid his hand excitedly on his companion’s arm. - -“Look,” he whispered, pointing to the balcony of the manor-house. “What -is that?” - -A small dark figure could be seen creeping toward one of the windows that -opened on the balcony. - -“There is a light inside the room,” exclaimed Ned, almost trembling -with excitement. At that instant the dark form arose from its recumbent -attitude and stood in bold relief against the window. On the instant -there came the crash of breaking glass, then silence. - -“He’s a burglar!” exclaimed Mrs. Brevoort, her voice shaking perceptibly. -Somehow, she did not notice that Ned Strong’s arm had been thrown around -her protectingly. - -At that moment the sharp, evil crack of a pistol startled the night air. - -“A burglar or a murderer,” muttered Ned Strong, awe-struck. “Come,” he -cried, almost carrying his companion forward in his excitement. “Come, we -must get to the lodge at once and find Rudolph! Come! Quick!” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - - -Rudolph Smolenski had relieved the intense gloom that had settled -over his inhospitable drawing-room by lighting two oil lamps and -several candles, much to the satisfaction of his unwelcome guests. The -pistol-shot that had emphasized their proximity to crime had for an -instant seemed to nail down the curtain of night at one blow. Rudolph’s -activity in making the apartment more cheerful had greatly tended to -relieve the strain of the situation. - -“I am in a quandary,” Benedict had said to Kate. “I hesitate to leave you -here at this moment, but there is a great mystery to be solved at once.” - -Rudolph’s hand trembled perceptibly as he held a match to a candle’s -wick. There was something in his manner that affected Kate Strong -unpleasantly. Her overwrought nerves exaggerated the uncanny features -of her surroundings, and she grew cold at the thought of Benedict’s -departure. - -At that instant a door opened at the rear of the lodge, and Mrs. Brevoort -and Ned Strong, groping through a dark hall-way toward a gleam of light, -burst into the room. - -“What is the matter, Kate?” cried Mrs. Brevoort, rushing toward -her friend, while her companion stood in the centre of the room, -scrutinizing, with a puzzled expression in his eyes, the disturbed faces -of Benedict and Rudolph. - -“Rudolph,” cried Ned Strong, suppressed excitement in his voice, “a crime -has been committed at the house—perhaps a murder. What do you know about -it?” - -Norman Benedict had been relieved of all responsibility, so far as Kate -Strong was concerned. - -“Pardon me,” he said to Ned Strong, “but would it not be well for us to -go up to the manor-house at once?” Benedict did not lack courage, but, -under the circumstances, he was pleased at the prospect of having an ally -in his tour of investigation. - -Rudolph Smolenski, pale with apprehension, but rendered active by the -dark possibilities that threatened him, had placed himself at the doorway -through which the young men threatened to pass. The Rexanian put up a -hand with a gesture that was both threatening and imploring. - -“Remain here, Mr. Strong; and you, sir. It may not be safe for you to go -up to the house.” - -“What do you mean, Rudolph?” asked Ned Strong, sternly. “Be careful, man. -You are putting yourself in a very questionable position. Stand aside, -and let us pass. If there’s any one in great danger, Rudolph, I think -you’re the man. Stand aside.” - -Kate Strong and Mrs. Brevoort, with hand clasped in hand, were seated -side by side on the sofa, gazing with disturbed faces at the three men. - -“Listen to Rudolph, Ned,” implored Kate. “He may be right. You may run a -great risk in going to the house.” - -Rudolph still stubbornly held his place in front of the door. Norman -Benedict’s patience was at an end. - -“Come, come, man,” he exclaimed. “Out of the way, or we’ll be obliged to -use force. Do you hear me?” - -Mrs. Brevoort had arisen. Ned Strong felt a gentle hand on his arm. - -“Don’t go up to that gloomy old house, Mr. Strong,” she implored, looking -up at him with an expression on her face that made life seem very -precious to him at that moment. - -“There is not the slightest cause to worry,” he said, quietly, although -his pulse was beating feverishly. “This gentleman—Mr.—Mr.——?” - -“My name is Benedict,” answered the reporter, impatiently. “I found Miss -Strong with a sprained ankle near the gate, and have had the pleasure of -being of service to her. But you’ll pardon me for using heroic measures. -I have wasted too much time already.” - -With these words, Benedict seized Rudolph by the collar of his coat and -hurled the pudgy little Rexanian into a far corner of the room. Then he -bolted through the door. - -“I can’t let him go alone,” cried Ned Strong, reluctantly but firmly -removing Mrs. Brevoort’s hand from his arm. “Remain here. We’ll be back -at once.” - -Thus saying, he dashed down the dark corridor in pursuit of Benedict. - -Rudolph Smolenski had managed to totter to his feet and was gazing about -the room in a dazed way. The reporter had, in the excitement of the -moment, used more force in removing the Rexanian from his path than was -actually necessary for his purpose. - -“What do you make of all this, Kate?” exclaimed Mrs. Brevoort, reseating -herself beside the girl, and looking at the ludicrous picture that -Rudolph presented, with a nervous smile on her face. - -“I’m sure I’ve got beyond the point where my opinion is worth much,” -answered Kate, wearily. “My ankle aches, and the whole universe seems to -be nothing but an exposed nerve.” - -“Poor girl, how thoughtless I’ve been!” cried Mrs. Brevoort, gently, -pushing Kate back into a reclining position. “Get me some cold water, -man,” she said to the lodge-keeper, whose wits were beginning to return -to his aching head. - -“That is much better,” said Kate gratefully, a few moments later. “But is -it not strange that the doctor does not come?—Rudolph, did you see Dr. -Moore?” - -“I did, Miss Strong,” answered the Rexanian, with reckless defiance of -the truth. He had begun to feel that one lie more or less would not make -much difference with the retribution that threatened to overtake him so -soon. “He should have been here long before this.” - -The minutes dragged slowly along. To the two women the next quarter of -an hour seemed almost interminable. Mrs. Brevoort used part of it to -describe to Kate Strong the weird scene that she and Ned had witnessed -just before the pistol-shot had punctuated the course of events. - -Morose, but alert, Rudolph Smolenski overheard her story, and his -sluggish brain began to grasp the fact that it was high time for him to -act. Hitherto he had been tenacious of a lingering hope that he had not -already forfeited his situation. The blow he had received when he struck -the floor had not tended to give him a clear idea of the helplessness of -his position. But as it dawned upon him that Ludovics must have been the -man who fired the pistol at the manor-house, a cold sweat broke out upon -his hands and brow. He had been the last man to talk to Ludovics, and the -driver of the carriage that still waited outside the lodge gate had been -a witness to their conversation. If Ludovics had murdered the prince, he, -Rudolph, would be held as an accessory before the fact. - -“Where are you going, Rudolph?” asked Kate suspiciously, as the Rexanian -arose and walked unsteadily toward the door leading into the corridor. - -“Just outside a moment, Miss Strong,” he faltered. “I will take a look -toward the big house and see if they are coming.” - -“Do,” returned Kate. “I am growing very impatient,” she added, turning to -Mrs. Brevoort. - -They sat in silence for a time, their cold hands pressed together. - -Suddenly they heard the rattle of a ramshackle vehicle as it passed the -front of the house, bound cityward. - -“That’s strange,” cried Mrs. Brevoort, springing up. “What does it mean?” - -It meant that they would never set eyes upon Rudolph Smolenski again. -But they had no time now to dwell upon his disappearance. Hardly had -the noise of the retreating carriage died away when the sound of many -voices reached them from the end of the corridor, and they felt a mingled -sensation of relief and apprehension at the approaching footsteps of a -crowd. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - - -Prince Carlo was seated at a small, round, mahogany table in the centre -of his shadow-haunted room. Before him lay a not uninviting repast. Cold -meat, cut-up peaches, bread, butter, iced coffee, and a dish containing -a kind of pickle known only to Rexanians strove in vain to tempt his -appetite. Rukacs had spread the table silently, but with an air of -deference that was grateful to the captive prince. No word had been -spoken between them, but in his very silence Rukacs seemed to do homage -to the youth’s rank, a rank that the conspirator recognized in practice -while in theory he denied its existence. - -Evolution has not yet placed man so far above the lower order of animals -that he does not in his heart of hearts acknowledge the tendency of -nature to ratify the monarchical idea. He finds beneath him in the -scale of being the bees setting up a queen and the herds of wild -cattle paying homage to a king bull. He discovers that the prevailing -conception of a future world, even among democrats, pictures God upon -His throne, surrounded by celestial courtiers. Whether he looks up or -down, therefore, man’s eye rests upon the concrete manifestations of the -abstract idea of royalty, and, sweeping the whole range of existence, he -sees a throne beneath his feet and dreams of another somewhere beyond -the stars. The old cry, “_Le roi est mort, vive le roi_,” may have in it -the germs of universal truth that a nation of freemen would do well to -heed. The substitution of a political “boss” for an hereditary ruler may -be a step forward, but there are those to whom it looks like reaction -illustrating the very nature of things. - -Prince Carlo of Rexania sipped his coffee and pondered certain questions -related to the propositions just laid down. Whatever of weakness there -had been in the voluptuous dreams that had tempted him from the stern -path of duty in the afternoon had disappeared, and his mind now dwelt -wholly upon the obligations he owed to his people, his forefathers, and -himself. As the thought of his physical helplessness at that moment -stung him into a gesture of angry impatience, Rukacs crossed the room -and closed the window that looked out upon the balcony, the window that -Prince Carlo had vainly attempted to open on the night of his arrival. -Rukacs understood the secret of its fastenings, and silently, almost -stealthily, took an unnecessary precaution against his captive’s escape. -The manner in which the Rexanian performed this task proved that he was, -at bottom, ashamed of the _rôle_ he was playing at the moment. - -“If you desire anything, your—your royal highness,” he faltered, as he -recrossed the room and placed a hand upon the door opening into the hall, -“will you kindly rap three times upon the floor?” The conspirator’s -flushed face bore outward evidence of his interior agitation. Rukacs -loved freedom too well to make a graceful jailer. - -Prince Carlo bowed in acknowledgment of his captor’s words, and on the -instant found himself alone, the grating sound of a rusty key again -serving to emphasize the chilling fact that he, the heir-apparent to the -throne of Rexania, was a prisoner in a land whose political stock in -trade is liberty. - -There was something oppressive in the sudden silence. Prince Carlo -glanced furtively around the room. He had become used to the depressing -characteristics of the apartment, and the antic shadows that lurked in -the far corners and hovered around the curtains of the bed no longer -affected his nerves. But at this moment the uncanny spirit of the old -house seemed to whisper to him in threatening tones. His overwrought -fancy pictured the stealthy assassin creeping through the damp corridors -and dodging behind crumbling curtains in his search for blood. A door -creaked on its hinges in some distant corner of the house; he started as -though the sound carried with it a menace he must heed. - -Presently the reaction came, and a smile of self-pity played about his -clean-cut mouth. With an impatient gesture, he brushed his damp hair back -from his brow and poured some of the iced coffee into a glass. He was -about to raise the draught to his lips, when the conviction seized him -that somebody’s eyes were resting upon him. A shiver went through his -frame, and he replaced the goblet upon the table with trembling hand. -Courageous though Prince Carlo was by nature, there was a weird, uncanny -influence at work, as it seemed to him, to disturb the balance of his -nervous system. - -Annoyed at himself, the youth arose from the table, and, resting one hand -upon the coverlet, glanced toward the window. On the instant his eyes met -the burning gaze of Ludovics, who crouched outside the window, enraged -to find it locked. For a moment neither the prince nor the madman moved. -Then, with one bound, the latter smashed his way through the glass, and -cut and bleeding, a ghastly, crimson incarnation of all that is hideous -in the cult of the assassin, he faced Prince Carlo across the table, -while the lamp flickered threateningly as the night breeze swept through -the window into the room. - -The two men stood motionless, gazing into each other’s eyes. The -blood-stained madman, representative of all that is most horrible in the -effort of man to escape from the tyranny of tradition and to seek higher -things, faced the incarnation of reaction, the embodiment of obsolete -prerogatives and time-dishonored claims. The man who was in the right was -mad; he who was in the wrong was sane. Thus did they represent, as they -stood facing each other in the dim light of that wind-beset chamber, ages -of human history. - -The glare in Ludovics’ eyes faded slowly as he looked upon the pale, -strong, beautiful face of the youth who had assumed in his wild fancy the -figure of a tyrant who held wild revelry at the expense of the people -in a palace here at hand. What gleam of reason returned to his crazy -mind, who shall say? There was no bacchanalian carnival surrounding the -prince; only a simple supper, untasted, spread before him. He was not -mocking Ludovics, but only looking at him with sad, splendid eyes that -stirred the distraught soul of the madman to its depths. Beneath their -gaze Ludovics seemed to collapse and slink away. He turned, with a low -cry, that echoed through the room like the wail of a spirit damned, and -stumbled towards the window. - -Prince Carlo stood motionless at the table, watching the retreating form -of the madman. Suddenly Ludovics drew himself erect and turned again -to face the prince. Raising his pistol slowly until the muzzle rested -against his forehead, Ludovics said, in voice so calm that it seemed to -come from a man whose mind was absolutely normal: - -“Your majesty, I salute you. Accept my homage.” - -On the instant he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet crashing through -his crazy brain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - - -Prince Carlo’s face was pale and drawn and his eyes gleamed feverishly -as he turned from the ghastly sight in front of him and gazed at the -Rexanians who had thronged upstairs and into the room. Their presence was -a relief to him at that moment. - -Posadowski pushed forward through the crowd of silent and awe-stricken -men. Approaching the prince, he said: - -“Your royal highness, believe me, we did not know that this man,” -pointing to the prostrate form of the suicide, “had left the city.” - -Prince Carlo turned toward the group, whose white faces in the flickering -light thrown out by the wind-pestered lamp seemed to haunt the room like -ghosts. The youth’s countenance was stern and menacing. He had held up a -hand and haughtily enforced silence upon the cowed conspirators. - -“You know not, my countrymen,” said Prince Carlo, in a low, penetrating -voice, and speaking in the Rexanian tongue, “how deep is the grief that -stirs my soul. Yonder madman sought my life. His murderous hand was -turned against himself. Who shall say what power it was that intervened -to save me from his wrath? Do you call it chance? If such it was, there -is no God. But in my heart of hearts I know that in this room we see the -impress of a mighty hand. The fiat of the King of kings has been obeyed. -You plot to thwart His will. As well attempt to wound the stars with -stones! You hold me here a prisoner. You think, blind, feeble children, -that you can mould a nation’s destiny, can dictate to the Omnipotent -the future of a race: look upon the bloody form of that unhappy man and -learn the lesson that God reigns. Listen! There is a voice that tells me -that I must mount my father’s throne. It tells me that in the universal -plan that makes for higher things the part that I must take lies far -from hence. I am no tyrant: I do not crave the awful power that he who -wields a sceptre may usurp. My countrymen, I will be frank with you. To -live in peace in this fair land, to lose my name and all the burdens -that it bears, to forget that on my shoulders the welfare of a nation -rests—ah, this were sweet. But a sterner fate is mine. I must go back -to the land we love so well. I must some day take up the weary task -that falls from my father’s tired hands. I must sacrifice all things -that most men love to the long service of a people not yet fitted for -self-government. Think you that this is selfishness? I tell you that, if -my love of country and of duty were not greater than my love of self, no -power on earth could force me back to Rexania—to the land that offers -me a throne upon which no man can sit to-day in peace. A crown? A crown -of thorns awaits me. Power? Only so long as it is used in the service -of God and my people. Homage? The only homage that makes glad the heart -of kings comes from those who praise the man rather than the monarch. -Think not, my countrymen, that I am pleading to you for freedom. Whether -you grant it or withhold it now, it is sure to come. But when I am gone -you will reflect that I go not to a bed of roses, but to a couch made of -iron, around which mighty shadows lurk. Pardon me for so long detaining -you, but remember me in the days to come as one who forgives you in your -errors, and who bears you no ill-will.” - -While the prince had been speaking, two men had joined the group at the -doorway, Ned Strong and Norman Benedict. They gazed with amazement on -the scene before them. Pushing his way through the yielding throng, Ned -Strong stood before the prince. - -“Count Szalaki,” he exclaimed, extending his hand, “this is the last -place on earth in which I had expected to find you. But, as your host, I -give you welcome.” - -“Mr. Strong!” cried Prince Carlo, in astonishment: “I do not understand. -You say I am your guest?” - -Ned Strong smiled grimly as he cast his eyes over the group of startled -Rexanians. - -“I fear,” he sad, sarcastically, “that my welcome cannot include so large -a party. I suppose,” he went on, addressing Posadowski, who had not slunk -back into the throng, “I suppose that Rudolph Smolenski is responsible -for your presence here?” - -The arch-conspirator bowed sullenly. - -“And who is this man, my guest—Count Szalaki?” asked Strong, sternly. - -“He is the Crown Prince Carlo, heir-apparent to the throne of Rexania,” -answered Posadowski, a note of triumph in his voice. - -Ned Strong turned and met the large, sad eyes of the youth who had -been relegated in his mind to that _terra incognita_ where frauds and -adventurers lurk and plot. The blood rushed to his face as he realized -that his recent words of welcome had been tipped with sarcasm wrought by -suspicion. - -“Permit me to explain, Mr. Strong,” remarked Prince Carlo, quietly, -while Norman Benedict, glancing excitedly at his watch, pushed forward -toward the central group. “These men are dreamers. Less mad than yonder -suicide, whose death shall serve them for a warning and a sign, they plot -to change the laws of God and man. How they learned my secret matters -not. All that is essential now is that a power greater than earth holds -has rendered vain their plots and schemes and crimes. Let them reflect -upon the mystery that surrounds the ways of God. They brought me to this -house. Behold, I find myself the guest of the one man in many millions I -have cause to call my friend! One of their brethren breaks through yonder -window, bent upon my death. As I stand erect before him, the bullet that -was meant for me goes crashing through his brain! Oh, blind and foolish -children, learn that there are mysteries ye cannot solve. Plot no longer -to change the fate of the country you have wronged, a country that found -you faithless years ago and drove you from her heart. You love Rexania? -Then show your love by leaving to her loyal sons her future and the -future of my house. No man can serve two masters. Faithful to the land -of your adoption, you cannot also be of service to Rexania. Abandon your -plots and stratagems, and abide by the lesson of this night’s work. -Farewell.—Mr. Strong, I am at your service.” - -Prince Carlo turned abruptly from his countrymen and placed his hand upon -Ned Strong’s arm. The latter looked about him for Norman Benedict, but -the reporter had disappeared. - -“Prince Carlo,” said Ned Strong, “I will take you to the lodge, where my -sister will be very glad to renew her acquaintance with you.” - -“Miss Strong is here?” exclaimed the prince, eagerly. “Indeed, the Fates -are kind to me to-night.” A smile of delight played over his pale, drawn -face. - -“Will you wait here until I return?” asked Ned Strong of Posadowski. -“There are several matters about which I must consult you.” He made a -gesture toward a black shadow in a corner near the window. - -“I will stay here with two or three of my men,” answered the -arch-conspirator deferentially. “We are truly anxious, Mr. Strong, to -save you from all further annoyance.” - -As Prince Carlo and Ned Strong crossed the lawn and made toward the -lodge, they found themselves followed by several Rexanians, who clung -close to them but maintained a respectful silence. Suddenly Ned Strong -turned and faced them. - -“What will you have?” he asked, angrily. “Is it not enough that you have -been kidnappers and housebreakers, without becoming permanent nuisances?” - -“Pardon us, Mr. Strong,” answered the gigantic Posnovitch, deferentially; -“we have no wish to annoy you, but it is fitting that the Crown Prince -of Rexania should have a body-guard.” - -Ned Strong placed his hand upon the arm of his royal friend. - -“Your countrymen, Prince Carlo,” he murmured, “are strangely -inconsistent. They would crucify you at one moment and crown you the -next.” - -“’Tis true, my friend,” returned the prince sadly. “They illustrate the -fickleness of the human race both in its dealings with kings and with -God. But God reigns, and kings still live.” - -At this moment they entered the corridor of the lodge and groped their -way toward the room in which Kate Strong and Mrs. Brevoort listened -apprehensively to the sounds of approaching footsteps. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - - -“Count Szalaki!” - -To the men who heard Kate Strong utter that name there was nothing but -amazement in her voice, but to the sympathetic ear of Mrs. Brevoort there -was that in her friend’s outcry that was of more significance than mere -surprise. - -Rudolph’s parlor presented at that instant a picturesque appearance. At -the doorway leading into the corridor stood Prince Carlo and Ned Strong, -while in the dim light behind them could be seen the grim faces of -several Rexanians. Kate Strong, her cheeks pale from the nervous strain -of recent events, but with eyes that gleamed with delight at this moment, -was seated on the sofa, facing the doorway, while Mrs. Brevoort stood by -her side, her hand resting on the girl’s shoulder. - -The Rexanian prince crossed the room hurriedly, and, bending down with -infinite grace, kissed Kate’s upraised hand. - -“Your brother told me you were here,” he said, and added, with convincing -simplicity, “His words made me very happy.” - -Ned Strong had approached the little group. - -“Mrs. Brevoort,” he said, with great solemnity, “permit me to present to -you”—here he glanced at Kate for an instant—“permit me to present to you -the Crown Prince Carlo of Rexania.” - -A tinge of red appeared in the royal youth’s pale cheeks as he gracefully -acknowledged Ned’s words of introduction. Amazement, perhaps dismay, -was written on Kate Strong’s face. She was looking up at the Rexanian -questioningly. - -“You are a long way from home, your royal highness,” exclaimed Mrs. -Brevoort, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “But I am pleased to see you -again.” - -“We have met before, then?” inquired the prince, a puzzled look on his -face. - -“No, but I have not forgotten your face. I saw you at the head of your -troops in Rexopolis, two years ago. I did not then imagine that I should -ever meet you in such a place as this.” - -“The unhappy chance that brought me here has, I assure you, its -compensation,” returned the prince, smilingly, as he turned and looked -down into the troubled face of Kate Strong. - -“Sit down here by me,” said the girl, to whom conflicting emotions had -come as an antidote to physical pain. She had almost forgotten that her -sprained ankle was aching stubbornly. “I want you to tell me what has -happened to you since we last met. You owe me an apology, you know. But -wait; I had almost forgotten. Are you really the crown prince? Then, of -course, I have no right to ask for an explanation. The king can do no -wrong, I believe.” - -Prince Carlo seated himself by her side, while a sad smile crossed his -pale face. - -“How out of place the old ideas appear!” he exclaimed. “But, frankly, it -has been a heavy cross to me, Miss Strong, to feel that you might wonder -at my lack of courtesy. But I have been a helpless prisoner in the hands -of yonder men.” - -Kate looked at him wonderingly. - -“Tell me, Prince Carlo,” she said, in a low voice, “tell me, what did -they wish with you?” - -Prince Carlo glanced searchingly around the room before replying. Mrs. -Brevoort and Ned Strong were standing near the doorway, talking to the -Rexanians who had appointed themselves a body-guard to their recent -prisoner. - -“They would have me,” he answered gloomily, “betray my trust and leave my -country to chaos and despair.” - -Her eyes sought his, but he failed to meet her gaze. - -“And you—you will go back to Rexania?” she asked falteringly. - -“It is imperative,” he answered, knowing that her eyes were upon his -face, but keeping his gaze fixed on the shadows that lurked in the -corners of the room. “Already it may be too late for me to undo the -damage these men have wrought. What has happened in Rexopolis I do not -know, but I dread to learn the truth.” He turned and looked down into her -face. She smiled up at him sadly. - -“I am very sorry for you,” she whispered. What she meant by the words she -hardly knew. The world seemed topsy-turvy to her fevered mind. Her life, -usually so uneventful, had been filled this day with startling events, -and she was worn with physical pain and the turmoil of conflicting -emotions. She wondered vaguely that she had not been more surprised to -learn that the heir-apparent to a European throne had been a prisoner in -the house where she was born. She realized with annoyance that her mind -refused to confine itself to the bare facts presented to it, but showed -an inclination to make short journeys into the realms of dreams and -fancies. - -Prince Carlo was gazing into her eyes earnestly. - -“Your sympathy is very sweet to me,” he said, in a voice that was vibrant -with suppressed longing. “How much it means to me—may I tell you?” - -His voice had sunk to a whisper. - -“If you wish,” she murmured, her lips trembling as she spoke. - -“It means,” he went on firmly, “a glimpse of a paradise I may never seek. -It means that I look at the fairest sight on earth through the bars of -an iron cage. It means that I will treasure in my heart, through all -the dark, grim years that call to me, a memory that shall be to me the -brightest gem of life. It means, Miss Strong, that I, a king, am more -blessed by those dear words you spoke than by all the tawdry glory of my -throne and crown.” - -He was silent, and the girl placed a cold hand in his for an instant and -then withdrew it quickly. - -“We have taken the liberty, your royal highness,” said Mrs. Brevoort -breezily, as she and Ned Strong crossed the room, “of sending one of your -attendants to New Rochelle for a carriage. It seems that Rudolph,” she -continued, glancing at Kate, “has made his escape in the vehicle that -waited outside. And now we are anxious to discover if your lodge-keeper -left anything to eat in the house. It is absolutely necessary that we -fortify ourselves in some way for the ride before us.” - -The crown prince had arisen and beckoned to the towering Posnovitch, who -blocked the doorway. - -“Go up to the house, man, and tell Posadowski to send us whatever he has -to eat and drink. I believe,” he continued, smiling at Mrs. Brevoort, -“that we are not in imminent danger of starving to death.” - -“And may I repay your present hospitality, your royal highness,” cried -Mrs. Brevoort gayly, “by numbering you among my guests at dinner -to-morrow?” - -Prince Carlo glanced furtively at the averted face of Kate Strong, as he -said, in a voice in marked contrast to the sprightly tones in which the -invitation had been extended to him: - -“I am very sorry, Mrs. Brevoort, to be obliged to decline your -hospitality, but—but I shall sail for Europe early to-morrow morning.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - - -Half an hour later a carriage drew up at the lodge gate. A cold supper, -of which Mrs. Brevoort and Ned Strong had partaken with forced gayety, -had vindicated Prince Carlo’s assertion that the danger of immediate -starvation had never been imminent. But the sound of carriage-wheels -came as a great relief to them all, for the gloomy features of their -environment had been emphasized as time passed by. Ned Strong had held a -whispered consultation in the corridor with Posadowski, who had come down -from the manor-house for instructions, and the train of thought suggested -by his visit had not tended to decrease the melancholy nature of their -surroundings. - -As the carriage rolled away from the lodge entrance, with Mrs. Brevoort -and Ned Strong facing Kate and Prince Carlo, who occupied the back seat, -a simultaneous sigh of relief broke from the quartette. - -“This is a new sensation,” whispered Mrs. Brevoort to Ned Strong. -“Breaking jail with a captive prince! Is it not delightful?” - -“Which is the captive prince?” returned Ned, bending down to get a better -view of her face. - -“Never mind,” she answered. “I was about to say that nobody fully -appreciates freedom until he has spent a certain amount of time in -captivity.” - -Her remark silenced the youth for a moment. The longer he weighed it, the -more discouraging did it seem to him. - -“Perhaps,” he suggested, “there may be a vast difference in jailers.” - -“Ah, but you beg the question,” exclaimed Mrs. Brevoort argumentatively. - -“I fear,” he put in, hastily, “that that is all I have the courage to do -with it. There is always safety in begging a question. Such a course at -least defers the day of doom.” - -Mrs. Brevoort laughed outright, and looked up at Ned Strong mockingly. - -“Are you threatened with a day of doom, Mr. Strong?” - -“Perhaps,” he answered mournfully. Then he exclaimed, with cheerfulness, -“At all events, it is to be preceded by an evening of perfect bliss.” She -drew a bit closer to him at the words, as if to emphasize their truth. - -The carriage, rolling noisily toward the city, contained at that moment -a condensed illustration of the curious vagaries that pertain to human -affairs. Cupid was perched upon the box beside the driver, and chuckled -mischievously to himself as he realized what was going on within the -vehicle. Well he knew, the little rascal, that two of his victims looked -into the future with hope and joy. The other arrows that he had used had -made wounds for which time could promise no relief. But it is in such -contrasts as these that Cupid finds the pleasure of his impish life. The -humdrum contentment that would have made the quartette less romantic but -more evenly blessed would have bored Cupid with the crowd. He would have -placed a substitute upon the box, and have flown away, to continue his -sport with deluded human hearts, where he could see his victims wince -beneath his shafts. - -“Tell me,” said Prince Carlo, “why you are so silent. Are you in great -pain?” His voice had in it a caressing note as he whispered to Kate -Strong and tried to look into her downcast face. - -“I hardly know,” she answered wearily. “I feel very tired.” - -What had been to the prince a shadowy temptation, painting day-dreams -before his eyes, as he gazed that afternoon on the sun-kissed waters -of the Sound, had taken to itself a concrete form. Here beside him was -the one woman in all the world for whom he would willingly renounce all -the glittering but unsubstantial glory of his kingship. He had said, on -the impulse of the moment, that he would go back to the troubled land -to which his duty called him; but his heart rebelled against his avowed -purpose as he held Kate Strong’s cold hand for a moment in his as the -carriage rumbled onward toward the beckoning lights of the great city. -The girl withdrew her hand. He did not know how great an effort it had -cost her to repress a sob. - -Presently Kate looked up at him, her eyes bright with the emotion she -controlled. - -“In Rexopolis,” she said, “there is great disorder. The newspapers this -morning printed long accounts of what they called a crisis at your -capital.” - -Prince Carlo was silent for a moment. His worst forebodings seemed about -to be realized. - -“And what of my father?” he asked, at length, his voice trembling -perceptibly. - -“He is very ill,” she answered. Suddenly he felt her hand in his again. - -“And the people grow restless? Tell me, is it so?” - -“Yes,” she answered. - -“And the wonder grows that I, the crown prince, do not show myself?” - -“Yes.” - -They sat speechless for a time, hand clasped in hand. The sympathy of -this woman was very sweet to the self-exiled prince at this dark crisis -in his life. - -“It is so hard,” he murmured. “Tell me,” he whispered, hoarsely, bending -close to her and looking down into her pale, drawn face—“tell me, Miss -Strong, what must I do? I tremble at the thoughts that fill my mind. Tell -me—for you must know what I would say—what must I do?” - -She was silent for an instant, and he knew that she trembled with -emotion. Then her eyes sought his in the dim half-light, and she said, -firmly: - -“There is no choice, Prince Carlo. You would never be happy should you -not go back.” - -“But why?” he argued. “To what do I go back? Surely not to happiness?” - -“No,” she answered, sadly. “You go back to—honor.” - -“To honor,” he admitted, and then muttered, “and to death.” - -Her hand pressed his with feverish force. “Death is better than——” She -paused suddenly. - -“Than what?” he exclaimed. - -“Death,” she said, firmly, “is better than disgrace.” - -Prince Carlo sank back in his seat, his face white against the cushions. - -“You speak the truth,” he murmured, restlessly. “I really have no choice. -To stay here is dishonor, to return is death. God help me!” His words -sounded more like a groan than like a prayer. - -They had reached the stone pavements of the city. The carriage jolted -annoyingly over the ill-laid streets. - -Prince Carlo leaned down until his face was close to Kate’s. - -“You are a grand, a noble woman,” he whispered. “Remember, dear, for all -time my heart is yours, and yours alone. Whatever Fate may have in store -for me, it cannot deprive me of this one sweet thought. I love you, my -darling, I love you!” - -Her hand was like ice in his, and she spoke not, but he knew that she -wept softly. - -A moment later, the carriage drew up in front of Gerald Strong’s house. - -“Let me see you once more alone before I go,” whispered Prince Carlo. “I -have one thing more to say to you.” - -She pressed his hand in acquiescence. An instant later, the driver opened -the carriage door, and Cupid with a mocking laugh flitted from the box, -rejoicing at the mischief he had wrought. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - - -Norman Benedict had reached the office of the _Trumpet_ in time to add -a startling feature to the ten o’clock “extra” of that enterprising -journal. A long cable despatch from Rexopolis, announcing the death of -King Sergius III., the vain clamorings of the people for the appearance -of his successor, the still popular Prince Carlo, and the certainty of -an immediate choice by the populace of a provisional President, was of -itself sufficient to make the “extra” notable. But Benedict had been -enabled, by a combination of foresight and good luck, to give the readers -of the _Trumpet_ a startling explanation of Prince Carlo’s absence from -Rexopolis at this great crisis. On the night upon which Prince Carlo had -lost a kingdom, Norman Benedict had gained a promotion. - -Gerald Strong and his wife had sat in their library late that evening, -wondering why Ned and Kate had not returned, when the butler brought -in to them the late edition of a newspaper whose startling head-lines -seemed to tremble with excitement. They had barely finished reading the -astounding details of a pregnant international crisis, when the arrival -of the carriage that bore to their door a dethroned king, a fatherless -youth, upon whose shoulders rested a great burden demanding an heroic -sacrifice, broke in upon their conversation. - -While the somewhat disjointed explanations of the truants were doing -their utmost to add to the confusion of Mrs. Strong’s mind, her husband -had taken Prince Carlo by the hand, and, telling Ned to accompany them, -had led the guest he had known as Count Szalaki into the library. - -“I have read the whole story,” said the banker, when they found -themselves alone. “You have suffered a great wrong, Prince Carlo. You -have my heartfelt sympathy.” - -He took the young man’s hand, and continued, very gently, “I have sad -news for you.” - -Prince Carlo gazed at him with eyes that were full of agony. - -“He is dead?” - -“Yes,” answered Gerald Strong. “He died this afternoon.” - -A change came over the face of the son of kings. The dread certainty that -confronted him seemed to affect him like a call to arms. He stood more -erect, the lines around his mouth grew firm, and his voice was cold and -hard, as he said: - -“Mr. Strong, may I ask you to tell me all that you have heard?” - -“You will find the facts, as far as they are known, in this despatch from -Rexopolis.” - -Prince Carlo took the newspaper and eagerly perused the two columns -outlining the situation at his capital. While he was reading, Ned Strong -said to his father: - -“How did you know, father, that Count Szalaki was the crown prince?” - -“The _Trumpet_, Ned, has a long account of the occurrences that have made -our manor-house unpleasantly notorious.” - -“Ha!” cried Ned. “Our friend Mr. Benedict has been very energetic.” - -“Furthermore,” continued Mr. Strong, “I have several despatches to-day -from our representative in Vienna, who has been clever enough to suspect -that Count Szalaki might be the Crown Prince Carlo.” - -An exclamation of mingled astonishment and anger broke from Prince Carlo -at this moment. - -“Fejeravy!” he cried. “Fejeravy for President! It is impossible! Traitor! -Fejeravy, whom we have trusted for years as our most loyal subject! It is -incredible!” - -Prince Carlo sank into a chair wearily. The treachery of the man who had -been his father’s closest adviser overwhelmed him for a moment. Suddenly -he looked up at his host, his jaw firmly set and a gleam in his eyes that -proved that a new incentive had come to him urging his return to his -distracted fatherland. - -“There is a steamer leaving for Southampton in the morning?” he asked, -eagerly. - -“Yes,” answered Gerald Strong. Then he seated himself beside the prince, -and said, gently: - -“You will forgive me, Prince Carlo, if I take the liberty of a much older -man, not well versed in the etiquette of courts, to ask you if your -return at such a crisis as the present is not foolhardy?” - -“Mayhap,” cried the prince, a note of recklessness in his voice. “But -think not that I am friendless because a few of my people have been tools -in a traitor’s hands. A hundred years ago the madmen of France informed -the world that kings and their God were dead. Short-sighted, deluded -dreamers! They slew in the name of Freedom, and brought forth—Napoleon. -I shall go back, not to bring peace, but a sword. Fools that they are, -to think that my people, loving me, will listen forever to the voice of -Fejeravy.—Fejeravy, the Judas of my house! It is not for naught that we -who hold the thrones of Europe are bound together by the ties of blood. -What madness blinds my people? If I were dead, mayhap their crazy scheme -would have some hope of victory. But behind me, as my allies, stand -all the kings and emperors of the world. At my back are armies before -which Rexania’s rabble rout would fly like chaff. Mad as was the scheme -that sought to make me abdicate my throne to please the wishes of a few -adventurous rebels in this New World that I shall never see again, it was -not more futile than the effort of my people to set up for themselves a -government against which every court in Europe will be arrayed.” - -Prince Carlo arose and paced the room restlessly. Gerald Strong and -his son remained silent. They seemed to be gazing from a mountain-top -upon some wild and bloody scene in ancient history. To these calm, -unimpressionable Americans the future that called to this pale-faced -youth seemed to be made of the warp and woof that form the texture of -the visions of the night. Of what did he speak? Of an alien army under -his command, placing him upon a throne stained with the blood of his -own countrymen! He represented the very incarnation of Reaction calling -with confidence upon its ancient allies, Blood and Iron. And yet he was -a gentle youth. His smile was charming as he took the hand of his silent -host and said: - -“Forgive me for boring you with my selfish thoughts. You have been very -kind. How much I thank you, I cannot say. And now, time presses. I have -much to do, in small ways, before the steamer sails. May I trouble you to -ask Miss Kate if I may say farewell?” - -Ned Strong left the room and returned a moment later. - -“My sister will see you in the drawing-room,” he said as he re-entered -the library. “And then, if you wish, I will place myself at your service, -Prince Carlo, until your departure.” - -A moment later father and son were left alone. They remained silent for -several minutes, attempting to readjust their wandering thoughts to the -quiet exigencies of their own environment. - -“I have another piece of news for you, father,” said Ned, after a time. - -“Yes?” - -“I am sure,” he explained, with an effort at playfulness, “that Mr. -Benedict has not announced it in his ‘extra.’ Mrs. Brevoort has promised -to be my wife.” - - * * * * * - -Prince Carlo of Rexania stood for an instant, white and trembling, upon -the steps that led from Gerald Strong’s doorway. Upon his lips he still -felt the kiss of a loving and sorrow-stricken girl. The bell in a distant -church-steeple was striking midnight. - -“Come,” he said, gently, placing a hand upon Ned Strong’s arm,—“come, -comrade, I need a friend to-night; for the world seems very sad.” - - -THE END. - - - - -A PRINCESS OF THE RHINE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -“Three aces! Your majesty is in luck! Shall we make it a jack-pot?” - -King Rudolph XII., of Hesse-Heilfels, solemnly acquiesced in this -suggestion by a nod of his gray head. His small, greenish-gray eyes -gleamed with excitement, and the flush on his heavily moulded face bore -witness to the wicked joy he was deriving from a new game of chance. -Rudolph was a true Schwartzburger in his fondness for gambling. There is -a legend of the Rhine which tells how one of Rudolph’s lineal ancestors, -who occupied the throne of Hesse-Heilfels three centuries ago, lost his -kingdom on a throw of the dice and his honor by a thrust of the sword. -The courtier who had won a kingdom from his liege lord did not live to -tell the tale of his good luck. The house of Schwartzburger has never -neglected heroic measures when it has been confronted by a great crisis. -To gamble with a king of Hesse-Heilfels has always required not only -skill but courage. - -That Jonathan Edwards Bennett, a rolling stone from Litchfield County, -Connecticut, United States of America, had dared to teach King Rudolph -of Hesse-Heilfels the mysteries of the American game of poker, spoke -well for the Yankee adventurer’s boldness. One of the first stories -that Bennett had been told upon entering Rudolph’s kingdom had turned -upon the fate of a commercial traveller from the United States who had -managed to penetrate to the sacred presence of the testy monarch. The -drummer had offered to equip the army of Hesse-Heilfels with bicycles at -so low a figure that the suspicions of King Rudolph had been aroused. -Becoming convinced by a series of searching questions that the commercial -traveller could not fulfil the promises he had made, the proud but -irascible Schwartzburger confiscated the Yankee’s watch and loose change. -He then gave orders that the stranger be driven beyond the borders of the -kingdom. Rudolph XII. prided himself upon always being just, though he -might be at times severe. - -King Rudolph of Hesse-Heilfels and Jonathan Edwards Bennett of -Connecticut played poker amid luxurious and romantic surroundings. -The favorite castle of the Schwartzburgers caps a hill overlooking -the distant Rhine, but somewhat out of the beaten line of travel. The -Schwartzburgers have always cherished a dislike for tourists, and under -Rudolph XII. the little kingdom of Hesse-Heilfels has been jealously -guarded from the prying eyes of fussy travellers, who, as His Majesty -had often remarked, were apt to lead the good people of the country into -temptation. Four hundred years ago a Schwartzburger who had been crowned -king of Hesse-Heilfels had said: “The divine right to fleece resides in -the person of the king, and when exercised by a subject becomes treason.” -One of the most learned professors at the University of Heidelberg some -years ago wrote a treatise to prove that this remark was, on the face of -it, an Irish bull, and could not, therefore, have been uttered by a King -of Hesse-Heilfels. A great controversy over this question arose in the -German universities, and the matter is still under discussion. It has -served at least one valuable purpose, in furnishing another outlet for -pent-up erudition. German scholarship needs constant relief of this kind, -and what is known as the Schwartzburger Irish-Bull problem has been of -great service to the congested erudition of the university towns. - -The castle of the Schwartzburgers in which we find the reigning king -pursuing his studies in poker under the tutorship of a wandering genius -from Connecticut was built late in the thirteenth century, and “was -restored,” as the guide-books say, early in the present century by King -Rudolph’s father. “The restoration is incomplete,” Bennett had said to -the king, a few days after he had been admitted to the royal circle. -“Your castle is picturesque but unhealthy, romantic but rheumatic, with -too many relics and too few conveniences. What you need at once, your -majesty, is sanitary plumbing, a few passenger and freight elevators, and -an electric lighting plant.” - -King Rudolph had gazed suspiciously at the smooth-faced, smooth-tongued -youth, whose nervously energetic manner was aggravated by his efforts to -make his meaning clear in the German tongue. Bennett was a well-equipped -linguist, but the German dialect spoken in Hesse-Heilfels was new to him. -He was by temperament loquacious and restless, and it annoyed him to find -that his vocabulary was frequently defective when he was endeavoring to -convince the king that a certain line of action was imperatively and -immediately necessary. King Rudolph had rejected, for the time being, -the suggestions thrown out by Bennett regarding repairs to the castle, -and had devoted such hours as he could snatch from affairs of state to -learning the ins and outs of the game of draw poker. The result was that -Rudolph XII. and Jonathan Edwards Bennett spent twelve hours of every -twenty-four in the king’s private apartments—with royalty and democracy -separated by only a table, a pack of cards, and a set of ivory chips. -Already the kingdom had begun to feel the effects of Rudolph’s example, -for the palace sets the fashions in Hesse-Heilfels, and when the king -plays poker in his castle the peasant in the valley is anxious to learn -the difference between a royal flush and a full house. When Jonathan -Edwards Bennett taught Rudolph XII., the reigning Schwartzburger, to play -jack-pots he started a poker avalanche that poured down from the castle -into the valleys and eventually caused the most serious upheaval in the -modern history of the kingdom of Hesse-Heilfels. - -“If your luck continues, your majesty,” remarked Bennett, as he shuffled -the cards and gazed thoughtfully through the open window toward the -distant mountain-tops, “I shall be compelled to mortgage my farm in -Litchfield County, Connecticut.” - -There was silence in the stately old chamber for a moment, broken only -by the ticking of an antique clock that had punctuated the lives of many -generations of Schwartzburgers. King Rudolph thrust a trembling hand -through his scanty gray locks and smiled slyly. - -“What’s the farm worth?” he asked, eagerly seizing his five cards and -looking at them anxiously. - -The expression upon Bennett’s clear-cut, pale, and rather handsome face -did not change. He gazed stolidly at his hand, and calmly discarded -three of his five cards. A close observer would have noted, however, -that the dark eyes of the youth glanced now and then at the king’s heavy -countenance and seemed to read the very soul of his royal opponent. - -“The farm is worth a contract to renovate your castle,” answered the -Yankee coldly. - -“What do you mean?” cried the king, as he again added a small pile of -Bennett’s chips to his own store. - -“I mean this, your majesty,” answered the American. “I’ll make a bet with -you—the cards to decide the wager—by the terms of which you are bound -to win. We’ll throw a cold hand for the stakes. See? If your cards beat -mine, you own my farm. If I win, you are to sign a contract authorizing -me to take charge of the internal improvements not only of your castle -but of your kingdom. I am to make this castle a modern residence, to -improve the roads in your kingdom, and to put a little snap and ginger -into your people. You are falling years behind other civilized lands. You -need my services, your majesty, as a Moses who shall lead you out of the -desert of the past into the flowery plains of the future. See? It was a -lucky day for you when I entered your kingdom.” - -The Schwartzburgers have never been noted for quick-wittedness. Their -minds have always moved slowly, unless their temper was aroused. The only -way to make a Schwartzburger think and act hastily is to stir up his -anger. At this moment Rudolph XII. was gazing at the Yankee in a dazed -way. He seemed to be striving dully to find a ray of light by which to -throw the American’s startling proposition into effective relief. He -evidently harbored a vague suspicion that he was in imminent danger of -losing his royal and time-honored prerogative of fleecing the wandering -sheep that came within his reach. The idea of subletting a portion -of his royal authority to a comparative stranger was not attractive. -Furthermore, King Rudolph realized that by delegating to Bennett -the authority he craved, he would arouse the antagonism of the most -influential and powerful subjects of his realm. - -Nevertheless, the king of Hesse-Heilfels was fascinated by the chance -of winning an estate in America. To his mind “a farm in Connecticut” -represented a domain from which vast wealth might be derived. Rumors -of the fabulous riches possessed by American tourists who had at times -visited his castle had made a strong impression upon King Rudolph. -Furthermore, the microbe of poker was at work in the royal blood. The -fever caused by jack-pot germs was having its delirious influence upon -the king’s mind. - -“By a cold hand,” remarked the king slowly, “you mean that we stake -everything on one deal?” - -“Yes,” answered Bennett, “we throw the cards face upward and make our -discards openly. It is very simple. Shall I proceed?” - -At that instant the doors behind Bennett’s chair were thrown open and -a girl of eighteen hastily entered the apartment. The American turned -toward her, flushed perceptibly, and arose from his seat. - -The Princess Hilda, the king’s niece, paid not the slightest attention to -Bennett, but approached the king with a look of determination upon her -handsome face. Her cheeks were slightly reddened from excitement, and her -dark blue eyes seemed almost black as they rested upon her royal uncle. -There was silence for an instant. The opening of the doors had tempted -a breeze from the mountains to enter the palace through the windows and -shake the antique hangings as it passed. It caressed Hilda’s golden hair -gently as she stood before the king and said: - -“Pardon me, your majesty, but I have news—state news—that brooks no -delay. No other messenger seemed quite fitted for the task, so I have -come to tell you that——” - -King Rudolph raised his hand with an angry gesture. - -“You must wait, princess. Is it not enough that I should be vexed with -cares of state by my ministers and secretaries without being interrupted -in my too few hours of relaxation by you? Furthermore, there _is_ an -affair of state—a most important affair of state—here at issue at this -moment. Come, mein Herr Bennett, throw the cards! Wait, Hilda, do not be -offended! Watch my luck, princess! You shall stand here to bring me good -fortune. Whichever way it goes, you say, mein Herr, I win? So be it! I -take your word! Let’s draw. Forgive me, princess; I know your news will -keep.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -“Pardon me, your majesty,” said Bennett, holding a pack of cards -unshuffled in his hand. “I hesitate to cross your will, but if the -princess really has important news——?” - -The speaker looked up at the Princess Hilda deferentially, but his -intercession in her behalf met with no reward. Far from seeming pleased -at his support, she turned her back upon him, her face white and set, and -gazed reproachfully at her king and uncle. - -“Throw out the cards,” commanded King Rudolph sternly. “Am I to be -told by a chit of a girl how to rule my kingdom? Remain where you are, -Princess Hilda, and see me win a province in the land across the sea.” - -The little group at that moment presented a picturesque tableau. In that -old castle within which the centuries had seen enacted many tragedies, -comedies, farce-comedies, and burlesques, lost to the world forever for -lack of imminent playwrights, an episode in a stirring drama was about to -take place against an appropriate _mise-en-scène_. - -The king’s face, flushed with the excitement of the crisis, wore an -expression of mingled cupidity and impatience. His fat, reddish hand -rapped the table nervously. Opposite to him sat Bennett, a prey to -conflicting emotions, but outwardly calm. He had hitherto been too much -occupied in gaining an influence over King Rudolph to notice the beauty -of Princess Hilda, but as she stood there, cold, disdainful, silent, -while the breeze gently caressed her golden-brown hair, the American -adventurer felt tempted to throw the mischievous cards into the king’s -face and beg forgiveness from the princess on his bended knees. - -“Count von Hohenlinden,” began the princess stubbornly. - -The king put up his hand deprecatingly. - -“The Count von——!” Princess Hilda got no further. - -“I draw to my pair of knaves,” cried King Rudolph, thrusting three -useless cards aside excitedly. - -“You do, indeed,” said Hilda, under her breath, and glancing pointedly -at Bennett. She had not lowered her voice sufficiently to prevent the -American from catching the drift of her remark. He tossed three cards -toward the king. - -“Four of a kind!” cried the delighted Schwartzburger, pointing at the -cards triumphantly. “My jacks will take your farm, Herr Bennett.” - -“But I draw to queens,” remarked the American quietly and casting a quick -glance at Princess Hilda. “Ha, was I not right? Are not the queens on my -side? Look at that, your majesty! Four queens! I win my contract. Das ist -wahr!” - -King Rudolph gazed blankly at the cards before him. By a marvellous -stroke of luck the American had beaten the king’s four jacks. Novice -though he was at poker, the Schwartzburger realized that he had lost the -stakes at a moment when the chances were a thousand to one in his favor. - -“Gott im Himmel!” he cried angrily, hurling the pack of cards through the -window, while his greenish-gray eyes glared fiercely at his opponent, -“what mad devil is in the cards?” - -“I had wonderful luck,” said Bennett gently, rising from his seat and -glancing imploringly at the princess. - -“The Count von Hohenlinden, Your Majesty,” cried Hilda, paying no -attention to Bennett. - -King Rudolph arose from his chair. He was a short, thickset man, clumsy -in movement, and much too heavy for his height. - -“Will you be quiet, niece?” he exclaimed, his breath coming and going -with asthmatic friction. “Let me understand this gentleman. Herr Bennett, -you have won the cold hand——” - -“And the marble heart,” muttered Bennett mournfully. - -“As I understand it,” went on the king, “you purpose to put this castle -and the roads, parks, bridges, and forests of my kingdom into a condition -more worthy of the nineteenth century than is their present status. Am I -right?” - -“That is the proposition, your majesty.” - -“But there are many difficulties in the way, Herr Bennett. I will meet -with resistance at every point. I have ministers—a prime minister, -heads of departments, red tape, precedent, national prejudice, and a -large family of impecunious relatives, already in alliance against you -and your projects. Ach Himmel! I thought my four jacks would solve my -difficulties—and now I am worse off than ever.” - -The Princess Hilda had retired to a window and was gazing pensively out -upon hills and valleys over which the Schwartzburgers had lorded it for -many generations. Here and there between the hills she could catch a -glimpse of the stately Rhine, as it flowed serenely past the castellated -summits where Romans, Teutons, and tourists had fussed and fretted -through the centuries. Suddenly the king turned toward her. - -“Count von Hohenlinden,” he cried. “You spoke of him, my princess. He -is my financier. I need his advice. Have you news of him, Hilda?” The -princess turned and approached the king. - -“The countess came to me this morning in tears,” she said quietly. “Count -von Hohenlinden has gone.” - -“Gone?” cried King Rudolph in amazement. “Gone where?” - -“No one knows. I fear, your majesty—I fear from what the countess -said—that—that—he is a defaulter.” - -“Mein Gott! Mein Gott!” exclaimed the king, sinking into a chair. “It -cannot be! And yet—and yet—he had full control of my treasury. He told me -yesterday—but what matters it what he said then? Call von Schwalbach to -me. I tell you, Herr Bennett, if my prime minister has allowed the count -to loot my treasury I will have his life. Quick! call a page and send him -for von Schwalbach.” - -“Alas, your majesty,” said the princess soothingly, “von Schwalbach has -also disappeared. It is said that he and the count left the kingdom last -night, riding their wheels through a secret pass in the hills.” - -The countenance of royalty had turned white with dismay. The king seemed -to be stricken helpless at one blow. - -“My best friends gone,” he muttered. “Gone—thieves that run off in the -night! And I—I have trusted them with my purse, my honor, my very life. -Tell me, Hilda,” he went on, almost hysterically, “what caused this -downfall of men whose word was always as good as gold, men who have been -found faithful to their trust for years?” - -The broken king looked up pathetically at his golden-haired niece. She -smiled sadly down at him, and then turned frowningly toward Bennett, who -stood, with one hand resting upon the card-table, watching the melancholy -scene before him. - -“One thing alone caused the ruin of the men you trusted,” she said, and -paused. - -“And that was?” cried the king eagerly. - -“Poker!” answered the princess simply. - -Bennett stepped back as though struck by a blow in the face, while the -king sprang to his feet and puffed helplessly for a moment. - -“Donner und Blitzen!” blurted King Rudolph, shaking his fist at the -American, whose white lips and flushed cheeks gave evidence of his inward -agitation. “You are responsible for this, Herr Bennett! You sneak into -my kingdom and tell me you have news from a better world than mine. You -tell me that I and my people are ‘behind the times.’ I give you room -in my palace and you complain that we have no gas, no electricity, no -telephones, no cable cars to climb the hills, no new castles. All is -old, you whisper, time-worn, covered with lichen, useless, dead. And I, -the only fool of all the Schwartzburgers, listen to you and grow cold to -my old counsellors. You talk of progress—and give me poker. You speak -of grandeur—and make me a gambler. You point to a rainbow—and pick my -pockets. It is enough. I have learned my lesson. Go, Herr Bennett—and may -the curse of the King of Hesse-Heilfels be with you to the end.” - -King Rudolph sank back into his chair, panting for breath. - -At this instant a man burst into the room unannounced, dragging with him -a page who had sought to check his impetuosity. - -The intruder was a comical figure at his most dignified moments, but at -this instant he looked as if he had escaped from a light opera company, -just when the audience was roaring at his best joke. He was not over -four feet three in height. His hair was tousled and of a light yellow -hue. His features were large, especially his nose. Under the influence -of great excitement his eyes bulged from his head as if in search of -mislaid spectacles. He was attired in a green velvet jacket and small -clothes, with a frilled shirt and a small sword at his side. In his hand -he carried a green cap, from which a long black feather trailed along the -floor. - -“Your majesty, pardon me,” he cried, falling upon one knee before the -king. “I protest to the throne. I know that I am right! Nicht wahr?” - -In spite of the solemnity of the crisis, King Rudolph laughed aloud, the -Princess Hilda smiled, and an expression of hope rested upon Jonathan -Bennett’s disturbed countenance. The sudden change in the king’s mood was -encouraging. - -“Rise, Cousin Fritz,” said the king jocosely. “You never appeal to the -king in vain. What is your grievance. Perhaps your troubles may prove for -the moment a counter-irritant to mine.” - -“Because I’m called the king’s jester, Your Majesty, they think I’m a -fool,” said the little man, readjusting the feather in his cap. “But I’m -not the fool that I look, am I, Schwartzburg?” Here the dwarf winked -gayly at the king. Then his anger seemed to return. “Gott im Himmel!” he -cried, “they gave me the lie, me, Cousin Fritz, who could tell the truth -in Latin and Greek at the age of six. It’s an outrage, your majesty.” - -“But what was the cause of all this?” asked the king, beginning to look -bored and casting uneasy glances at Bennett, upon whom the royal curse -had not had the intended effect. - -“The cause, your majesty?” repeated the dwarf. “Cause enough. They said -I lied when I told them that four of a kind beat a full house. Think of -that, Herr Bennett. They took my money—and I held four aces.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -“Bennett ’82 cannot be explained by any known law,” a Yale professor had -once remarked. “He may astonish the world by his genius, or end a short -career as a tramp. The splendor of his inherent possibilities emphasizes -the dangers that surround such a temperament as his.” - -Ten years had passed since Bennett had been graduated, not without -honors, from Yale, but he had not as yet fulfilled the professor’s -prophecy. He had not made the world ring with his name; neither had he -sunk to the level of a knight of the road. There still remained a chance, -however, that the foresight of the professor would be vindicated. Bennett -was now thirty-two years of age. He had assiduously cultivated the gifts -that had led the Yale professor to ascribe to him the peculiarities -and possibilities that appertain to genius. Bennett had become an -accomplished linguist, a poet, a musician, a diplomatist, and a schemer. -But he had neglected the means and methods that lead to permanent -success, and his love of adventure had served to make him more of a -tramp than a celebrity. The returns from his genius must still be marked -“scattering.” - -The erratic nature of the man was well illustrated by his invasion of the -kingdom of Hesse-Heilfels. One evening in Berlin he had listened to a -description of King Rudolph’s picturesque domain. The eccentricities of -that petty monarch had aroused Bennett’s curiosity, and he had determined -to make a study at close quarters of a royal establishment that still -retained many of the peculiarities of mediæval monarchies. - -Bennett had been fortunate enough to find luck as his ally upon entering -the confines of Hesse-Heilfels. At the very first inn in the kingdom -in which he had laid aside his knapsack, he had learned that King -Rudolph was suffering from a severe indisposition that had baffled the -skill of the court physicians. It did not take Bennett long to come -to the conclusion that the reigning Schwartzburger was suffering from -inflammatory rheumatism, an affection that Bennett numbered among his -family heirlooms. “Litchfield County may be short on romance, but it -is long on rheumatism,” he said to himself. “I think I can cure King -Rudolph.” - -There is no necessity for dwelling upon the details of Bennett’s success -as a court physician. He had written a carefully worded letter offering -his services to the afflicted monarch “free of charge unless a cure -is effected.” King Rudolph, weary of suffering and disgusted with the -impotence of his own doctors, had sent for the young American and, much -to the astonishment and annoyance of the court, had given him full charge -of his royal person. The cure effected by the gifted amateur had won -him the friendship of the king, and the enmity of the court circle. In -spite of his suavity, Bennett had been unable to make himself popular -in a household in which the good-will of the king must be purchased -at the expense of general detestation. The feeling against Bennett was -intensified, of course, because of his foreign birth. Never before, in -the long and polychromatic history of the House of Schwartzburg, had a -stranger from a land far over sea become at a bound an influential factor -in shaping the destinies of the kingdom of Hesse-Heilfels. Upon the door -of his bedchamber one morning, Bennett had found inscribed in chalk, the -words, “Geben sie acht. Halt!” The warning had opened his eyes to the -fact that the enemies he had made were bold and determined. But he had -smiled mockingly, rubbed the chalk from the panel, and made his way, -humming a merry catch, to the king’s apartments. - -Nevertheless Bennett was not in a joyous mood as he gazed at the -moon-kissed river and mountains from a balcony adjoining his apartments -on the evening of the day upon which our tale opens. Although the king -had apologized in the afternoon for his bitter denunciation of the -American in the morning, Bennett realized that his hold upon royal favor -was insecure, and that as Rudolph’s rheumatism improved, and his fondness -for poker decreased, the end of his adventure would impend. - -Twenty-four hours before this Bennett would have felt no special -annoyance had a decree of perpetual banishment from the kingdom of -Hesse-Heilfels been enforced against him. But as he puffed cigar smoke -into the balmy air and gazed dreamily at the silver thread that gleamed -between the distant hills, the face of the Princess Hilda—proud, cold, -and beautiful—seemed to taunt him, defy him, fascinate him. His pulse -beat wildly as the temptation to break this haughty woman’s pride, to -make her eyes grow gentle at his approach and her lips melt into smiles -as he addressed her, swept over him. - -The hopelessness of his longing was clear to him. The princess looked -upon him as a quack, an adventurer, a man to be shunned and despised. She -had never vouchsafed to him a word, a glance, the slightest recognition -of his existence. To win her regard seemed to be impossible. The sceptre -of Hesse-Heilfels was as much within his reach as the good-will of the -Princess Hilda. Nevertheless, Jonathan Bennett, soothed by tobacco, -lulled by the glories of a summer night, haunted by the swarming spirits -of the storied Rhine, dreamed his dream of love and conquest and allowed -his wild fancies to lead him far from the vulgar plane of poker, sanitary -plumbing, and “sure cures” for rheumatism. - -“Ach, mein Herr, but you look like an archangel planning a crime.” - -Bennett sprang up from his seat in dismay. He had carefully locked -the doors of his apartments, and this sudden invasion of his privacy -smacked of the supernatural. Cousin Fritz, with a mocking smile playing -across his gnarled face, displayed a mischievous joy in the American’s -consternation. - -“Be seated, Herr Bennett,” cried the dwarf, bowing with exaggerated -politeness. “I owe you an apology—but this is one of my jokes. Is it not -a good one? Ha—ha!” He danced up and down the balcony with weird agility -for a moment. Then he seated himself upon the stone coping and tilted -his feathered cap sideways upon his overgrown head. - -“You will forgive me,” said Bennett gently, offering the jester a cigar, -which the latter accepted with much ceremony, “if I ask you how you -managed to surprise me so successfully?” - -Cousin Fritz winked knowingly and blew a cloud of smoke into the air. - -“I’ve lived in this castle a thousand years,” he answered solemnly. “It -has taken me all that time to learn its secrets. Hist, Herr Bennett, they -think it’s my business to amuse the king. Nonsense. That’s my pleasure. -My work for a thousand years has been to discover all the mysteries of -this old castle. I know them all now. What is the result? I’ll tell you, -Herr Bennett, and I’ll tell you why I tell you. You made those scoundrels -return my money this afternoon. Four aces! The robbers! But they took -your word on poker, Herr Bennett—although they hate you. Do you hear me? -They hate you.” - -The dwarf chuckled with inward glee. He seemed to rejoice in Bennett’s -unpopularity. - -“And what,” asked Bennett, not wholly pleased with the jester’s untimely -jocularity, “what has been the result of your thousand years of discovery -in this ancient pile? You started out to tell me.” - -“It has been,” answered the dwarf, seeming to weigh his words carefully, -“it has been to make me king. These puppets come and go and wear the -crown and hold the sceptre, but through the centuries I am monarch of -Hesse-Heilfels. I could tell you tales that would make your black hair -turn white, tales of my power—of _my_ power, the jester, Cousin Fritz, a -buffoon for a thousand years!” - -There was something so uncanny in the little wizard’s words and manner -that Bennett could hardly repress a gesture of abhorrence. A madman -smoking a cigar in the moonlight on a balcony overlooking the Rhine was a -creature so out of touch with nineteenth-century ideas that Bennett was -tempted to believe that he had fallen asleep and had been attacked by a -nightmare. - -Suddenly Cousin Fritz hopped down from his perch and sprang toward -Bennett. The movement was so sudden that the American had no time to rise. - -“Look there,” whispered the dwarf, pointing with trembling hand toward a -group of trees at the edge of the park, several hundred feet in front of -them. “Do you see those shadows among the trees?” - -Bennett’s eyes followed the little man’s gesture. He could make out the -figures of several men who had gathered in a group beneath the trees. The -moon painted their shadows black against the greensward. - -“Do you know what they seek?” asked the dwarf, shaking with inward -laughter. “They seek your life, Herr Bennett! Isn’t that a joke? I -couldn’t make a better one, could I?” - -The American felt an almost irresistible impulse to hurl the uncanny -creature into the abyss beneath them. The dwarf’s idea of humor did -not appeal to Bennett. As a Yankee he possessed a keen appreciation of -the ludicrous, but the prospect of assassination did not strike him as -laughable. Cousin Fritz—abnormally sympathetic as he was—realized that -his companion was not in a joyous mood. - -“Don’t be alarmed, Herr Bennett,” he said, “what I tell you is true. I -heard those men planning your death. They hate you because my cousin -Rudolph has grown fond of you. But, never fear, I will save you -from their machinations. Did I not tell you that I had been King of -Hesse-Heilfels for a thousand years? Well, the king is on your side. I -decree that you shall not die. Do you doubt my power to save you? Look -here!” - -The dwarf sprang with wonderful agility upon the coping and stood -upright, his crooked figure standing out against the sky like a -silhouette to the eyes of the astonished American. Seizing his cap the -king’s jester waved it frantically to and fro, as if making a signal to -the men at the edge of the park. - -“Come here, Herr Bennett,” he cried. “See? Am I not king? Have they not -obeyed my command? See? They are gone?” - -Bennett gazed searchingly at the trees beneath which the group had stood -but a moment before. There was nothing there but the moonlit glory of the -forest. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -“Gute Nacht, Herr Bennett! Schlafen Sie wohl!” - -The dwarf, smiling mischievously, disappeared through the entrance and -Bennett closed the heavy oaken door and carefully bolted it. His madcap -visitor had refused to satisfy his curiosity upon several important -points, and the American made ready for bed with a disturbed mind. Was -Cousin Fritz really his friend? That the dwarf was crazy he had no doubt, -but his insanity was not dangerous if he was actually well disposed -toward the stranger. But the dwarf’s mysterious and sudden appearance, -his signal to the men Bennett now called “the conspirators,” and his -stubborn refusal to answer the questions put to him, combined to cast a -doubt upon his sincerity. - -“The situation is certainly depressing,” soliloquized Bennett, as he -slowly doffed his clothes. “The king blows hot and cold, and, so far as I -can learn, is handicapped by an empty treasury. The Princess Hilda holds -me in contempt and suspicion. The crazy jester is not a safe ally. As for -the court at large, there is not a man or woman in the circle who would -not be glad to see me driven out of the kingdom. It is more than probable -that there is a conspiracy on foot against my life. And what do I gain by -remaining here? Not one glance from her wonderful eyes, not a smile from -her sweet lips; nothing but cold, contemptuous indifference. Nobody, so -far as I know, has ever called Jonathan Edwards Bennett a fool, but he -deserves that name to-night. Heigh-ho! a rolling stone gathers no moss, -but it gets a great many hard knocks.” - -With this melancholy reflection, Bennett, with a farewell glance at the -moonlight pouring in at the windows—which he had taken care to fasten -with bars—turned on his pillow and wooed the fickle goddess whose duty -it is to reknit the raveled sleeve of care. He was about to win a great -victory in his coquetting with sleep, when he was startled into a sitting -posture by a rap on the panel of the door he had recently bolted. - -Bennett’s first thought was that he had fallen into a doze and had been -the victim of a mild attack of nightmare. He listened intently. The -breeze from the hills, defying the broken windows, stirred the heavy -hangings surrounding his old-fashioned bed, and the mysterious noises -that haunt an ancient castle at night fell upon his ear. Suddenly a -gentle rap again echoed from the opposite side of the chamber. The -American pushed aside his bed curtains and stole softly toward the door. -The ease with which Cousin Fritz had defied bolts and bars had not tended -to allay Bennett’s growing distrust of his surroundings. - -“Who’s there?” he asked in a low voice as he reached the door. There was -a silence for an instant. Bennett, who prided himself upon his courage, -was ashamed to realize that his heart was beating with an abnormal -celerity. - -“I come from the princess,” answered a woman’s voice. “I have a message -for Herr Bennett.” - -“Wait just a moment, then,” said the astonished American, hurrying -toward the chair upon which he had placed his clothes. That Princess -Hilda wished to communicate with him was a fact so surprising that his -agitation increased. His hands trembled as he hurriedly donned his -garments and endeavored to render his toilet worthy of the audience -before him. - -Presently he unbolted the great door, and against the moonlight that -streamed through the corridor he saw the figure of one of the princess’s -waiting-women. - -“Let us go as quietly as possible,” she said. “The Princess Hilda will -receive you in the Hall of Armor.” - -They crept softly along the corridor and down a flight of stone steps -that seemed to lead them from the moonlight into the black depths of -eternal gloom. The woman rapped on a small door at the foot of the -stairway. As they awaited the answer to her signal, the thought flashed -through Bennett’s mind that he had placed himself in the power of those -who might prove to be his enemies. He sought in vain to read the face -of the woman at his side. Instinctively he placed his hand upon his hip -pocket, in which he had always carried a revolver. A moment later he -felt ashamed of his fears. The small door had been thrown back, and upon -his startled gaze broke a vision that recalled his youthful dreams of -romance. - -Through the stained-glass windows of a great hall the moonlight streamed -in multicolored beams. Like a mediæval army mustered at midnight stood -the grim figures of the armored Schwartzburgers. Long black shadows, -weird and wavering, made effective background for the polychromatic -glories of this dazzling scene. - -And there in the foreground, the moonlight caressing her golden hair, -stood the Princess Hilda, a vision of beauty amid the relics of old wars -and the steel-clad presentments of her blood-stained ancestors. The -clear-cut face, the stately figure, the regal simplicity of her attire, -seemed to make her at that instant the very incarnation of all that was -noblest in the mediæval cult. She appeared to be a spirit from the past -haunting the scenes where chivalrous warriors in the days of old had paid -the homage of death in return for the smile of love. - -Bennett felt dazed by the unexpected beauty of the picture that met his -eyes. For a moment he doubted the reality of the scene before him. Was -he dreaming? Was it not certain that a love song, followed by a martial -chorus, would soon recall him to his senses; that he would find himself -not in a castle but in an opera house? - -Suddenly the voice of the princess convinced him of the reality of his -surroundings. - -“Herr Bennett, accept my thanks. It was kind of you to come to me.” - -The words were unexpected. They placed the princess under obligation to -a man she had hitherto treated with contemptuous indifference. But her -voice was cold and formal. Bennett realized that, like the figures of -her ancestors, she was clad in armor. Theirs was of steel, hers of pride. - -“It would be the greatest pleasure of my life to serve you, Princess -Hilda,” said the American, the tone of his voice leaving no doubt of his -sincerity. - -There was silence between them for a time. In some remote corner of the -castle a door creaked on its hinges. The waiting-woman made a gesture of -impatience somewhere in the shadows, and a piece of armor clanked angrily. - -“If that is true,” said the princess, with less coldness in her tones -than before, “I shall put you to the test at once. Herr Bennett, I am in -sore distress.” - -How great a sacrifice it was for this proud woman to meet him thus -secretly and to confess that he could be of service to her in her hour -of trouble, Bennett was sufficiently generous to realize. Irresponsible -in many ways, brilliant but erratic, the American was essentially a -gentleman. Furthermore, he had never felt for a woman the reverential -admiration that the golden-haired vision before him inspired. There -was something unearthly in the influence she exercised over him at -this moment. The glory of renunciation—the crowning beauty of the age -of chivalry—seemed to affect him as he stood there in the shimmering -moonlight, a modern knight-errant vowing fealty to a high ideal at a -mediæval shrine. - -“I repeat,” he said, “my promise to serve you as best I may.” - -“Then I implore you, Herr Bennett,” went on the princess in a low voice, -“to leave the kingdom at once. The harm you have wrought may never be -wholly undone, but you can, at least, save us from further disaster.” - -“It shall be as you wish, Princess Hilda,” he said sadly. “But tell me, -is the crisis more threatening than I had feared?” - -“I do not know,” she answered, a melancholy smile playing across her -face. “The king is driven to his wit’s ends, and to-night he had news -from below that fills him with consternation. As you know, his brother, -my uncle Wilhelm, plots for his dethronement. His emissaries throughout -the kingdom are fostering discontent. The recent defalcations have -emboldened the schemers and the feeling against the king is on the -increase. There is only one thing that can save us, Herr Bennett. If -it is noised abroad in the morning that you have left Hesse-Heilfels, -never to return, his majesty’s subjects will take heart and rally to his -support. Am I not right?” - -Her appeal to his judgment pleased Bennett. Furthermore, he knew that -the conclusion she had reached was sound. Nevertheless, the sacrifice -he was about to make was greater than she could understand. That a -Yankee adventurer should dare to harbor for a princess of the house of -Schwartzburg a feeling akin to love was a possibility that, he well knew, -she could not comprehend. - -“I fear,” he said gloomily, “that you are not wrong, Princess Hilda, in -looking upon me as the Jonah who is sinking the ship of state. It is -well, perhaps, that I should go at once. But give me leave to say that -in obeying your commands I feel a joy that is begotten of my power to -repair in part the wrongs that I have done to you, and a sorrow that -springs from the thought that I shall never look upon your face again.” - -Impulsively he stepped forward, and bending his knee kissed the cold hand -she held out to him. Then he arose, gazed for a moment at her white, sad -face, and turned and left the hall. - -How he reached his apartments, Bennett never knew. That he groped for -many minutes in a darkness that seemed eternal, bruising himself in his -efforts to find the moonlit corridor, he remembered later on; but the -bitterness of his renunciation—fantastic though his love might be—was -the one feeling that dominated him during that midnight passage through -unknown hallways and up shadow-haunted stairs. - -As he glanced around his bedchamber a conviction came over him that it -had been entered since his departure. He had found the oak doors closed, -as he had left them, but there was something in the appearance of the -apartment—he could not say just what it was—that convinced him that some -one had paid him a visit during his absence. He approached the bed and -pulled aside the curtains. Upon one of the pillows a piece of note-paper -had been pinned. Seizing it nervously, Bennett hurried to a window, -through which the moonlight was still streaming. Scrawled in pencil, the -paper bore the following lines: - - “Come to the king at once when you return. He is in grave - danger, and so are you. This is not a jest. - - COUSIN FRITZ.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -The inn at which Jonathan Edwards Bennett, some weeks before the present -crisis, had learned that King Rudolph XII. was afflicted with rheumatism, -had become the centre of high pressure for politics and poker. “Destroy -the inns and wine-shops in your domain, and you will never be bothered -by conspiracies,” a diplomatist and scholar had once written to a former -king of Hesse-Heilfels. “I prefer my inns and my rebels to the loss of -the former,” the conservative Schwartzburger had answered. It is highly -probable that the king in this instance displayed more wisdom than the -diplomatist. - -The ancient hostelry to which reference was made in a former chapter -presented a picture of unwonted gayety on the moonlit night that had -brought so many adventures to the distraught American at the castle. The -wine that has made the Schwartzburger vineyards famous the world over has -served to give to the inhabitants of Hesse-Heilfels a vivacity that is -not generally characteristic of the German nation. - -It is not too much to say, in illustration of the foregoing proposition, -that King Rudolph’s subjects were the only people in the empire who would -have become fascinated by the game of draw poker at what might be termed -“one fell swoop.” Beneath their phlegmatic exterior, the inhabitants of -Hesse-Heilfels conceal temperaments highly impressionable and excitable. - -“Give me one card, Heinrich,” cried a short, fat, red-faced man, glancing -slyly at the dealer and solemnly placing his discard on the table. - -“Mein Gott, that looks as if he was drawing to a flush,” exclaimed one -of the opponents, throwing away his hand and gazing ruefully at his lost -“ante.” - -Grouped around the four players in a rear room on the ground floor of the -inn were ten or twelve men, varying in years from youth to old age. Their -garb was picturesque and many-hued. Green or brown caps, velveteen coats, -and low shoes combined to make their costumes pleasing to the eye of an -observer sensitive to artistic effects. The eighteenth century in costume -had met the nineteenth century at poker, and the outcome was a scene -worthy the brush of a Dutch painter. - -“Bring wine,” cried one of the discouraged gamblers, who had lost -steadily for an hour or more. “This is the devil’s game! Here, you -smug-faced Wilhelm! Repeat a paternoster over my chips. It will break the -spell Satan has cast upon my luck.” - -“Heinrich wins again!” murmured the group of onlookers. “It is -marvellous.” - -“Ach, Heinrich,” exclaimed a large-eyed, tow-headed youth, “have you been -taking private lessons at the castle?” - -A general laugh followed this sally, and the game went on. Suddenly a -rich voice arose from a corner of the room that lay concealed in shadow. -“Hush, it is Carl! Let’s hear his new song!” cried the group surrounding -the gamblers. The four players withdrew the chips they had placed in -the centre of the table and suspended their game for a while. No sound -interfered with the thrilling effect of the baritone’s clear, full tones. - - I. - - A king in his castle was gay one day, - And he called for his poker chips. - And he cried: “Ach Gott, for a brave jack-pot, - With the red wine at my lips.” - - II. - - And he played for stakes with a wight that night - Who came from the world below. - And the king at nine was touched by wine, - While the game was getting slow. - - III. - - “I’ll bet my soul,” cried the king, to bring - The fever he longed for back, - And a wicked smile he showed the while - As he shuffled the potent pack. - - IV. - - “Your soul I’ll win, but not, by Gott, - On the turn of a fickle card!” - And the devil laughed, as the wine he quaffed, - And called the king his “pard.” - - V. - - From nine to twelve, not long in song, - Was enough for the devil’s game; - And the king was lost, as the cards he tossed - In the face of the imp to blame. - -The applause that awarded the singer’s effort was neither loud nor -enthusiastic. This open commission of the crime of _lese majesté_ in a -public inn sent a thrill of astonishment through the crowd, and with one -impulse the poker players threw down their cards and arose from the table. - -“White livers!” cried the voice of the singer. “Are you afraid of -shadows?” Carl, the famous baritone, stepped forward into the centre -of the room. He was not only the best singer and the most accomplished -musician, but also the handsomest man in Hesse-Heilfels. “Gamblers, -wine-bibbers, cowards! I blush for my country when I look at you!” - -Carl Eingen was the only man in Hesse-Heilfels who would have dared -to utter such words to these men, flushed as they were with wine. But -his influence over them was strong, and they gazed upon his clear-cut, -impassioned face with affection and admiration. He looked every inch a -leader as he stood there bareheaded, his dark, curly hair adding to the -beauty of his well-shaped head and pale, strong countenance. - -“What have you done?” he went on sternly. “You have allowed a stranger -from across the sea to become the head and front of this ancient realm. -You sit here, playing the game he taught your king, while your country -goes to ruin and the castle upon yonder hill becomes a plague-spot that -throws a blight upon a whole people. Are you men—or simply wine-vats? -Where is the manhood that made your ancestors great in war and men of -force in peace? You have heard that in every inn, in every house in -Hesse-Heilfels our countrymen, gone mad over a foolish game of chance, -spend their days and nights playing poker. You have heard that chaos -reigns at the castle, that the kingdom is placed in peril by a ruler who -has become the tool of an adventurer, a man who has no claim upon the -king, no right to our regard. Again I ask you, are you men? Think not -that the people have no rights. The King of Hesse-Heilfels is absolute -in power, but I say to you, my friends, that he forfeits his divine -right when he gives that power to a trickster, to a man of alien blood -who loves us not. Do you weigh my words? Tell me, my countrymen, do I not -speak the truth?” - -“Ja wohl, Carl!” cried one of his hearers. “You are right. We will do as -you direct, eh, my friends?” - -A murmur of assent arose from the awed and penitent throng. One of the -poker players seized the cards and chips that lay upon the table and -hurled them passionately through the open window. - -“Lead on, Carl,” he cried. “We’ll follow you to the death.” - -“Lead on, Carl. You’ll find that we are men,” shouted another. - -“Down with the Yankee!” cried a third. - -“Wilhelm for king!” came from the rear of the room. - -“Ja! Ja! Wilhelm, Wilhelm!” arose the cry as the crowd poured from the -hot and smoke-choked room into the cool, soft night outside, where the -light of the gentle moon threw its silvery glory upon a scene well fitted -to rouse in the hearts of men a love of fatherland. - -Carl Eingen hurried to the front, and turning toward his overwrought -followers, said sternly: - -“No noise! Remain as silent as the night. We cannot overthrow a dynasty -by childish chatter. The man who utters a sound is a traitor to Wilhelm, -the rightful King of Hesse-Heilfels.” - -“Tell me, Carl, what is your plan?” asked one of the revolutionists, -pushing his way through the throng to the leader’s side. “You can’t -depose a king with a few half-drunken men.” - -Carl Eingen gazed searchingly at the pale, drawn face of the speaker. - -“Have no fear, Conrad,” he said, convinced that he addressed a man not -stirred by the fumes of wine. “The guards at the palace are on our -side. From every part of the kingdom our friends are hurrying toward -the castle. This is no midsummer night’s madness, Conrad. It is simply -a very small part of a deep-laid scheme, conducted possibly from Berlin -and approved by one who is greater than the king of Hesse-Heilfels. These -men with us I shall use for a special purpose. The brunt of this business -is borne by others, but to me has been entrusted the capture of Herr -Bennett, the Yankee. I saw that I could carry my point with our friends -here if I said the right word at the right time. Their enthusiasm, -however, is spasmodic, and their lukewarmness, their dread of the awful -punishment that might come to them, will return to them anon. But there -is inspiration in sharp work. We must give them no time to think, Conrad! -Just whisper to Heinrich that it is our purpose to capture the Yankee in -his bed. It will revive their waning spirits and act like wine upon their -blood.” - -A hoarse murmur of approval again arose from the hurrying throng as they -learned the special object of their expedition. Then in absolute silence -they stole beneath the trees of the park toward the castle. - -“There,” said Carl Eingen, taking Conrad by the arm and pointing to a -balcony that jutted out from one of the corner towers of the castle, -“there is where the Yankee sleeps.” - -“I think I see some one moving up there,” whispered Conrad excitedly. On -the instant the figure of the dwarf, an uncanny shape seemingly begotten -of the madness of their rebellious dreams, appeared upon the stone coping -of the balcony. - -“It’s Cousin Fritz,” exclaimed Conrad hoarsely. “Is he in your secret? -See how he waves his cap.” - -“Back, men!” cried Carl excitedly. “Get into the shadow of the trees. -No, Conrad, that madcap dwarf is loyal to Rudolph, but he knows our -plans. In trying to win his support I fear we have allowed him to learn -too much of our design. He may be crazy, but he’s very clever. Confound -such blundering! We should have captured Cousin Fritz and locked him up -to-day. He knows every nook and corner of the castle, and is an ally -worth a thousand men with guns. But come, let us move! We’ll find friends -and counsellors across the park. Silence, there! Forward, men, and make -no noise—on the peril of your lives.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -Jonathan Edwards Bennett found himself in an uncomfortable predicament. -He had solemnly promised to leave the kingdom at once, and he felt that -the pledge he had given to the Princess Hilda implied an obligation upon -his part to refrain from seeing Rudolph XII. again. On the other hand, -he had no desire to risk his life in an effort to escape. That he was -surrounded by enemies he could not doubt. He recalled the silhouette -made by the conspirators against the moonlight, and it assumed a new -significance to his mind as a black menace. To leave the castle at this -moment would be to face mysterious perils that he had no wish to confront. - -If he obeyed the command in the jester’s note he saw before him two -unpleasant possibilities. If Cousin Fritz played him false, he might walk -straight into the enemy’s trap. If, on the other hand, the king really -awaited his coming, his recognition of the summons might look to Princess -Hilda like treachery to her and disloyalty to his pledged word. - -Bennett musingly approached a window and looked forth upon a scene that -would have thrilled him, at a happier moment, with its calm beauty. The -moon, now high in the heavens, smiled benignly upon a sleeping world. A -gentle breeze whispered midnight gossip to the nodding tree-tops. Man -and his restless passions seemed out of place in such surroundings. But -suddenly upon Bennett’s astonished sight broke a vision that drove from -his mind all idea of nature’s benignity and concentrated his thought upon -the diabolical activity of man. - -As if by magic, the castle seemed to be surrounded by dark forms moving -hither and thither with a certain military precision. They appeared -to come from the forest and to obey the will of some leader who had -carefully matured his plans. Bennett opened the casement and leaned -forward. He could hear the distant words of command and the subdued tramp -of marching men. That he was wide awake he knew, but the inexplicable -scene before him caused him for an instant to question his own sanity. - -“Ha, you doubt my word?” whispered a rasping voice at the American’s -elbow. “You imperil precious lives because, forsooth, you will not look -upon the jester as a friend. Herr Bennett, let me tell you you are madder -than your servant, Cousin Fritz.” - -The dwarf chuckled with raucous merriment at his grim joke. Then he -seized Bennett’s arm and drew him away from the window. - -“There is no time to lose,” whispered the dwarf excitedly. “The king will -not listen to reason. He refuses to admit that his crown, his castle, his -very life are in peril at this hour. Come with me and tell him what you -saw from yonder window. Then throw him a hand at poker for life or death, -eh? We must be gay, Herr Bennett, even though Brother Wilhelm has placed -his hand upon our sceptre and would hurl us from the throne. We must be -gay, nicht wahr?” - -In another moment Bennett and his madcap guide were hastening toward King -Rudolph’s audience chamber. - -“The Princess Hilda, and two or three of the king’s most loyal gentlemen -you will find here,” said the dwarf, as they approached the king’s -apartments. “I want you to persuade my Cousin Rudolph that he is backing -a bobtailed flush against a full house. Isn’t that correct, Herr Bennett? -A bobtailed flush against a full house?” - -“But what is your plan,” asked Bennett feverishly. “Is this really an -armed effort to dethrone the king?” - -“It is indeed—an effort armed to the teeth. You and I, Herr Bennett, are -the only loyal subjects left at this moment to Rudolph XII., one hour -ago king of Hesse-Heilfels. I have been looking for an outbreak for some -years back. I am used to them, Herr Bennett. During the thousand years -I have passed as the real ruler of Hesse-Heilfels, I have seen many -uprisings of the people, and I have learned to detect the preliminary -symptoms. Wilhelm has played his cards well. He has waited until the time -was ripe. Now he ‘calls,’ and Rudolph holds no hand.” - -“And you, Cousin Fritz?” asked Bennett, marvelling at the strange -creature at his side. - -“And I? I remain true to Rudolph. I can afford to, Herr Bennett. Am I -not, after all, the eternal king of Hesse-Heilfels? I was king before -the Schwartzburgers came, and I shall reign when they are gone. I lose -nothing by clinging to Rudolph’s falling state. And he has always been -kind to Cousin Fritz! But let us hurry on, Herr Bennett. Every moment is -now of value, if we would persuade the king that he must take to flight.” - -Bennett stumbled forward through the dark corridor, clinging to the -dwarf’s arm and wondering vaguely if the night’s adventures would never -come to an end. It seemed to the American as if he had crowded into -the space of a few brief hours an experience stolen in some mysterious -way from a year in the life of a mediæval knight-errant. “We live by -thoughts, not years; by heart-throbs, not in figures on a dial,” he -murmured to himself as they reached the outer doors of the king’s -audience chamber. - -A striking tableau met their eyes as they passed from the gloom of -the corridor into the lighted hall. King Rudolph, pale, dishevelled, -wild-eyed, stood in the centre of the chamber, gazing helplessly at the -two courtiers who had remained loyal to him on this night of Brother -Wilhelm’s triumph. The Princess Hilda, her face white, but calm, stood by -his side and seemed to be whispering words of comfort to the discomfited -monarch. - -As Rudolph’s eyes rested upon Bennett an expression of hope crossed his -face. - -“Is it true, Herr Bennett?” he cried. “Tell these men they lie. Tell them -my castle is not infested by my brother’s friends! Tell them they dream -wild dreams on a peaceful summer night. What means this wild scurrying to -and fro? Speak, Herr Bennett. You, at least have not lost your wits.” - -The American strove to catch Hilda’s eye, but the princess studiously -avoided his gaze. - -“Your majesty,” said Bennett solemnly, “I have seen from my windows a -sight that convinces me you stand in great peril. I cannot doubt the -evidence of my senses. This may be the end of the nineteenth century, but -there appears to be a middle-age deviltry going on to-night, and you and -I—if you will pardon my frankness—seem to be the victims.” - -“You blunder there, Herr Bennett,” said the king, with a touch of dignity -that was worthy of his royal pretensions. “You are the cause—I am the -victim.” - -Cousin Fritz had been dancing impatiently round the room. - -“You waste time, Cousin Rudolph,” he cried recklessly. “You can’t stand -here and put down a revolution by a royal edict. You don’t hold a card in -your hand that is worth drawing to. Leave the table and the stakes to the -winners and wait for better luck.” - -King Rudolph, with a gesture of despair, turned toward the dwarf. - -“Treachery from friends and wisdom from the mouths of fools! It’s all -of a piece! Go on, Cousin Fritz! What do you suggest? Your advice is -as valuable to-night as that of the men who have pushed me toward this -precipice.” The king glanced pointedly at Bennett and the two loyal -courtiers who lurked in the background. - -“Your only chance, Cousin Rudolph,” said the dwarf coolly, stepping -forward and bending his knee with solemn mockery before the king, “is to -follow my guidance. Your guards have proved false, and within another -ten minutes the hirelings of Wilhelm will be at yonder door. What will -happen then, who can say? A brother who would seize your crown will not -hesitate to take your life. But his lawlessness will not find favor -long with the good people of Hesse-Heilfels. To-night they follow the -lead of evil counsellors. To-morrow they will see the horror of their -deeds. To-morrow, Cousin Rudolph, you will again be king in their hearts. -To-night they serve your rival’s schemes.” - -“But this is hardly to the point, Cousin Fritz,” said the king gently. -“You may speak the truth, but to-morrow has not come. We must act, and -act at once.” - -“Follow me, then,” cried the dwarf, springing to his feet and seizing -the hand of Princess Hilda. “Hark! Hear that? They are coming toward us. -Quick now! There is no time to lose.” - -Drawing the princess with him, Cousin Fritz disappeared behind a heavy -curtain that concealed a portrait of a famous Schwartzburger, who had -held the throne of Hesse-Heilfels nearly two centuries ago. When King -Rudolph, Bennett, and the two courtiers drew the curtain aside, the -portrait had disappeared and a black hole in the wall met their eyes. Out -of the darkness came the voice of Cousin Fritz. - -“Come on! Come on! Don’t stop to draw cards. This isn’t poker. Do you -hear me? We aren’t playing jack-pots, your majesty. We’re making history.” - -In another instant the curtain had fallen into place and the audience -chamber remained lonely and silent in the half lights. Suddenly an uproar -outside the heavy doors arose and into the room rushed a crowd of -white-faced, eager men. - -“Gott im Himmel! where is he?” cried a hoarse voice. And behind the -curtain the Schwartzburger of other days smiled in the darkness—and -remained silent. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -Cousin Fritz led the way through the impenetrable darkness, holding the -princess by the arm. Behind them came Bennett, guiding the king by the -sound of the dwarf’s harsh, insistent voice. Count von Reibach and Baron -Wollenstein, the loyal courtiers, stumbled along in the rear, muttering -impatiently now and again as they collided with some obstacle in their -course or lost sight in the gloom of the fugitives in front of them. - -“Courage, friends,” cried Cousin Fritz, cheerfully, “we’ll find a place -of safety and comfort very soon.” He and the princess had paused to await -the approach of their companions. - -“We go down these stairs,” explained their guide, as the four men grouped -themselves behind him. Scratching a match against the stone wall at his -right hand, Cousin Fritz showed them a flight of steps that seemed to -run downward into the blackness of everlasting gloom. The Princess Hilda -trembled as if with cold. - -“We didn’t come here for burial, Cousin Fritz,” remarked King Rudolph -testily, leaning forward and gazing into the abyss. - -“No, your majesty, you came here to escape it,” returned the dwarf -sarcastically. He struck another temporary light, and taking the hand -of the princess began to descend the steps. It required a good deal of -courage to follow this madcap guide into the bowels of the earth, but -the men behind him seemed to have no choice in the matter. For some time -past they had obeyed his orders, and at this juncture there seemed to be -no good reason for rejecting his leadership. Bennett was the only one of -the party who harbored the slightest distrust of the dwarf’s loyalty. -Circumstances had combined to prove to him that Cousin Fritz was worthy -of the trust reposed in him, but the American, suspicious by temperament -and habit, crept down the stone steps into the chill blackness with -great reluctance. He had grown very weary of the seemingly inexhaustible -resources of the old castle in the way of unpleasant surprises, and he -hesitated to place himself beyond all possibility of escape from the -antique structure. - -There was one circumstance, however, that gave Bennett unalloyed -satisfaction in this hour of peril and discomfort. The social barrier -between the Princess Hilda and himself had been broken down at one blow. -They were both fugitives, and, although she might hold him responsible -for the downfall of King Rudolph, he was, nevertheless, in a position to -be of great service to her in the crises that were sure to confront them -in the near future. As he caught a glimpse of her stately figure in the -flickering gleam thrown by a match lighted by the dwarf, as they reached -the bottom of the long stairway, a sensation of ecstatic triumph thrilled -Bennett’s soul. Down here in the damp depths of this gigantic cellar -there were no kings, no princesses, no counts, no barons. They were all -adventurers. The equality begotten of misfortune had placed the American -upon a new plane, and he rejoiced at the prospect that opened before his -mind’s eye. It would go hard, indeed, if he could not prove his fealty -to the princess by a method less heroic, perhaps, but more satisfactory -than that of voluntary banishment. Nevertheless, he realized that at this -moment the princess looked upon him as a perjured and recreant knight, no -longer worthy of rank on the lists of chivalry. - -“What next, Cousin Fritz?” asked King Rudolph, puffing heavily and -peering anxiously around him. “We seem to be in the wine cellar.” - -“We are, your majesty,” answered the dwarf. “We are surrounded by -vintages worth a king’s ransom. Pardon me, your majesty. I didn’t mean -to be personal. But, follow me a little further, and I will fulfil my -promise regarding your safety and comfort.” - -A moment later the fugitives stood in a large, damp room, in which Cousin -Fritz seemed thoroughly at home. He scurried about, lighting candles, -pushing pieces of antique furniture toward his guests and keeping up a -running fire of comment on the honor paid him by a visit from royalty. -Now and then he would drop a sarcastic remark that suggested to Bennett -the line of thought the dwarf’s mind was pursuing. Cousin Fritz, monarch -of Hesse-Heilfels for a thousand years, was proving openly at last that -he was more powerful than any temporary monarch who held the throne in -the eyes of a short-sighted world. Here in his secret apartments was the -real centre of royalty in Hesse-Heilfels. Could he not afford to let the -petty kings up above fret their lives away while he, to whom a century -was but a single day, reigned undisturbed, but all-powerful, over the -realm they thought was theirs? - -“Your majesty needs repose,” said Cousin Fritz imperiously, pointing -toward an ancient divan in a distant corner of the room. “You are out of -spirits, out of breath, and out of danger. Lie down and take your rest. -We have much to do later on, and we must begin the day fresh from a -little sleep.” - -King Rudolph gazed blankly at the dwarf. The deposed monarch seemed to -feel the severe physical exertion he had undergone, and his breath came -and went with painful effort. He stumbled toward the divan and stretched -himself thereon with a groan. The princess stood by the side of his rude -couch and gently rubbed the brow from which a crown had so recently -fallen. In a moment the king had dropped into a restless sleep and was -snoring with a royal indifference to the comfort of others curiously -characteristic of the Schwartzburgers. - -Cousin Fritz deferentially approached the Princess Hilda, and, taking her -hand, led her to a corner of the room that lay deep in shadow. Pulling -aside a heavy, moth-eaten curtain, the dwarf pointed to an inner and -smaller room and said: - -“Your apartment awaits you, princess. In the hurry of our departure I -forgot to summon one of your women to attend you. I will repair this -oversight at once, however. I hope you will forgive my carelessness.” - -A sad smile played across the wan face of the princess. - -“I need no assistance, Cousin Fritz,” she said gently. “Do not risk your -life for my sake. You must not return to my apartments.” - -The dwarf laughed gayly. “I go and come as the humor sways me,” he said -proudly, “and no man says me nay. Sleep for a time, sweet princess, and -when you awake you will find a woman by your side. Aufwiedersehen, and -may you sleep well.” - -He dropped the curtain and skipped lightly toward von Reibach and -Wollenstein, who stood in deep converse in one corner of the room, -glancing furtively now and then at Bennett, who was seated in a chair -near the centre of the apartment, moodily reviewing the startling events -of the long night. - -“You will do me the honor, gentlemen,” said the dwarf cordially, but -with a note of command in his voice, “you will do me the honor of making -yourselves comfortable for a time. You will find these old couches fitted -for an early morning nap. As for me, I must return to the upper halls.” - -Bennett overheard the dwarf’s final words. They reawakened his slumbering -suspicion. As the count and baron, acting upon the hint thrown out to -them by their host, prepared themselves for sleep in a shadow-haunted -alcove, he strode up to Cousin Fritz. Placing his hand upon the dwarf’s -shoulder, he said: - -“You are about to return to the upper part of the castle. I go with you, -my friend.” - -A mocking smile played across the unsymmetrical face of the dwarf. He -read Bennett’s mind at a glance. - -“As you will, Herr Bennett. My advice to you would be to get a little -sleep while you may, but your company on an expedition that is not -without some slight peril would be a pleasure and a comfort to me. Come, -then, there is no time to lose.” - -They had hardly passed from the room into the gloom of the cellar when a -thought crossed Bennett’s mind that caused him to seize the dwarf’s arm -and hold him motionless for a moment. - -“These men,” he whispered, “why have they remained loyal to the king? -Count von Reibach first. Why does he cling to Rudolph’s fallen fortunes?” - -Cousin Fritz chuckled silently. Then he answered in low, rasping tones: - -“Von Reibach is a ruined man. He has lost his all at poker, and fears to -face his creditors.” - -“And Baron Wollenstein?” - -“Oh, Wollenstein,” answered the dwarf, “Wollenstein is in love with the -Princess Hilda.” - -“The devil you say!” muttered Bennett profanely. Suddenly he seized the -dwarf’s hand in a grip of iron. - -“Tell me, man, why do you leave us here at this time?” - -Cousin Fritz uttered an exclamation of anger, and attempted to withdraw -his hand from the American’s grip. - -“Gott im Himmel, Herr Bennett, why do you distrust me?” he asked -petulantly. “You’re the shortest-sighted clever man I ever knew. I’m -about to run some risk, if you must know it, in order to bring back a -waiting-woman for the princess. I made a miscalculation, and must atone -for it. Are you satisfied?” - -A hot flush rose to Bennett’s cheeks, who felt ashamed of the injustice -he had done to the loyal little man at his side. - -“Go then,” he exclaimed cordially, “and forgive me, Cousin Fritz, for my -impertinence. Hereafter I shall trust you fully. As for me, I think it -best that I should return to your rooms. Do you understand me?” - -“I think I do, Herr Bennett,” answered the dwarf, laughing mockingly as -he disappeared in the darkness. - -The American turned and groped his way toward the room he had just left. -He opened the heavy door softly. The candles in the grim apartment were -still lighted, but heavy shadows danced blackly here and there as the -flames wavered in the draught. Bennett glanced around the apartment -apprehensively. Suddenly from a distant corner two figures made toward -him hurriedly. He realized instinctively that the count and baron had -been plotting his destruction. - -Closing the door behind him he leaned against it, and drawing his -revolver from his hip pocket held the weapon in front of him. The -flickering candle-light was reflected by the gleaming steel. - -“Hold hard, my friends,” said Bennett coolly, “a step farther in my -direction means a bullet for the man who makes it.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -Bennett’s face was pale but smiling as he witnessed the dismay of his -baffled foes. That his possession of a pistol at this crisis had saved -his life he had not the slightest doubt. The count hated him because he -had introduced poker into the kingdom; the baron, with the jealous eyes -of a lover, saw in the American a possible rival for the favor of the -princess. Furthermore, the courtiers realized, doubtless, that if they -were captured in the company of the American their chance of winning -pardon from Wilhelm, the successful usurper, would be slight. - -All this passed through Bennett’s mind as he leaned against the great -door and pointed his weapon first at the count and then at the baron, -taking a mischievous pleasure in their not unnatural disquietude. Hardly -a sound broke the stillness. A rat gnawed noisily somewhere in the -woodwork. The asthmatic breathing of the deposed king could be heard, -irregular and ominous. - -Suddenly a swishing of skirts startled Bennett and his foiled assailants, -and the Princess Hilda, white and anxious, stood between them. The -American returned his revolver to his pocket and folded his arms silently. - -“What does this mean?” asked the Princess sternly, turning from one to -another of the trio. “Is it not enough that we are driven like rats into -a hole? Why should you quarrel? Herr Bennett, why have you threatened -the lives of these men? Are they not unarmed? And you stand there, like -a highwayman, pointing a pistol at their heads. Speak, sir! Have you -nothing to say?” - -Bennett’s face, flushed at first, had grown white and drawn. - -“I have nothing to say, your royal highness,” he answered in a low voice. - -Count von Reibach and Baron Wollenstein gazed at the American in -amazement. His generosity was inexplicable. - -The Princess Hilda stood silent for a time, plunged in deep thought. Then -she said firmly: - -“Give me your revolver, Herr Bennett.” - -He removed the weapon from his pocket and placed it carefully in her -outstretched hand. - -“A wasp is harmless without his sting,” muttered the baron under his -breath. Count von Reibach, more generous than his colleague, placed his -hand upon the latter’s mouth and whispered to him to remain silent. - -The Princess Hilda had retreated toward her apartment. Before she dropped -the curtain she turned and looked at the little group behind her. In one -hand she held the pistol, while with the other she drew the curtains -aside. The picture that she made at that moment in the flickering light, -with the fitful gleams playing on her golden hair, while heavy shadows -behind her threw the outlines of her tall figure into strong relief, -Bennett never forgot. Suddenly she dropped the curtain and disappeared. -The deep gloom of the apartment seemed to return on the instant, and -the American turned sadly toward his foes. Deprived of weapon, he had -determined to sell his life, if the struggle were forced upon him, as -dearly as he might. To his astonishment, however, he saw Count von -Reibach approaching him with an outstretched hand. - -“You are a gentleman, Herr Bennett,” said the count cordially, “in spite -of the fact that you go to extremes.” - -“_Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes_,” muttered Bennett coldly, not accepting -the count’s hand. “You must acknowledge, sir, that by going to extremes I -took the only course open to me at the moment.” - -Count von Reibach smiled grimly. “The fact is, Herr Bennett, that we -had formed no diabolical design, the baron and myself. For certain -reasons—reasons of state, as our unhappy king would say—we felt that your -presence here was inopportune, and we had decided to—to——” - -“Assassinate me,” remarked Bennett curtly. - -“Not at all. You do us grave injustice, I assure you. It is just possible -that, had you not checked our impetuosity at the right moment, we might -have imprisoned you in an empty wine-cask somewhere in the cellar, -but we had no wish to take your life. The Count von Reibach and Baron -Wollenstein are not cut-throats, Herr Bennett. And let me assure you we -appreciate your generosity in refusing to accuse us to the princess.” - -The Baron Wollenstein had listened sullenly to his comrade’s rather lame -apology. He gazed with stubborn enmity at Bennett, and then said to the -count: - -“Come, von Reibach, let’s get some sleep. The fact is. I’m -_ausgespielt_. As for this—gentleman, let me assure him that we have no -further intention of interfering with his liberty. Come, count.” - -The two courtiers retired toward a dark corner of the room, not far -from the entrance to Princess Hilda’s apartment. Here they stretched -themselves upon a dilapidated piece of furniture that had once served as -a regal couch for a reigning Schwartzburger. Bennett could hear their -guttural voices as they talked together in low tones for a time. Then -silence, broken only by the king’s labored breathing and the occasional -snores of the exhausted courtiers, reigned in the old lumber-room, made -barely habitable by Cousin Fritz’s efforts. - -The Princess Hilda, upon her return to the inner room, had thrown herself -fully dressed upon the improvised bed prepared for her by the dwarf, and -had vainly attempted to forget her woes in sleep. The horrors of her -situation forced themselves persistently upon her mind and the events -of a long and dreadful day allied themselves in opposition to peaceful -slumber. It seemed an age since she had stood beside King Rudolph in -the morning and had attempted to impress him with the seriousness of -the crisis that confronted them. The downfall of her uncle, and their -undignified flight, had occurred with such suddenness that she had -not yet been able to grasp their full significance. Then a strange, -inexplicable feeling stole over her and she realized, with a sensation -of shame, that in this dark hour she took comfort in the presence of -Herr Bennett. Annoyed by this discovery, she turned restlessly upon her -pillow and again attempted to forget her woes and weariness in sleep. - -The lower regions of the castle of the Schwartzburgers were not wholly -under the control of Cousin Fritz. His sway was disputed by the rats, -liberty-loving creatures having no respect for the rights of property -nor reverence for royalty. A rat-hole, running clear through the wall, -opened like a speaking-tube just where the shapely ear of the Princess -Hilda rested as she lay quiet, fervently praying for sleep. Suddenly her -wandering thoughts were recalled from the borderland of oblivion by the -stern realities of her surroundings. She heard distinctly the guttural -voice of Baron Wollenstein as he said to Count von Reibach: - -“You are too soft-hearted, Count. Our only safety lies in Herr Bennett’s -death. Mark my words, it is his life or ours in the end. This is no time -for gentle deeds and kindly words. We’ll be captured in this hole, as -sure as Wilhelm reigns. If we kill Bennett and conceal his body, we can -prove to Wilhelm that we followed Rudolph in the interest of the new -_régime_. Verstehen Sie? Am I not right?” - -The horrified princess could not catch the count’s answer. She strained -her ear in vain, but the rat-hole no longer served her purpose as an -eavesdropper. How long she lay motionless she knew not, but after a time -the snoring of the conspirators convinced her that they had ceased their -plotting for a time and were plunged in sleep. - -The princess arose softly, grasped the revolver that she had placed on -the floor near her bed, and stole toward the entrance to the chamber. -As she pulled aside the curtains and glanced furtively around the larger -room she saw that one candle still burned dimly in a corner near the main -entrance. By its flickering gleams she could make out the figure of the -exhausted American as he lay, sprawled in broken slumbers, in an antique -chair near the door through which he expected the return of Cousin Fritz. - -As she approached Bennett a feeling of mingled tenderness and repentance -came over her. This man had been in peril of his life, and she had -harshly accused him of a crime. Was it not more than possible that -she had always misjudged him; that he had found it impracticable to -fulfil the oath he had sworn to her in the Hall of Armor? Surely he had -not promised to leave the castle before the morning, and the morning, -she imagined, was only just breaking. She glanced down at his white, -clear-cut face, rendered almost ghastly by the dim light in contrast with -his black, luxuriant hair. - -“Herr Bennett,” she whispered gently, bending forward and placing a hand -upon his shoulder. He awoke on the instant and their eyes met. - -“Take your pistol,” she said simply. “You are still in grave danger. I -did you an injustice.” - -He had sprung to his feet, a mournful smile playing across his face. - -“Your royal highness,” he said, “I thank you from my heart—not for the -weapon but for your words.” - -A flush arose to her cheeks and there came into her eyes a light as sweet -as the dawn that drove the shadows from the hills outside. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -The Princess Hilda opened her eyes wearily. She had slept for several -hours, but her first sensation as she woke was one of utter misery. Sleep -had brought with it no refreshment, no exhilaration. The mere joy of -living, that so often thrilled her in the morning, she seemed to have -lost forever. The twilight that reigned in this subterranean apartment, -the sudden recollection of the grim disasters of the previous day, the -discomfort that resulted from sleeping fully dressed, and the sensation -of utter loneliness that came over her, combined to render her awakening -painful. She turned impatiently upon her couch. Suddenly a smile of joy -lighted her sad face. Fraulein Müller, her favorite attendant, a plump, -red-cheeked young woman of twenty, was seated by her side. - -“Good morning, your highness,” cried the maiden cheerily. “You seem glad -to see me.” - -“I am indeed,” said the princess warmly. “This has been, Gretchen, oh, -such an awful night! I feel as if, somehow, my youth had gone forever; -that I shall always be an old, old woman.” - -Fraulein Müller laughed gayly. “It is not so bad as that, my princess. -Lie quiet for a while and I will make you young again. See, I have -brought with me many things that you need. I was heart-broken until -Cousin Fritz, who can crawl through cracks in the floor or fly through -the ceiling, stood suddenly by my side and told me to dry my tears and -make ready to attend you. There were wild doings in the castle last -night, and I sat with the other women in your apartments trembling at the -awful sounds we heard. When Cousin Fritz appeared and told us that you -were safe, we took him in our arms and kissed him until he kicked and -swore and called us hard names. Then we dropped the wicked little angel -and I got a few of your things into a bundle and followed him into the -bowels of the earth. It wasn’t much fun, your highness, to creep through -the darkness with that crazy little villain at my side, laughing wildly -at my fears and pinching me now and then to hear me cry out with fright. -But when I saw you lying here alone, I felt that I could hug Cousin -Fritz. His head is queer enough, but he has a heart of gold.” - -As she thus talked on, while she loosened the Princess Hilda’s hair and -brushed out the golden-brown locks, the feeling of despair that had come -over the royal fugitive departed. The princess was by temperament a -sanguine, sunny-natured girl, cold and haughty toward those she could not -trust, but cordially affectionate with her intimates. Her attendants had -been recruited from the best families in the kingdom, and it was known -throughout Hesse-Heilfels that the Princess Hilda, in spite of her proud -bearing, was a very lovable creature. - -“Tell me, Gretchen,” she said, glancing anxiously at Fraulein Müller, -who was at that moment spreading a morning dress upon the bed, “tell me -what has happened up above? Are the people—my people, as I loved to call -them—really thirsting for my blood?” - -Fraulein Müller laughed aloud. She was one of those rare creatures whose -gayety cannot be suppressed by the most dismal surroundings. - -“It was rumored when I came away, your royal highness, that your Uncle -Wilhelm was bitterly disappointed at your disappearance. He is, it is -said, anxious to get word to you that his plans did not include any -change in your status at court. He has spread abroad the impression that -he has deposed King Rudolph simply to save Hesse-Heilfels from ruin. -He has no intention, it is reported, of altering your position in the -kingdom. Somebody told me that he had made the remark that your uncle -would still be king, but sane instead of mad.” - -“Hush, Fraulein Müller,” said the princess sternly. “These walls are not -to be trusted—as I well know—and I would not have King Rudolph hear what -you have just said for worlds. How little Uncle Wilhelm knows my heart! -King Rudolph has been to me a father since my childhood. Sane or mad, -king or exile, he deserves my loyalty and love. Listen, Gretchen! I would -die with Rudolph in this rat-hole sooner than return to Wilhelm’s court -and countenance his treachery by silent acquiescence. I have striven to -prevent this awful crisis. I have labored to turn my Uncle Rudolph from -his mad ways. I have failed. But let it not be said that the Princess -Hilda of Hesse-Heilfels changes her colors with the fortunes of her -house. If loyalty to Rudolph means imprisonment, or even death, I shall -follow his banner to the end.” - -She stood there, flushed, defiant, beautiful, her eyes dark with the -fervor of her passion; a girl no longer, for the stern discipline of evil -fortune had made her a woman in a night. Never again would her heart -dance merrily with the mere gayety of youth. She had lost something of -the precious vivacity of girlhood, but in its place had come the strength -and firmness that add a touch of grandeur to maturity. - -Fraulein Müller gazed at her mistress with admiration. Never before had -the maiden she had served seemed so thoroughly a queen as at this moment -when she stood, a fugitive skulking in a cellar, bereft of everything -that makes royalty impressive, and voiced to a single listener the -noblest sentiments of loyalty. Above her shone the bright light of the -summer sun, awakening a people who would gladly welcome her return to -the pomp and state that had been hers throughout her life. Above her -reigned a king who would place her by his side and reward her allegiance -to his cause with power and dominion. In contrast with all this, what was -offered her? An existence of wretched discomfort in the damp darkness of -a rat-haunted chamber. A miserable present and an uncertain future. The -companionship of ruined men, of a king whose crazy folly had hurled him -from the pinnacle of power into the abysmal depths of despair and ruin. -Here was a girl of eighteen, upon whom nature had lavished all her gifts, -and to whom the world bowed down in loving homage, confronted by a -choice from which the boldest man would have shrunk back in dismay. And -the Princess Hilda gave up the sunshine for the darkness, the light of -day for the gloom of night, the pleasures of the gladsome world for the -grim shadows of a living tomb! Is it strange that in Hesse-Heilfels you -should hear it said that in the Schwartzburger blood there is a strain of -heroism that breaks out now and then, as the generations come and go? - -Something of all this passed through Fraulein Müller’s mind as she gazed -at the princess with eyes that looked upon her royal mistress with -new reverence. She bent forward and kissed Hilda’s hand with loving -deference. There were tears on the Fraulein’s cheeks as she smiled up at -her mistress, from whose face the flush of excitement had departed. - -“Ah, Gretchen,” said the princess wearily, “you must not weep! Surely, -nothing can be gained by tears. But to be a woman is so hard! How -powerless we are! Oh, for a man’s arm to-day, Gretchen! Were I a prince, -do you know what I would do? If they had driven me down into this hole, I -would find the powder magazine and blow those rebels into bits.” - -Fraulein Müller laughed merrily. The ludicrous side of a situation always -appealed first to her mind. - -“Would it not be a grim revenge?” she cried. “But I fear, your highness, -we would not live to enjoy it.” - -At that moment a knock at the door recalled them to the exigencies of the -hour. Fraulein Müller ran merrily toward the entrance. - -That she and her mistress were not wholly alone was a reassuring thought. - -“Who’s there?” she cried, smoothing back her hair from her brow and -rearranging her skirts. The habits of a court are not quickly lost, even -in a cellar. - -“Cousin Fritz, my Lady Müller. An envoy from the reigning King of -Hesse-Heilfels, Rudolph XII. I crave audience of the Princess Hilda.” - -Fraulein Müller, smiling at the madcap’s pompous words, threw back the -door. The dwarf instantly rushed in, turned quickly and pinched her arm -with mischievous force, and then hurried forward, to throw himself upon -one knee before the princess, the feather of his jaunty cap trailing on -the floor. - -“Your royal highness,” said he ceremoniously, his harsh voice penetrating -to the furthest corners of the room. “Your liege lord, the King of -Hesse-Heilfels, commends himself to you with loving words and commands -your immediate presence in the dining-hall. Such is the message he -ordered me to give you. Personally let me add, your royal highness, that -this morning we draw to a full larder, and, if your appetite is good, I -should advise you to take a hand in the game.” - -The Princess Hilda could not restrain a smile at the dwarf’s words, but -she felt a pang of annoyance at hearing again the poker jargon that had -become synonymous, to her mind, with ruin and disgrace. - -“Tell the king, Cousin Fritz,” she said, rising and moving toward the -door, “that I will be with him at once.” - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -Wilhelm IX., King of Hesse-Heilfels by the divine right of grand larceny, -gazed from a window in the castle at the rising sun; emblematic, as he -reflected, of himself and his fortunes. He was a younger, better built -man than his brother, Rudolph the Deposed. His legs were much longer -than his brother’s, thus making his head cooler. There was an old saying -in Hesse-Heilfels to the effect that “a Schwartzburger with short legs -always toddles into trouble.” His superiority in length of limb had -had much to do toward rendering Wilhelm’s usurpation successful. The -impressionable and somewhat superstitious people of Hesse-Heilfels -possessed an hereditary conviction that the longer the legs of a -Schwartzburger the better fitted he was to rule the kingdom. When, -therefore, it was whispered that Wilhelm plotted to seize the sceptre -the Heilfelsans were drawn irresistibly to his cause. They preferred a -long-legged Schwartzburger, of good habits, as king, to a short-legged -gambler who was over-fond of wine. - -Wilhelm’s face, pale and drawn from the stress of an exciting night, wore -a smile of triumph as he looked forth upon the picturesque domain that he -had so easily made his own. Backed by the people of Hesse-Heilfels, and -sure of recognition at Berlin, he felt that he was safely seated upon a -throne that he had long wished to occupy. Presently he turned from the -window, and beckoned to a man who had recently entered the room and stood -awaiting the pleasure of royalty. - -“What news, Herr Schmidt?” asked Wilhelm eagerly, “is there any clew -to my lost relatives? My brother can’t perform miracles. He must be -concealed somewhere in the castle.” - -“We have searched the building from top to bottom, your majesty, but can -find no trace of Rudolph, the Princess, nor the Yankee. But a strange -story has come from the Princess Hilda’s waiting-women. How much truth -there is in it, I do not know.” - -“We’ll find out at first hand,” said King Wilhelm, seating himself in a -chair by the side of a small round table. “Summon all her women to my -presence.” - -Herr Schmidt hurried from the room. - -“Carl Eingen, a word with you,” said Wilhelm, and the handsome baritone -approached the king and deferentially bent the knee. - -“As I understand it,” said Wilhelm, “the capture of this American -adventurer was left to you, Carl Eingen. Why did you fail to obey orders?” - -The tall youth turned pale, but answered firmly: - -“The failure cannot be laid at my door, your majesty. I obeyed in detail -the instructions I received. The weak spot in our scheme lay in the fact -that we put too little stress upon the cleverness of Cousin Fritz.” - -“Cousin Fritz?” cried the king in astonishment. “The madcap dwarf? Surely -he could not have foiled you all! What had he to do with the affair?” - -“An hour or so before we made the general advance upon the castle, your -majesty, Cousin Fritz was seen—I saw him myself—dancing wildly on the -balcony in front of the American’s apartment. The dwarf is the only man -in the kingdom who knows all the underground secrets of this ancient -castle. I have no doubt that he has led Rudolph and the rest to a place -of, at least, temporary secrecy.” - -“Just who are missing, Herr Eingen?” asked Wilhelm. - -“Rudolph, the Princess Hilda, Baron Wollenstein, Count von Reibach, Herr -Bennett, and Cousin Fritz.” - -“That is all?” - -“So far as I can learn, no one else has disappeared from the castle since -our entrance.” - -“It is strange,” mused the usurper. “So large a party, it seems to me, -could not vanish in one instant without leaving some clew behind them. -You say, Herr Eingen, that the cellars have been thoroughly explored?” - -“Yes, your majesty. I led the exploring party myself. There is, beneath -this castle, a labyrinth of passages, cellars, dungeons, and lumber rooms -that taxed our patience severely, but we groped into every nook and -corner, and found nothing to reward our search.” - -At this moment Herr Schmidt returned, followed by a group of young women -whom the events of the night had rendered hysterical. At a sign from -Wilhelm, Herr Schmidt led his bevy of distraught maidens toward the -usurper. - -“Now understand me,” said Wilhelm sternly, “I shall imprison you in a -body if you all insist upon talking at once. Furthermore, I object to -tears. You have nothing to cry about if you will obey your king. Do you -comprehend me? Your king, Wilhelm IX., by the grace of God monarch of -Hesse-Heilfels. You there, in front, answer my questions! What is this -wonderful tale that I hear has been spread abroad from your corner of the -castle?” - -Carl Eingen, his countenance disturbed, was anxiously glancing from face -to face of the trembling women, seeking some one he could not find. In -answer to Wilhelm, a maiden standing nearer to royalty than the others -said, her voice tremulous with emotion: - -“This morning, your majesty, about four o’clock, Cousin Fritz suddenly -appeared, as if by magic, among us. He ordered us to make a bundle of -things most necessary for the Princess Hilda’s comfort. Then he went -away, accompanied by her royal highness’ favorite attendant.” - -Carl Eingen gazed at the speaker earnestly, while Wilhelm said: - -“Her favorite attendant? Who may that be?” - -“The Fraulein Müller, your majesty.” - -Carl Eingen’s face turned white. He had long loved Fraulein Müller, and -her non-attendance upon Wilhelm had filled him with dismay. “Weren’t you -in the cellars at that hour, Herr Eingen?” asked Wilhelm sternly. - -“I was, your majesty—with twenty men with torches.” - -“And you heard no sound—no footsteps—no echoes?” - -“None, your majesty, that the vastness of the vaults would not explain.” - -The usurper sat silent for a time, deep in thought. Now and again one of -the waiting-women would sob hysterically. Carl Eingen’s impatience grew -apace. He longed for action, for some physical outlet for the anxiety -that oppressed him. He had seen little of Fraulein Müller since she had -been taken into the household of the Princess Hilda, but his boyhood had -been spent in her companionship. He could not remember the time when he -had not loved her. Her bright face and sunny nature had been to him for -years a solace and a hope. That she had been lured into the perils that -surrounded the path of the royal fugitives, he could not now doubt. The -conviction filled him with dismay. He longed to begin at once a renewal -of the fruitless search he had made in the early morning. He watched the -changing expressions on Wilhelm’s face anxiously. Presently the usurper -spoke: - -“Come here, Herr Schmidt,” said Wilhelm, a cruel tone in his deep voice. -“Seat yourself at this table and write as I direct. Are you ready? Go -on then. ‘To the people of Hesse-Heilfels, greeting: I, Wilhelm IX., by -the grace of God king of Hesse-Heilfels, do call upon you to render up -to me, dead or alive, the person of one Cousin Fritz, a dwarf, who has -held, under my predecessor, the office of Court Jester. To the man or -men who shall bring to my castle the body of said Cousin Fritz shall be -paid the sum of five hundred marks. Given under my hand and seal, at the -castle of Heilfels, this tenth day of August, 189—.’ There, I think that -may be effective in crushing out the last sparks of rebellion in this -afflicted land. Have a hundred copies of that proclamation made at once, -Herr Schmidt. See to it that they are exposed in every wine-shop in the -kingdom. Take a few of them, Herr Eingen, and affix them to the walls in -the most remote corners of the cellars under us. Oh, one moment, Herr -Schmidt; add to the proclamation that a full pardon will be granted to -any one who has been in rebellion against Wilhelm IX., in case he aids -in the capture of Cousin Fritz. That may have an effect upon Reibach and -Wollenstein, if they should see the notice. As I remember them, those -two men are among the worst products of Brother Rudolph’s worm-eaten -vineyard. And now, gentlemen, let us break our fast. Ladies, I bid you -good-morning. It is my fondest hope that you may have your mistress with -you again at the earliest possible moment.” - -Wilhelm arose and the audience was at an end. With a heavy heart, Carl -Eingen joined Herr Schmidt and prepared for another descent to the weird -regions beneath the castle. Meanwhile the people of Hesse-Heilfels -had begun the day under a new _régime_, and the whisper went abroad -throughout the kingdom that indulgence in the game of draw-poker would be -construed as the crime of _lese majesté_. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -Carl Eingen had searched, as he believed, the most remote corner of the -wine-cellar. He had taken with him no companion upon his subterranean -bill-posting expedition, and, courageous though he was, he could not -control a feeling of nervous discomfort as he fastened the grewsome -proclamation of King Wilhelm to what he imagined was the last outpost -in this tortuous hole in the ground. He had affixed type-written copies -offering a reward for the capture of Cousin Fritz, dead or alive, to wine -casks, stone walls, and wooden pillars in various parts of the cellar, -and he breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that his grim task was at -an end. Suddenly a harsh, shrill voice, just above his head, cried out: - -“Ha Carl Eingen, I’m worth five hundred marks, eh? I’ll throw you double -or quits for my body. What say you?” - -Carl started in affright, and dropped the hammer he held in his hand. -Perched upon a huge hogshead sat Cousin Fritz, his feathered cap upon his -head, smiling down mischievously at the astonished youth. - -“Will you come up and take me?” asked the dwarf maliciously, moving -his short sword in the air and then making a few defiant passes at his -antagonist. “Do you need money, Carl? Five hundred marks! It is a large -sum.” - -Carl Eingen remained silent, but he could not suppress a smile as the -ludicrous features of the situation impressed him. Suddenly the dwarf’s -mood changed. - -“You’re a good fellow, Carl Eingen, in spite of your rebellious nature,” -he said gently. “I don’t believe you’d murder me in cold blood. That’s -more than I could say of several men I know. As times go, Carl, it’s high -praise.” - -“I think, Cousin Fritz,” said Carl quietly, “that you’d better come with -me without more ado. You’re sure to be captured down here and you might -be run to earth by somebody who would think it less trouble to take you -dead than alive. I promise you that I’ll do my best to make easy terms -for you with the king.” - -“What king, Carl?” asked the dwarf mockingly. “You may not know it, but I -am the real, the only king of Hesse-Heilfels. In the long run I dictate -my own terms—and they are always accepted, Carl Eingen. Do you call -Brother Wilhelm king? Nonsense! He’s only an upstart who struts about up -above for a time and then falls to sleep like the rest. Hesse-Heilfels -has only one king—and he never dies. But enough of this, Carl! I won’t -come to you and you can’t capture me. Nevertheless, I prefer you as an -ally to a foe. I’ll make you a proposition.” - -Carl Eingen frowned and strode nervously up and down, almost within -reach of the dwarf’s pointed shoes. He felt absurdly conscious of his -momentary impotence. He was keenly alive to the possibility that he would -be obliged to return to Wilhelm and confess that he had been outwitted by -the dwarf. Furthermore, Cousin Fritz was in possession of a secret that -Carl Eingen longed to solve. Upon the hogshead above him sat the captor -of Fraulein Müller, and her lover burned to get word of her. He knew, -right well, that only by diplomacy could he make Cousin Fritz reveal the -truth concerning her abduction. - -“Go on,” said Carl smoothly, “let me hear your proposition, Cousin Fritz.” - -The dwarf chuckled with inward merriment. Then he bent forward, his hand -still upon his sword, and said: - -“You think me mad, Carl Eingen, but you’d do well to back my hand at this -crisis in the game. In this case one king beats a royal flush. I’m the -king, and I know my power. Let me tell you, Carl Eingen, that you will -never see again a face that you love nor hear a voice that has grown dear -to you unless you heed what I shall say. It has come to a contest between -your loyalty and your love. If you remain true to Wilhelm, you will be -false to your love. If you place your mistress above your king in your -heart, you must forswear Wilhelm. Do you follow me?” - -There was a sane intensity in the dwarf’s manner that Carl Eingen had -never observed before. It impressed him even more than the madcap’s words. - -“And if I abandon Wilhelm, Cousin Fritz?” asked Carl earnestly. - -“You shall see your love again, Carl Eingen.” - -“And otherwise?” - -“The sweet face of Gretchen Müller shall smile upon you only from the -shadows of the night, when memory haunts your pillow and drives sleep -routed from your couch.” - -Carl Eingen looked about him restlessly. The dark mysteries of this -weird cellar appeared to cast upon him an uncanny spell. He seemed to -be plunged into a shadow-haunted realm in which laws that were new to -him prevailed. The dwarf, smiling with conscious power, seemed to exert -a hypnotic influence over the impressionable youth, whose artistic -sensibilities rendered him extremely sensitive to the influences of a -romantic environment. - -Furthermore, the threat uttered by the dwarf had had its effect. Carl -Eingen longed passionately to gaze once more upon a face that had been -for years the fairest sight earth held for him. The possibility—remote -and unreasonable as it seemed—that this little mischief-maker could -remove Gretchen Müller forever from his ken thrilled him with unspeakable -dread. Instinctively he seemed to realize that Cousin Fritz was not -wholly a vain boaster, that he was not without some portion of the -boundless power he claimed. - -“Well, Cousin Fritz,” said Carl at length, his voice hoarse and unsteady, -“I will go to this point, and no further. If you will lead me at once to -Fraulein Müller, I give you my word that I will take no advantage of what -I have learned, that neither Wilhelm nor any of his people shall know -that I have met you down here.” - -The dwarf laughed mockingly and sprang to the floor. “It’s unconditional -surrender, even on those terms,” he cried. “What I have left undone, -Fraulein Müller will accomplish. Look here, Carl Eingen! See how -powerless you were.” - -Cousin Fritz skipped merrily toward the proclamation that offered a -reward for his capture. Removing it from the wall he playfully tore it -into small pieces. Suddenly, to Carl’s amazement, a black hole gaped at -them where the paper had rested but a moment before. - -“In here, Carl,” cried the dwarf, scrambling through the aperture. -“You thought you had reached the end of the cellar. This is merely the -entrance, my friend.” - -For a moment the youth hesitated. When, after much squeezing and a good -deal of discomfort, he stood beside Cousin Fritz, his guide’s figure was -almost lost in the deep gloom. - -“Come on,” said the dwarf, seizing Carl’s hand. “We have not far to go; -we are taking a short cut to my apartments—the real centre of royalty in -Hesse-Heilfels.” - -A moment later they stepped out into a passageway that soon led them to -the main entrance of the rooms in which the dwarf had ensconced Rudolph -XI. and his small suite. Cautiously opening the heavy door, Cousin Fritz -tightly gripped Carl Eingen’s arm and silently pointed to the scene -before them. - -In the centre of the hall the deposed king was seated at a table, at -the opposite side of which Count von Reibach shuffled a pack of cards. -Between them were small piles of pebbles that roughly served as chips. -Baron Wollenstein, with a surly expression upon his heavy face, appeared -to watch the game, but his restless eyes constantly turned toward a -group at the farther corner of the room. The Princess Hilda, attended by -Fraulein Müller, was seated in an antique chair of state, against the -back of which her head rested as she gazed upward at Herr Bennett. The -American, oblivious of the threatening glances of Baron Wollenstein, was -bending forward talking earnestly to the golden-haired princess. A smile -played across her face as she listened to his words. - -“There, Carl Eingen,” whispered the dwarf mischievously, “is the game as -it stands. Will you draw cards?” - -“Yes,” answered the youth hoarsely as he met the eye of Fraulein Müller, -who turned white with amazement as she caught sight of him. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -There was nothing in the topic upon which Bennett was discoursing to the -Princess Hilda to arouse the jealousy of Baron Wollenstein. The American -was speaking eloquently, but impersonally, of his native land. The events -of the night and the ominous inaction of the morning had rendered the -princess a willing listener to the voice of a man to whom, she felt, she -had shown great injustice. Woman-like, having reached the conclusion -that she had not treated him with fairness, she now went to the extreme -of trusting Bennett fully. Her discovery of the utter baseness of -Wollenstein and von Reibach added to the longing she felt to prove that -the American was not unworthy of her regard. - -“It is true,” said Bennett smilingly, “that my beautiful country is not -made picturesque by antique castles, but, your Royal Highness, you must -admit that I have no cause to hold it in contempt for that reason.” He -glanced around the gloomy apartment meaningly. - -The princess understood him, and her eyes were sympathetic as they met -his. “But an old castle has its advantages,” she remarked, with forced -gayety. “It is crystallized history, is it not? Furthermore, it may offer -a place of refuge in time of trouble.” - -“Ah,” said Bennett, loyal to his American prejudices, “that is just -the point. In my country, we need no underground cellars to escape -the wrath of man. We use them for another purpose. But don’t think -me narrow-minded, Your Highness. I appreciate the advantages your -country offers to the tourist, to the lover of romance, but, as a -place of residence, I must admit that I prefer Litchfield County to -Hesse-Heilfels.” - -The Princess Hilda sat silent for a moment. Her mind dwelt upon the -ruin this man had wrought in the land she loved. She had been forced to -the conclusion that the disaster he had brought to Hesse-Heilfels had -been the outcome not of malice, but of mischance. Nevertheless, he had -been the motive force, at the outset, that had overthrown the _régime_ -of which she was a part. How far was it becoming for her to accept -his friendship? She could not answer. Of her own free-will she had -thrown down the barrier between them, and it was too late, perhaps, to -reconstruct it. - -The Princess Hilda was only eighteen years of age. The full significance -of the political revolution of which she was a victim had not yet come -to her. Had she possessed a wider and deeper experience of the ways of -the world, the embarrassments that surrounded her would have impressed -her more deeply. But she was very young, and, it is the peril and the -privilege of youth to make light of difficulties that appear insuperable -to the eyes of maturity. Furthermore, the princess was undergoing a novel -experience that possessed for her a dangerous fascination. The rigid -etiquette of the old-fashioned court in which she had spent her girlhood -had precluded the possibility of frank and sympathetic intercourse -with young men. An American girl of eighteen is apt to be as wise as a -serpent, though harmless as a dove. She is sure of herself. She takes -pride in the conviction that she understands men. What she has failed -to learn of the peculiarities of human nature from experience, she has -derived from literature and the drama. She makes her _début_ in society -a full-fledged woman of the world. If she is clever, her epigrams are as -pointed at eighteen as they will be at twenty-eight. - -But a German princess develops more slowly. She is hedged around by -safeguards erected on the theory that there should be no royal road to -worldliness. She is moulded by ceremonies and fashioned by precedents. -She is deprived by birth of the divine right to choose a husband. At -eighteen she has become merely a more or less ornamental piece in a royal -game of chess. The American girl of the same age is years older than the -German princess. - -Let it not be imagined, however, that Jonathan Edwards Bennett found the -Princess Hilda of Hesse-Heilfels too young and unsophisticated to be -interesting. While her recent experiences may not have assumed in her -mind their ultimate significance, they had had, nevertheless, a marked -effect in changing her mental attitude toward many subjects. At one blow -she had been thrust into an entirely new relationship to the universe at -large. Heretofore, she had been led to believe that the sun rose and set -merely for her own royal pleasure and profit. Suddenly even the light -of that luminary had been denied to her. The immediate effect of this -deprivation had been educational. For the first time in her life she had -been brought face to face with the fact that royalty itself is subject to -the chastisement that fate so freely bestows upon lesser mortals. - -“Tell me, Herr Bennett,” she said after a time, glancing significantly at -the poker-players in the centre of the room, “what will be the outcome of -all this? We can’t live here all our days. I should become an old woman -in a year if I could never see the sun, never hear the wind among the -trees.” - -A smile played across her shapely mouth, but her eyes were sad as they -looked up at the pale, handsome face above her. - -“Do you know, your royal highness,” said Bennett, lowering his voice, -confidentially, “I have come to the conclusion that the solution of -the puzzle rests with Cousin Fritz. It is a novel experience for me -to suspend my own judgment and trust to another man to get me out of -difficulties, but the little madcap’s cleverness and loyalty have had a -hypnotic effect upon my will. More and more do I find myself inclined to -follow his lead, to await his commands, and to trust to his ingenuity to -get us out of this amazing scrape.” - -The Princess Hilda assented. “Cousin Fritz,” she said, “has become, I -fear, our only hope. What he can do for us now I can’t imagine, but, Herr -Bennett, there is some satisfaction in the thought that we can never be -worse off than we are at present.” - -The American uttered a few words of perfunctory acquiescence. He envied -her the undismayed optimism of extreme youth. The conviction had come -upon him that they might easily be placed in a more undesirable position -than they occupied at that moment. - -“Herr Bennett,” said the princess, a slight flush of embarrassment coming -into her cheeks. “I was pleased to hear you speak so kindly of Cousin -Fritz, but let me urge you to beware of the others. Cousin Fritz is your -friend. The others hate you.” - -Bennett smiled gently. “Thank you for your warning, Princess Hilda. I -know well that they seek my life. But I have no fear of them. Some years -ago, your royal highness, I was mining in Colorado, and,——” - -It was many a long day before the Princess Hilda heard the conclusion -of the anecdote Bennett was about to relate. Something in her face had -caused him to turn and glance toward the entrance. He caught a glimpse of -Cousin Fritz making a gesture toward them, and then his eyes rested in -dismay upon the tall, martial figure of Carl Eingen. - -“Good God, we are betrayed!” exclaimed Bennett, stepping forward and -placing his hand upon the handle of his revolver. - -At that instant a groan, wrung from a strong man in physical agony, arose -from the centre of the room, and King Rudolph, who had sprung up from the -poker table as Fritz and Carl appeared at the doorway, fell senseless -into the arms of Baron Wollenstein. - -“Put up your pistol, Herr Bennett,” piped Cousin Fritz, excitedly. “This -man is our friend. Here, put the king on this couch! Get some wine, -Fraulein Müller. Hurry. Baron Wollenstein, put his head down! There! -Are you all paralyzed? Can’t you make haste? Will you take a bluff from -death? I won’t. There, see! Cousin Rudolph opens his eyes! Give him -wine! That’s right! He’ll be every inch a king before long! Come, now, -stand back and let him sleep! That’s right. Sleep, Rudolph! Sleep!” - -Without dissent or hesitation they had all obeyed the dwarf’s directions -to the letter, and as they stood grouped around the couch, upon which -Rudolph lay breathing stertorously, the thought suddenly flashed through -their minds, in sympathetic accord for the moment, that Cousin Fritz was -no vain boaster when he claimed to be the real ruler of Hesse-Heilfels. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -“Frankly, your royal highness,” said Herr Bennett to the princess fifteen -minutes later, “there are symptoms in the case that worry me. At first, I -thought his majesty was attacked by a simple fainting fit, caused by his -sudden rising at the table. His breathing, however, and other indications -lead me to believe that he is in a very precarious condition.” - -They stood together apart, while Fraulein Müller and Carl Eingen, -conversing in low whispers, watched beside the prostrated king. - -Count von Reibach and Baron Wollenstein, not unnoticed by Cousin Fritz, -had left the apartment together. - -“We must have a talk at once, Count,” Wollenstein had said to his -fellow-conspirator. “Come into the cellars with me. We won’t be missed at -this moment.” Unknown to them, the dwarf had stolen into the dark vaults -by their side so close to them that he could hear every word they said. - -“Is he hard hit, Baron?” asked Count von Reibach. “It looks to me like -apoplexy.” - -“I think it is,” answered Wollenstein, taking his companion by the arm -and groping toward a better lighted portion of the cellar that lay beyond -them. “He’s been a sick man for some time back, Count. I’m inclined to -think that the suddenness of his overthrow has precipitated an attack -that could not have been long delayed.” - -“And what, to your mind, is our best play at this juncture, Baron?” -asked von Reibach impressively. The serious nature of the crisis that -confronted them had suddenly broken upon his not very active mind. His -companion made no answer, but stood still, his head turned to one side. - -“The very thing,” whispered Wollenstein hoarsely. “Read that, Count! How -it got here I can’t imagine, but it’s a wonderful stroke of luck at this -juncture.” - -Count von Reibach followed his companion’s gaze and saw before them -a type-written placard, the contents of which the reader has already -learned. - -The count indulged in a weak whistle to relieve his astonishment. “Dead -or alive!” he exclaimed. “It ought to be easy, Baron. I could put the -dwarf in my pocket—if I could get my hands on him.” - -Wollenstein grunted deprecatingly, “We cannot afford to take any chances, -Count,” he said emphatically. “We are in a desperate position. Our heads -are forfeit to the state unless we can take our fatted calf with us when -we go above as returning prodigals. It’s all very well to talk about -capturing the dwarf alive, but you can’t catch rats in this infernal -cellar by chasing them. Our only chance lies in seizing Cousin Fritz -and rendering all opportunity of escape impossible at one stroke. It’s -easily done. Let me get hold of the little imp once and Wilhelm shall -have a court jester, dead or alive, as the case may be.” There was a -cruel menace in the baron’s voice that was carefully noted by a dwarfish -eavesdropper. - -“What was that?” asked the count, starting nervously and gazing into the -shadows with straining eyes. - -“Ach Gott! Are you scared by rats?” muttered the baron sarcastically. -“Now come to the point, Count! Do you understand me? We must act, and act -immediately. Our only hope lies in the capture of the dwarf. We must set -about it at once, and take him—dead or alive.” - -“Yes, dead or alive,” repeated Count von Reibach mechanically, seizing -his companion’s arm and turning to retrace his steps. - -There came a snapping sound, as though a trap had been sprung somewhere -in the darkness. The floor slipped away in creaking grooves and at the -edge of the abyss stood Cousin Fritz, smiling maliciously as he gazed -down into the blackness. A dull sound, as if huge rubber balls had struck -the centre of the earth, came up through the grewsome hole. - -“Two of a kind!” cried the madman, in a shrill, penetrating voice. “Two -of a kind—and I’ve discarded them!” - -He whistled gayly as he scurried back toward his apartments. Now and then -he would break into song and his keen voice would startle the bats from -slumber in the furthermost recesses of the great vaults. - -“Two of a kind! Two of a kind! Two of a kind!” he cried with hysterical -energy now and again. “Two of a kind, but a very small pair! Ha, ha! I -had no use for two of a kind, two of a kind, two of a kind!” - -Suddenly he stood still and listened intently. “The King is dead, long -live the King!” he shouted, and the cellar re-echoed the weird cry. “The -King is dead! Live the King!” - -At that moment Bennett had placed a detaining hand upon the Princess -Hilda’s arm. The cumulative force of the adventures through which they -had passed together had rendered ceremoniousness out of place at this -juncture. - -“The need of aid from above has passed, your highness,” said Bennett -gently. “I beg you to remain here. The King is——” - -“Is dead,” added the princess sadly. - -At that instant far down the cellar they heard the dwarf’s voice crying -shrilly: “The King is dead! Live the King!” - -Bennett gazed at the princess in amazement. - -“’Tis Cousin Fritz’s voice. But how did he know? How did he know?” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -“Are you very tired, your highness?” - -Bennett peered down at the pale face at his side. He held a candle in his -hand as they groped slowly forward in a tunnel that Cousin Fritz ascribed -to the Romans. Beyond them gleamed another unsteady light, carried by -Carl Eingen. Now and then they could hear a penetrating voice raised in -song or lowered in soliloquy as Cousin Fritz guided them toward their -goal. - -The Princess Hilda and Fraulein Müller had laid aside their court attire -and had donned peasant costumes, of a very antique cut, which Cousin -Fritz had obtained from his collection of old-fashioned trumpery, a -collection from which the social history of Hesse-Heilfels for several -generations could have been reconstructed by an imaginative writer. - -The princess looked up at Bennett, a merry gleam in her dark blue eyes: - -“I’m tired, yes; but not of action. I am weary of imprisonment. I long -to reach the end of this tunnel. I feel as though I were approaching the -sunlight after being buried alive for centuries.” - -“But, tell me,” he persisted, his voice low and vibrant, “will you -never regret your decision? Think of what you have given up. When you -donned that peasant’s dress you laid aside a future that shone with -the splendors of high state. That simple cap upon your head replaces a -queen’s diadem. The sacrifice, your highness, is more than I can ask.” - -“Why will you tease me?” she cried with petulant playfulness. “When I put -off my court dress, I gave up forever the title of ‘your highness.’ What -has that title brought to me? Nothing but weariness and pain.” - -Just beyond them she could see Carl Eingen with his arm around the waist -of Fraulein Müller. “Do you think,” asked Hilda, her eyes dancing as they -met Bennett’s, “do you think that Gretchen would wish to return to my -court with the knowledge that Carl Eingen was forever an exile from the -kingdom?” - -Bennett trembled with a sensation of ecstatic triumph. His mind recalled -the thought that had inspired him when he followed the Princess -Hilda into the cellar on the night of the king’s overthrow. In this -subterranean realm there would be no kings and princesses. They would all -be fugitives, placed upon a plane of equality by the levelling power of -misfortune. Beyond his wildest dreams, that thought had been prophetic. -By no conscious effort upon his part, he had won the confidence, perhaps -the love, of this woman at his side. The hand of sorrow had laid its grip -upon her young heart, and in the hour of her misfortune she had looked at -life with eyes that saw all things from a new point of view. - -“It is strange,” she whispered as they stole forward through the damp and -narrow passageway, “it is strange that I should feel for my old life no -regret, no desire to return to the tawdry glories of a court. But do you -know, Herr Bennett, I feel that I would rather die in this old cellar -than go back to my people, to be stared at by the gaping crowds, to hear -the murmur of their senseless chatter as they told each other the tale of -my burial and resurrection. Ugh! The very thought of it is horrible.” - -They hurried on in silence for a time. - -“I shall live with Carl and Gretchen,” she said musingly, when they had -turned a corner in the tunnel and had again caught sight of the candle -in Eingen’s hand. “We will go to some quiet spot and till the soil and -forget the treachery that drove us from our fatherland. I shall be happy -in their happiness—and forget—forget—forget!” - -Bennett bent down until his face almost touched hers. - -“You must not forget,” he whispered, “that there lives a man whose only -wish on earth is to know that your heart is light, that your eyes are -bright with the joy of life, that no shadows fall across your path.” - -Suddenly through the tunnel came the shrill voice of the dwarf, chanting -mischievously the refrain, “Two of a kind.” Then a mocking laugh followed -the words into the echoing vaults far behind the fugitives. - -The Princess Hilda shuddered, and placed a light hand upon Bennett’s arm. - -“Do you know what he did to them?” she asked nervously. - -“He won’t tell me,” answered Bennett; “all that he will say is that they -were ‘a small pair’ and he ‘discarded’ them.” - -Again the princess shuddered, and quickened her steps. Suddenly the -candle carried by Carl Eingen flickered vigorously, and almost succumbed -to a damp draught. The princess glanced up at Bennett joyfully. - -“Look at Carl’s candle,” she exclaimed. “Do you know what that means, -Herr Bennett? We are near the entrance, or rather, the exit to the -tunnel. The Rhine, Herr Bennett, the dear, old Rhine is waiting to take -us to its heart.” - -Her voice trembled with excitement and she stumbled as she darted ahead. -By a quick movement Bennett’s arm caught her as she fell forward. -Forgetful of everything but his burning love, he held her pressed against -him as he rained passionate kisses upon her lips and cheeks. - -“I love you, Hilda, I love you! I love you!” he whispered wildly. “You -are my queen! my queen! Do not tremble so! See, I will be gentle! Just -one more kiss, my darling! One more kiss! One more kiss!” - -“Two of a kind, two of a kind, two of a kind,” cried a harsh voice, close -at hand. “There, Carl Eingen, is the river, and here’s the boat! Pull it -up close to the wall. That’s right. Ha, ha! I must discard again! This -time it’s two pair! Two pair! Ha, ha!” - -Carl Eingen had entered the flat-bottomed boat and had placed the oars in -the rowlocks, after seating Fraulein Müller in the stern. - -The Princess Hilda and Herr Bennett stood upon the stone-work that jutted -out from the tunnel’s opening. The breeze that swept across the bosom -of the Rhine caressed their cheeks and made free with Hilda’s golden -locks. Behind them stood Cousin Fritz, cap in hand, as though he did the -honors of his mansion to home-going guests. Bennett gave his hand to the -princess and she seated herself by Fraulein Müller’s side. - -“Come, Cousin Fritz,” cried Bennett, his voice vibrant with the joy -that filled his soul, “into the boat! Quick! We can afford to take no -risks—Wilhelm’s sentinel may have sharp eyes. Quick, I say!” - -Cousin Fritz stepped back into the tunnel. His small, white wizened face -became a ghostly vision against the black depths behind him. - -“Farewell,” he cried in his thin, mocking voice, “farewell! My -kingdom needs its king, and I return! Remember Cousin Fritz, King of -Hesse-Heilfels for a thousand years! Farewell!” - -Bennett pushed the boat into the current and jumped aboard. With powerful -strokes Carl Eingen urged the clumsy craft toward the centre of the -stream. Suddenly across the black waste of waters between them and the -shore came a piercing voice as they heard the disjointed words: - -“Two pair! Discard two pair! Draw to kings! Ha, ha! Draw to kings! Ha, -ha!” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -September in the Berkshire hills makes Litchfield, Connecticut, an -attractive place to people of leisure who like to watch nature as she -doffs her summer garb of green and yellow and dons the purple and scarlet -raiment that autumn provides for her. - -Upon the broad piazza of a hotel commanding a wide view of a hill -country unrivalled for beauty in the new world sat several men and women -indulging in the idle gossip that falls from the lips of people who have -nothing more serious confronting them than a game of golf or a drive -through the woods. - -“Anything interesting in the _Trumpet_, Hal?” asked a youth, attired in -a most unbecoming golf costume, glancing at a young man who held in his -hands a copy of the latest issue of Litchfield’s weekly newspaper. - -“Calvin Johnson has put a new coat of paint on his barn,” answered the -news-reader solemnly. “Mrs. Rogers spent Sunday with friends in Roxbury.” - -“Oh, stop it, Hal,” cried a vivacious young woman, putting up her hand -imperiously. “You’ll drive us all away if you keep on.” - -“Wait a moment! Let me read you something of more interest,” said the -young man with the newspaper impressively. “This is the _pièce de -résistance_ of the week’s _Trumpet_: - -“‘We take pleasure in informing our readers that Jonathan Edwards -Bennett, an old resident of Litchfield, has returned from a long sojourn -in Europe and has reopened the Bennett homestead on Main Street. Mr. -Bennett is accompanied by his wife. Rumor has it that Mrs. Bennett is a -daughter of one of the oldest and most aristocratic families in central -Europe. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are entertaining their friends, Mr. and Mrs. -Eingen, of Germany, who will remain in Litchfield until late in the fall. -The _Trumpet_ is informed that Mr. Bennett will take up his residence -permanently in Litchfield. It is understood that he will devote much -time to politics. We congratulate our fellow-townsmen upon Mr. Bennett’s -return to his native heath and take pleasure in bidding him welcome.’” - - -“That explains it, then!” exclaimed the vivacious young woman excitedly. -“That must have been Mrs. Bennett we saw yesterday, Marion. She is really -a beautiful woman, with magnificent golden hair and the dearest blue -eyes! She’s a perfect love! Isn’t she, Marion?” - -“She is, indeed,” answered the girl appealed to. - -“Jonathan Edwards Bennett,” repeated one of the men who had listened to -the _Trumpet’s_ choice tid-bit. “He was in my class at Yale. A clever -fellow, but restless. They used to say of him that he would be famous or -a failure before he had been out in the world five years.” - -“And has he been a success?” drawled the youth in the golf suit. - -“Of course he has,” cried the vivacious young woman, “hasn’t he married -a beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes? 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