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diff --git a/old/mdkng10.txt b/old/mdkng10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e2f391 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/mdkng10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12526 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext of The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association / Illinois + Benedictine College" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Illinois Benedictine College". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + + + + + + + +EDGAR RICE +BURROUGHS + +THE MAD KING + + + + + + + +PART I + + +I + +A RUNAWAY HORSE + + +ALL LUSTADT was in an uproar. The mad king had es- +caped. Little knots of excited men stood upon the street +corners listening to each latest rumor concerning this most +absorbing occurrence. Before the palace a great crowd +surged to and fro, awaiting they knew not what. + +For ten years no man of them had set eyes upon the face +of the boy-king who had been hastened to the grim castle +of Blentz upon the death of the old king, his father. + +There had been murmurings then when the lad's uncle, +Peter of Blentz, had announced to the people of Lutha the +sudden mental affliction which had fallen upon his nephew, +and more murmurings for a time after the announcement +that Peter of Blentz had been appointed Regent during the +lifetime of the young King Leopold, "or until God, in His +infinite mercy, shall see fit to restore to us in full mental +vigor our beloved monarch." + +But ten years is a long time. The boy-king had become +but a vague memory to the subjects who could recall him +at all. + +There were many, of course, in the capital city, Lustadt, +who still retained a mental picture of the handsome boy +who had ridden out nearly every morning from the palace +gates beside the tall, martial figure of the old king, his father, +for a canter across the broad plain which lies at the foot of +the mountain town of Lustadt; but even these had long since +given up hope that their young king would ever ascend his +throne, or even that they should see him alive again. + +Peter of Blentz had not proved a good or kind ruler. +Taxes had doubled during his regency. Executives and ju- +diciary, following the example of their chief, had become +tyrannical and corrupt. For ten years there had been small +joy in Lutha. + +There had been whispered rumors off and on that the +young king was dead these many years, but not even in +whispers did the men of Lutha dare voice the name of him +whom they believed had caused his death. For lesser things +they had seen their friends and neighbors thrown into the +hitherto long-unused dungeons of the royal castle. + +And now came the rumor that Leopold of Lutha had es- +caped the Castle of Blentz and was roaming somewhere in +the wild mountains or ravines upon the opposite side of the +plain of Lustadt. + +Peter of Blentz was filled with rage and, possibly, fear as +well. + +"I tell you, Coblich," he cried, addressing his dark-visaged +minister of war, there's more than coincidence in this +matter. Someone has betrayed us. That he should have es- +caped upon the very eve of the arrival at Blentz of the new +physician is most suspicious. None but you, Coblich, had +knowledge of the part that Dr. Stein was destined to play +in this matter," concluded Prince Peter pointedly. + +Coblich looked the Regent full in the eye. + +"Your highness wrongs not only my loyalty, but my intel- +ligence," he said quietly, "by even so much as intimating that +I have any guilty knowledge of Leopold's escape. With +Leopold upon the throne of Lutha, where, think you, my +prince, would old Coblich be?" + +Peter smiled. + +"You are right, Coblich," he said. "I know that you +would not be such a fool; but whom, then, have we to +thank?" + +"The walls have ears, prince," replied Coblich, "and we +have not always been as careful as we should in discussing +the matter. Something may have come to the ears of old +Von der Tann. I don't for a moment doubt but that he has +his spies among the palace servants, or even the guard. You +know the old fox has always made it a point to curry favor +with the common soldiers. When he was minister of war he +treated them better than he did his officers." + +"It seems strange, Coblich, that so shrewd a man as you +should have been unable to discover some irregularity in +the political life of Prince Ludwig von der Tann before +now," said the prince querulously. "He is the greatest men- +ace to our peace and sovereignty. With Von der Tann out +of the way there would be none powerful enough to ques- +tion our right to the throne of Lutha--after poor Leopold +passes away." + +"You forget that Leopold has escaped," suggested Coblich, +"and that there is no immediate prospect of his passing +away." + +"He must be retaken at once, Coblich!" cried Prince Peter +of Blentz. "He is a dangerous maniac, and we must make +this fact plain to the people--this and a thorough descrip- +tion of him. A handsome reward for his safe return to Blentz +might not be out of the way, Coblich." + +"It shall be done, your highness," replied Coblich. "And +about Von der Tann? You have never spoken to me quite +so--ah--er--pointedly before. He hunts a great deal in the +Old Forest. It might be possible--in fact, it has happened, +before--there are many accidents in hunting, are there not, +your highness?" + +"There are, Coblich," replied the prince, "and if Leopold +is able he will make straight for the Tann, so that there may +be two hunting together in a day or so, Coblich." + +"I understand, your highness," replied the minister. "With +your permission, I shall go at once and dispatch troops to +search the forest for Leopold. Captain Maenck will command +them." + +"Good, Coblich! Maenck is a most intelligent and loyal +officer. We must reward him well. A baronetcy, at least, if +he handles this matter well," said Peter. "It might not be a +bad plan to hint at as much to him, Coblich." + +And so it happened that shortly thereafter Captain Ernst +Maenck, in command of a troop of the Royal Horse Guards +of Lutha, set out toward the Old Forest, which lies beyond +the mountains that are visible upon the other side of the +plain stretching out before Lustadt. At the same time other +troopers rode in many directions along the highways and +byways of Lutha, tacking placards upon trees and fence posts +and beside the doors of every little rural post office. + +The placard told of the escape of the mad king, offering +a large reward for his safe return to Blentz. + +It was the last paragraph especially which caused a young +man, the following day in the little hamlet of Tafelberg, to +whistle as he carefully read it over. + +"I am glad that I am not the mad king of Lutha," he said +as he paid the storekeeper for the gasoline he had just pur- +chased and stepped into the gray roadster for whose greedy +maw it was destined. + +"Why, mein Herr?" asked the man. + +"This notice practically gives immunity to whoever shoots +down the king," replied the traveler. "Worse still, it gives +such an account of the maniacal ferocity of the fugitive as +to warrant anyone in shooting him on sight." + +As the young man spoke the storekeeper had examined +his face closely for the first time. A shrewd look came into +the man's ordinarily stolid countenance. He leaned forward +quite close to the other's ear. + +"We of Lutha," he whispered, "love our 'mad king'--no +reward could be offered that would tempt us to betray him. +Even in self-protection we would not kill him, we of the +mountains who remember him as a boy and loved his father +and his grandfather, before him. + +"But there are the scum of the low country in the army +these days, who would do anything for money, and it is +these that the king must guard against. I could not help but +note that mein Herr spoke too perfect German for a foreigner. +Were I in mein Herr's place, I should speak mostly the +English, and, too, I should shave off the 'full, reddish-brown +beard.'" + +Whereupon the storekeeper turned hastily back into his +shop, leaving Barney Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., +to wonder if all the inhabitants of Lutha were afflicted with +a mental disorder similar to that of the unfortunate ruler. + +"I don't wonder," soliloquized the young man, "that he ad- +vised me to shave off this ridiculous crop of alfalfa. Hang +election bets, anyway; if things had gone half right I +shouldn't have had to wear this badge of idiocy. And to +think that it's got to be for a whole month longer! A year's +a mighty long while at best, but a year in company with a +full set of red whiskers is an eternity." + +The road out of Tafelberg wound upward among tall +trees toward the pass that would lead him across the next +some excellent shooting. All his life Barney had promised +himself that some day he should visit his mother's native +land, and now that he was here he found it as wild and +beautiful as she had said it would be. + +Neither his mother nor his father had ever returned to the +little country since the day, thirty years before, that the big +American had literally stolen his bride away, escaping across +the border but a scant half-hour ahead of the pursuing +troop of Luthanian cavalry. Barney had often wondered why +it was that neither of them would ever speak of those days, +or of the early life of his mother, Victoria Rubinroth, though +of the beauties of her native land Mrs. Custer never tired of +talking. + +Barney Custer was thinking of these things as his machine +wound up the picturesque road. Just before him was a long, +heavy grade, and as he took it with open muffler the chug- +ging of his motor drowned the sound of pounding hoof +beats rapidly approaching behind him. + +It was not until he topped the grade that he heard any- +thing unusual, and at the same instant a girl on horseback +tore past him. The speed of the animal would have been +enough to have told him that it was beyond the control of its +frail rider, even without the added testimony of the broken +bit that dangled beneath the tensely outstretched chin. + +Foam flecked the beast's neck and shoulders. It was evi- +dent that the horse had been running for some distance, yet +its speed was still that of the thoroughly frightened runaway. + +The road at the point where the animal had passed Custer +was cut from the hillside. At the left an embankment rose +steeply to a height of ten or fifteen feet. On the right there +was a drop of a hundred feet or more into a wooded ravine. +Ahead, the road apparently ran quite straight and smooth +for a considerable distance. + +Barney Custer knew that so long as the road ran straight +the girl might be safe enough, for she was evidently an +excellent horsewoman; but be also knew that if there should +be a sharp turn to the left ahead, the horse in his blind +fright would in all probability dash headlong into the ravine +below him. + +There was but a single thing that the man might attempt +if he were to save the girl from the almost certain death +which seemed in store for her, since he knew that sooner or +later the road would turn, as all mountain roads do. The +chances that he must take, if he failed, could only hasten the +girl's end. There was no alternative except to sit supinely by +and see the fear-crazed horse carry its rider into eternity, and +Barney Custer was not the sort for that role. + +Scarcely had the beast come abreast of him than his foot +leaped to the accelerator. Like a frightened deer the gray +roadster sprang forward in pursuit. The road was narrow. +Two machines could not have passed upon it. Barney took +the outside that he might hold the horse away from the +dangerous ravine. + +At the sound of the whirring thing behind him the animal +cast an affrighted glance in its direction, and with a little +squeal of terror redoubled its frantic efforts to escape. The +girl, too, looked back over her shoulder. Her face was very +white, but her eyes were steady and brave. + +Barney Custer smiled up at her in encouragement, and the +girl smiled back at him. + +"She's sure a game one," thought Barney. + +Now she was calling to him. At first he could not catch +her words above the pounding of the horse's hoofs and the +noise of his motor. Presently he understood. + +"Stop!" she cried. "Stop or you will be killed. The road +turns to the left just ahead. You'll go into the ravine at that +speed." + +The front wheel of the roadster was at the horse's right +flank. Barney stepped upon the accelerator a little harder. +There was barely room between the horse and the edge of +the road for the four wheels of the roadster, and Barney +must be very careful not to touch the horse. The thought of +that and what it would mean to the girl sent a cold shudder +through Barney Custer's athletic frame. + +The man cast a glance to his right. His machine drove +from the left side, and he could not see the road at all over +the right hand door. The sight of tree tops waving beneath +him was all that was visible. Just ahead the road's edge +rushed swiftly beneath the right-hand fender, the wheels +on that side must have been on the very verge of the em- +bankment. + +Now he was abreast the girl. Just ahead he could see +where the road disappeared around a corner of the bluff at +the dangerous curve the girl had warned him against. + +Custer leaned far out over the side of his car. The lung- +ing of the horse in his stride, and the swaying of the leaping +car carried him first close to the girl and then away again. +With his right hand he held the car between the frantic +horse and the edge of the embankment. His left hand, out- +stretched, was almost at the girl's waist. The turn was just +before them. + +"Jump!" cried Barney. + +The girl fell backward from her mount, turning to grasp +Custer's arm as it closed about her. At the same instant +Barney closed the throttle, and threw all the weight of his +body upon the foot brake. + +The gray roadster swerved toward the embankment as the +hind wheels skidded on the loose surface gravel. They were +at the turn. The horse was just abreast the bumper. There +was one chance in a thousand of making the turn were +the running beast out of the way. There was still a chance if +he turned ahead of them. If he did not turn--Barney hated +to think of what must follow. + +But it was all over in a second. The horse bolted straight +ahead. Barney swerved the roadster to the turn. It caught +the animal full in the side. There was a sickening lurch as +the hind wheels slid over the embankment, and then the +man shoved the girl from the running board to the road, and +horse, man and roadster went over into the ravine. + +A moment before a tall young man with a reddish-brown +beard had stood at the turn of the road listening intently to +the sound of the hurrying hoof beats and the purring of the +racing motor car approaching from the distance. In his eyes +lurked the look of the hunted. For a moment he stood in +evident indecision, but just before the runaway horse and +the pursuing machine came into view he slipped over the +edge of the road to slink into the underbrush far down +toward the bottom of the ravine. + +When Barney pushed the girl from the running board she +fell heavily to the road, rolling over several times, but in an +instant she scrambled to her feet, hardly the worse for the +tumble other than a few scratches. + +Quickly she ran to the edge of the embankment, a look of +immense relief coming to her soft, brown eyes as she saw +her rescuer scrambling up the precipitous side of the ravine +toward her. + +"You are not killed?" she cried in German. "It is a miracle!" + +"Not even bruised," reassured Barney. "But you? You +must have had a nasty fall." + +"I am not hurt at all," she replied. "But for you I should +be lying dead, or terribly maimed down there at the bottom +of that awful ravine at this very moment. It's awful." She +drew her shoulders upward in a little shudder of horror. +"But how did you escape? Even now I can scarce believe +it possible." + +"I'm quite sure I don't know how I did escape," said +Barney, clambering over the rim of the road to her side. +"That I had nothing to do with it I am positive. It was just +luck. I simply dropped out onto that bush down there." + +They were standing side by side, now peering down into +the ravine where the car was visible, bottom side up against +a tree, near the base of the declivity. The horse's head +could be seen protruding from beneath the wreckage. + +"I'd better go down and put him out of his misery," said +Barney, "if he is not already dead." + +"I think he is quite dead," said the girl. "I have not seen +him move." + +Just then a little puff of smoke arose from the machine, +followed by a tongue of yellow flame. Barney had already +started toward the horse. + +"Please don't go," begged the girl. "I am sure that he is +quite dead, and it wouldn't be safe for you down there now. +The gasoline tank may explode any minute." + +Barney stopped. + +"Yes, he is dead all right," he said, "but all my belongings +are down there. My guns, six-shooters and all my ammuni- +tion. And," he added ruefully, "I've heard so much about +the brigands that infest these mountains." + +The girl laughed. + +"Those stories are really exaggerated," she said. "I was +born in Lutha, and except for a few months each year have +always lived here, and though I ride much I have never +seen a brigand. You need not be afraid." + +Barney Custer looked up at her quickly, and then he +grinned. His only fear had been that he would not meet +brigands, for Mr. Bernard Custer, Jr., was young and the +spirit of Romance and Adventure breathed strong within +him. + +"Why do you smile?" asked the girl. + +"At our dilemma," evaded Barney. "Have you paused to +consider our situation?" + +The girl smiled, too. + +"It is most unconventional," she said. "On foot and alone +in the mountains, far from home, and we do not even know +each other's name." + +"Pardon me," cried Barney, bowing low. "Permit me to +introduce myself. I am," and then to the spirits of Romance +and Adventure was added a third, the spirit of Deviltry, "I +am the mad king of Lutha." + + + +II + +OVER THE PRECIPICE + +THE EFFECT of his words upon the girl were quite different +from what he had expected. An American girl would have +laughed, knowing that he but joked. This girl did not laugh. +Instead her face went white, and she clutched her bosom +with her two hands. Her brown eyes peered searchingly into +the face of the man. + +"Leopold!" she cried in a suppressed voice. "Oh, your +majesty, thank God that you are free--and sane!" + +Before he could prevent it the girl had seized his hand +and pressed it to her lips. + +Here was a pretty muddle! Barney Custer swore at himself +inwardly for a boorish fool. What in the world had ever +prompted him to speak those ridiculous words! And now +how was he to unsay them without mortifying this beautiful +girl who had just kissed his hand? + +She would never forgive that--he was sure of it. + +There was but one thing to do, however, and that was to +make a clean breast of it. Somehow, he managed to stumble +through his explanation of what had prompted him, and +when he had finished he saw that the girl was smiling in- +dulgently at him. + +"It shall be Mr. Bernard Custer if you wish it so," she said; +"but your majesty need fear nothing from Emma von der +Tann. Your secret is as safe with me as with yourself, as the +name of Von der Tann must assure you." + +She looked to see the expression of relief and pleasure +that her father's name should have brought to the face of +Leopold of Lutha, but when he gave no indication that he +had ever before heard the name she sighed and looked +puzzled. + +"Perhaps," she thought, "he doubts me. Or can it be pos- +sible that, after all, his poor mind is gone?" + +"I wish," said Barney in a tone of entreaty, "that you +would forgive and forget my foolish words, and then let me +accompany you to the end of your journey." + +"Whither were you bound when I became the means of +wrecking your motor car?" asked the girl. + +"To the Old Forest," replied Barney. + +Now she was positive that she was indeed with the mad +king of Lutha, but she had no fear of him, for since child- +hood she had heard her father scout the idea that Leopold +was mad. For what other purpose would he hasten toward +the Old Forest than to take refuge in her father's castle upon +the banks of the Tann at the forest's verge? + +"Thither was I bound also," she said, "and if you would +come there quickly and in safety I can show you a short +path across the mountains that my father taught me years +ago. It touches the main road but once or twice, and much +of the way passes through dense woods and undergrowth +where an army might hide." + +"Hadn't we better find the nearest town," suggested Bar- +ney, "where I can obtain some sort of conveyance to take +you home?" + +"It would not be safe," said the girl. "Peter of Blentz will +have troops out scouring all Lutha about Blentz and the Old +Forest until the king is captured." + +Barney Custer shook his head despairingly. + +"Won't you please believe that I am but a plain Ameri- +can?" he begged. + +Upon the bole of a large wayside tree a fresh, new placard +stared them in the face. Emma von der Tann pointed at one +of the paragraphs. + +"Gray eyes, brown hair, and a full reddish-brown beard," +she read. "No matter who you may be," she said, "you are +safer off the highways of Lutha than on them until you can +find and use a razor." + +"But I cannot shave until the fifth of November," said +Barney. + +Again the girl looked quickly into his eyes and again in +her mind rose the question that had hovered there once be- +fore. Was he indeed, after all, quite sane? + +"Then please come with me the safest way to my father's," +she urged. "He will know what is best to do." + +"He cannot make me shave," insisted Barney. + +"Why do you wish not to shave?" asked the girl., + +"It is a matter of my honor," he replied. "I had my choice +of wearing a green wastebasket bonnet trimmed with red +roses for six months, or a beard for twelve. If I shave off the +beard before the fifth of November I shall be without honor +in the sight of all men or else I shall have to wear the green +bonnet. The beard is bad enough, but the bonnet--ugh!" + +Emma von der Tann was now quite assured that the poor +fellow was indeed quite demented, but she had seen no in- +dications of violence as yet, though when that too might +develop there was no telling. However, he was to her Leo- +pold of Lutha, and her father's house had been loyal to +him or his ancestors for three hundred years. + +If she must sacrifice her life in the attempt, nevertheless +still must she do all within her power to save her king from +recapture and to lead him in safety to the castle upon the +Tann. + +"Come," she said; "we waste time here. Let us make +haste, for the way is long. At best we cannot reach Tann +by dark." + +"I will do anything you wish," replied Barney, "but I +shall never forgive myself for having caused you the long +and tedious journey that lies before us. It would be per- +fectly safe to go to the nearest town and secure a rig." + +Emma von der Tann had heard that it was always well to +humor maniacs and she thought of it now. She would put +the scheme to the test. + +"The reason that I fear to have you go to the village," she +said, "is that I am quite sure they would catch you and +shave off your beard." + +Barney started to laugh, but when he saw the deep serious- +ness of the girl's eyes he changed his mind. Then he recalled +her rather peculiar insistence that he was a king, and it +suddenly occurred to him that he had been foolish not to +have guessed the truth before. + +"That is so," he agreed; "I guess we had better do as you +say," for he had determined that the best way to handle her +would be to humor her--he had always heard that that was +the proper method for handling the mentally defective. +"Where is the--er--ah--sanatorium?" he blurted out at last. + +"The what?" she asked. "There is no sanatorium near here, +your majesty, unless you refer to the Castle of Blentz." + +"Is there no asylum for the insane near by?" + +"None that I know of, your majesty." + +For a while they moved on in silence, each wondering +what the other might do next. + +Barney had evolved a plan. He would try and ascertain +the location of the institution from which the girl had es- +caped and then as gently as possible lead her back to it. +It was not safe for as beautiful a woman as she to be roam- +ing through the forest in any such manner as this. He won- +dered what in the world the authorities at the asylum had +been thinking of to permit her to ride out alone in the first +place. + +"From where did you ride today?" he blurted out sud- +denly. + +"From Tann." + +"That is where we are going now?" + +"Yes, your majesty." + +Barney drew a breath of relief. The way had become +suddenly difficult and he took the girl's arm to help her +down a rather steep place. At the bottom of the ravine there +was a little brook. + +"There used to be a fallen log across it here," said the +girl. "How in the world am I ever to get across, your +majesty?" + +"If you call me that again, I shall begin to believe that +I am a king," he humored her, "and then, being a king, I +presume that it wouldn't be proper for me to carry you +across, or would it? Never really having been a king, I do +not know." + +"I think," replied the girl, "that it would be eminently +proper." + +She had difficulty in keeping in mind the fact that this +handsome, smiling young man was a dangerous maniac, +though it was easy to believe that he was the king. In fact, +he looked much as she had always pictured Leopold as +looking. She had known him as a boy, and there were many +paintings and photographs of his ancestors in her father's +castle. She saw much resemblance between these and the +young man. + +The brook was very narrow, and the girl thought that it +took the young man an unreasonably long time to carry her +across, though she was forced to admit that she was far +from uncomfortable in the strong arms that bore her so +easily. + +"Why, what are you doing?" she cried presently. "You +are not crossing the stream at all. You are walking right up +the middle of it!" + +She saw his face flush, and then he turned laughing eyes +upon her. + +"I am looking for a safe landing," he said. + +Emma von der Tann did not know whether to be frightened +or amused. As her eyes met the clear, gray ones of the man +she could not believe that insanity lurked behind that laugh- +ing, level gaze of her carrier. She found herself continually +forgetting that the man was mad. He had turned toward the +bank now, and a couple of steps carried them to the low +sward that fringed the little brooklet. Here he lowered her +to the ground. + +"Your majesty is very strong," she said. "I should not have +expected it after the years of confinement you have suffered." + +"Yes," he said, realizing that he must humor her--it was +difficult to remember that this lovely girl was insane. "Let +me see, now just what was I in prison for? I do not seem to +be able to recall it. In Nebraska, they used to hang men for +horse stealing; so I am sure it must have been something +else not quite so bad. Do you happen to know?" + +"When the king, your father, died you were thirteen years +old," the girl explained, hoping to reawaken the sleeping +mind, "and then your uncle, Prince Peter of Blentz, an- +nounced that the shock of your father's death had unbal- +anced your mind. He shut you up in Blentz then, where you +have been for ten years, and he has ruled as regent. Now, +my father says, he has recently discovered a plot to take +your life so that Peter may become king. But I suppose you +learned of that, and because of it you escaped!" + +"This Peter person is all-powerful in Lutha?" he asked. + +"He controls the army," the girl replied. + +"And you really believe that I am the mad king Leopold?" + +"You are the king," she said in a convincing manner. + +"You are a very brave young lady," he said earnestly. "If +all the mad king's subjects were as loyal as you, and as +brave, he would not have languished for ten years behind +the walls of Blentz." + +"I am a Von der Tann," she said proudly, as though that +was explanation sufficient to account for any bravery or +loyalty. + +"Even a Von der Tann might, without dishonor, hesitate +to accompany a mad man through the woods," he replied, +"especially if she happened to be a very--a very--" He +halted, flushing. + +"A very what, your majesty?" asked the girl. + +"A very young woman," he ended lamely. + +Emma von der Tann knew that he had not intended say- +ing that at all. Being a woman, she knew precisely what he +had meant to say, and she discovered that she would very +much have liked to hear him say it. + +"Suppose," said Barney, "that Peter's soldiers run across +us--what then?" + +"They will take you back to Blentz, your majesty." + +"And you?" + +"I do not think that they will dare lay hands on me, +though it is possible that Peter might do so. He hates my +father even more now than he did when the old king lived." + +"I wish," said Mr. Custer, "that I had gone down after my +guns. Why didn't you tell me, in the first place, that I was a +king, and that I might get you in trouble if you were found +with me? Why, they may even take me for an emperor or a +mikado--who knows? And then look at all the trouble we'd +be in." + +Which was Barney's way of humoring a maniac. + +"And they might even shave off your beautiful beard." + +Which was the girl's way. + +"Do you think that you would like me better in the green +wastebasket hat with the red roses?" asked Barney. + +A very sad look came into the girl's eyes. It was pitiful to +think that this big, handsome young man, for whose return +to the throne all Lutha had prayed for ten long years, was +only a silly half-wit. What might he not have accomplished +for his people had this terrible misfortune not overtaken +him! In every other way he seemed fitted to be the savior +of his country. If she could but make him remember! + +"Your majesty," she said, "do you not recall the time that +your father came upon a state visit to my father's castle? +You were a little boy then. He brought you with him. I was +a little girl, and we played together. You would not let me +call you 'highness,' but insisted that I should always call +you Leopold. When I forgot you would accuse me of lese- +majeste, and sentence me to--to punishment.' + +"What was the punishment?" asked Barney, noticing her +hesitation and wishing to encourage her in the pretty turn +her dementia had taken. + +Again the girl hesitated; she hated to say it, but if it +would help to recall the past to that poor, dimmed mind, +it was her duty. + +"Every time I called you 'highness' you made me give +you a--a kiss," she almost whispered. + +"I hope," said Barney, "that you will be guilty of lese- +majeste often." + +"We were little children then, your majesty," the girl re- +minded him. + +Had he thought her of sound mind Mr. Custer might have +taken advantage of his royal prerogatives on the spot, for +the girl's lips were most tempting; but when he remembered +the poor, weak mind, tears almost came to his eyes, and +there sprang to his heart a great desire to protect and guard +this unfortunate child. + +"And when I was Crown Prince what were you, way back +there in the beautiful days of our childhood?" asked Barney. + +"Why, I was what I still am, your majesty," replied the +girl. "Princess Emma von der Tann." + +So the poor child, beside thinking him a king, thought +herself a princess! She certainly was mad. Well, he would +humor her. + +"Then I should call you 'your highness,' shouldn't I?" he +asked. + +"You always called me Emma when we were children." + +"Very well, then, you shall be Emma and I Leopold. Is +it a bargain?" + +"The king's will is law," she said. + +They had come to a very steep hillside, up which the half- +obliterated trail zigzagged toward the crest of a flat-topped +hill. Barney went ahead, taking the girl's hand in his to help +her, and thus they came to the top, to stand hand in hand, +breathing heavily after the stiff climb. + +The girl's hair had come loose about her temples and a +lock was blowing over her face. Her cheeks were very red +and her eyes bright. Barney thought he had never looked +upon a lovelier picture. He smiled down into her eyes and +she smiled back at him. + +"I wished, back there a way," he said, "that that little +brook had been as wide as the ocean--now I wish that +this little hill had been as high as Mont Blanc." + +"You like to climb?" she asked. + +"I should like to climb forever--with you," he said +seriously. + +She looked up at him quickly. A reply was on her lips, but +she never uttered it, for at that moment a ruffian in pictur- +esque rags leaped out from behind a near-by bush, con- +fronting them with leveled revolver. He was so close that +the muzzle of the weapon almost touched Barney's face. In +that the fellow made his mistake. + +"You see," said Barney unexcitedly, "that I was right +about the brigands after all. What do you want, my man?" + +The man's eyes had suddenly gone wide. He stared with +open mouth at the young fellow before him. Then a cunning +look came into his eyes. + +"I want you, your majesty," he said. + +"Godfrey!" exclaimed Barney. "Did the whole bunch es- +cape?" + +"Quick!" growled the man. "Hold up your hands. The +notice made it plain that you would be worth as much dead +as alive, and I have no mind to lose you, so do not tempt +me to kill you." + +Barney's hands went up, but not in the way that the +brigand had expected. Instead, one of them seized his +weapon and shoved it aside, while with the other Custer +planted a blow between his eyes and sent him reeling back- +ward. The two men closed, fighting for possession of the gun. +In the scrimmage it was exploded, but a moment later the +American succeeded in wresting it from his adversary and +hurled it into the ravine. + +Striking at one another, the two surged backward and +forward at the very edge of the hill, each searching for the +other's throat. The girl stood by, watching the battle with +wide, frightened eyes. If she could only do something to +aid the king! + +She saw a loose stone lying at a little distance from the +fighters and hastened to procure it. If she could strike the +brigand a single good blow on the side of the head, Leopold +might easily overpower him. When she had gathered up the +rock and turned back toward the two she saw that the man +she thought to be the king was not much in the way of need- +ing outside assistance. She could not but marvel at the +strength and dexterity of this poor fellow who had spent +almost half his life penned within the four walls of a prison. +It must be, she thought, the superhuman strength with +which maniacs are always credited. + +Nevertheless, she hurried toward them with her weapon; +but just before she reached them the brigand made a last +mad effort to free himself from the fingers that had found +his throat. He lunged backward, dragging the other with +him. His foot struck upon the root of a tree, and together +the two toppled over into the ravine. + +As the girl hastened toward the spot where the two had +disappeared, she was startled to see three troopers of the pal- +ace cavalry headed by an officer break through the trees at a +short distance from where the battle had waged. The four +men ran rapidly toward her. + +"What has happened here? shouted the officer to Emma +von der Tann; and then, as he came closer: "Gott! Can it +be possible that it is your highness?" + +The girl paid no attention to the officer. Instead, she hur- +ried down the steep embankment toward the underbrush +into which the two men had fallen. There was no sound +from below, and no movement in the bushes to indicate that +a moment before two desperately battling human beings +had dropped among them. + +The soldiers were close upon the girl's heels, but it was +she who first reached the two quiet figures that lay side by +side upon the stony ground halfway down the hillside. + +When the officer stopped beside her she was sitting on +the ground holding the head of one of the combatants in +her lap. + +A little stream of blood trickled from a wound in the +forehead. The officer stooped closer. + +"He is dead?" he asked. + +"The king is dead," replied the Princess Emma von der +Tann, a little sob in her voice. + +"The king!" exclaimed the officer; and then, as he bent +lower over the white face: "Leopold!" + +The girl nodded. + +"We were searching for him," said the officer, "when we +heard the shot." Then, arising, he removed his cap, saying +in a very low voice: "The king is dead. Long live the king!" + + + + +III + +AN ANGRY KING + +THE SOLDIERS stood behind their officer. None of them had +ever seen Leopold of Lutha--he had been but a name to +them--they cared nothing for him; but in the presence of +death they were awed by the majesty of the king they had +never known. + +The hands of Emma von der Tann were chafing the wrists +of the man whose head rested in her lap. + +"Leopold!" she whispered. "Leopold, come back! Mad +king you may have been, but still you were king of Lutha-- +my father's king--my king." + +The girl nearly cried out in shocked astonishment as she +saw the eyes of the dead king open. But Emma von der +Tann was quick-witted. She knew for what purpose the +soldiers from the palace were scouring the country. + +Had she not thought the king dead she would have cut +out her tongue rather than reveal his identity to these sol- +diers of his great enemy. Now she saw that Leopold lived, +and she must undo the harm she had innocently wrought. +She bent lower over Barney's face, trying to hide it from +the soldiers. + +"Go away, please!" she called to them. "Leave me with +my dead king. You are Peter's men. You do not care for +Leopold, living or dead. Go back to your new king and tell +him that this poor young man can never more stand between +him and the throne." + +The officer hesitated. + +"We shall have to take the king's body with us, your +highness," he said. + +The officer evidently becoming suspicious, came closer, +and as he did so Barney Custer sat up. + +"Go away!" cried the girl, for she saw that the king was +attempting to speak. "My father's people will carry Leopold +of Lutha in state to the capital of his kingdom." + +"What's all this row about?" he asked. "Can't you let a +dead king alone if the young lady asks you to? What kind +of a short sport are you, anyway? Run along, now, and tie +yourself outside." + +The officer smiled, a trifle maliciously perhaps. + +"Ah," he said, "I am very glad indeed that you are not +dead, your majesty." + +Barney Custer turned his incredulous eyes upon the lieu- +tenant. + +"Et tu, Brute?" he cried in anguished accents, letting +his head fall back into the girl's lap. He found it very com- +fortable there indeed. + +The officer smiled and shook his head. Then he tapped +his forehead meaningly. + +"I did not know," he said to the girl, "that he was so bad. +But come--it is some distance to Blentz, and the afternoon +is already well spent. Your highness will accompany us." + +"I?" cried the girl. "You certainly cannot be serious." + +"And why not, your highness?" asked the officer. "We +had strict orders to arrest not only the king, but any com- +panions who may have been involved in his escape." + +"I had nothing whatever to do with his escape," said the +girl, "though I should have been only too glad to have +aided him had the opportunity presented." + +"King Peter may think differently," replied the man. + +"The Regent, you mean?" the girl corrected him haughtily. + +The officer shrugged his shoulders. + +"Regent or King, he is ruler of Lutha nevertheless, and he +would take away my commission were I to tell him that I +had found a Von der Tann in company with the king and +had permitted her to escape. Your blood convicts your high- +ness." + +"You are going to take me to Blentz and confine me +there?" asked the girl in a very small voice and with wide +incredulous eyes. "You would not dare thus to humiliate a +Von der Tann?" + +"I am very sorry," said the officer, "but I am a soldier, +and soldiers must obey their superiors. My orders are strict. +You may be thankful," he added, "that it was not Maenck +who discovered you." + +At the mention of the name the girl shuddered. + +"In so far as it is in my power your highness and his +majesty will be accorded every consideration of dignity and +courtesy while under my escort. You need not entertain +any fear of me," he concluded. + +Barney Custer, during this, to him, remarkable dialogue, +had risen to his feet, and assisted the girl in rising. Now he +turned and spoke to the officer. + +"This farce," he said, "has gone quite far enough. If it is +a +joke it is becoming a very sorry one. I am not a king. I am +an American--Bernard Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A. +Look at me. Look at me closely. Do I look like a king?" + +"Every inch, your majesty," replied the officer. + +Barney looked at the man aghast. + +"Well, I am not a king," he said at last, "and if you go to +arresting me and throwing me into one of your musty old +dungeons you will find that I am a whole lot more important +than most kings. I'm an American citizen." + +"Yes, your majesty," replied the officer, a trifle +impatiently. +"But we waste time in idle discussion. Will your majesty +be so good as to accompany me without resistance?" + +"If you will first escort this young lady to a place of +safety," replied Barney. + +"She will be quite safe at Blentz," said the lieutenant. + +Barney turned to look at the girl, a question in his eyes. +Before them stood the soldiers with drawn revolvers, and +now at the summit of the hill a dozen more appeared in +command of a sergeant. They were two against nearly a +score, and Barney Custer was unarmed. + +The girl shook her head. + +"There, is no alternative, I am afraid, your majesty," she +said. + +Barney wheeled toward the officer. + +"Very well, lieutenant," he said, "we will accompany you." + +The party turned back up the hillside, leaving the dead +bandit where he lay--the fellow's neck had been broken by +the fall. A short distance from where the man had confronted +them the two prisoners were brought to the main road +where they saw still other troopers, and with them the horses +of those who had gone into the forest on foot. + +Barney and the girl were mounted on two of the animals, +the soldiers who had ridden them clambering up behind +two of their comrades. A moment later the troop set out +along the road which leads to Blentz. + +The prisoners rode near the center of the column, sur- +rounded by troopers. For a time they were both silent. Bar- +ney was wondering if he had accidentally tumbled into the +private grounds of Lutha's largest madhouse, or if, in reality, +these people mistook him for the young king--it seemed +incredible. + +It had commenced slowly to dawn upon him that perhaps +the girl was not crazy after all. Had not the officer addressed +her as "your highness"? Now that he thought upon it he re- +called that she did have quite a haughty and regal way +with her at times, especially so when she had addressed the +officer. + +Of course she might be mad, after all, and possibly the +bandit, too, but it seemed unbelievable that the officer was +mad and his entire troop of cavalry should be composed of +maniacs, yet they all persisted in speaking and acting as +though he were indeed the mad king of Lutha and the +young girl at his side a princess. + +From pitying the girl he had come to feel a little bit in +awe of her. To the best of his knowledge he had never be- +fore associated with a real princess. When he recalled that +he had treated her as he would an ordinary mortal, and that +he had thought her demented, and had tried to humor her +mad whims, he felt very foolish indeed. + +Presently he turned a sheepish glance in her direction, +to find her looking at him. He saw her flush slightly as his +eyes met hers. + +"Can your highness ever forgive me?" he asked. + +"Forgive you!" she cried in astonishment. "For what, +your majesty?" + +"For thinking you insane, and for getting you into this +horrible predicament," he replied. "But especially for think- +ing you insane." + +"Did you think me mad?" she asked in wide-eyed aston- +ishment. + +"When you insisted that I was a king, yes," he replied. +"But now I begin to believe that it must be I who am mad, +after all, or else I bear a remarkable resemblance to Leopold +of Lutha." + +"You do, your majesty," replied the girl. + +Barney saw it was useless to attempt to convince them +and so he decided to give up for the time. + +"Have me king, if you will," he said, "but please do not +call me 'your majesty' any more. It gets on my nerves." + +"Your will is law--Leopold," replied the girl, hesitating +prettily before the familiar name, "but do not forget your +part of the compact." + +He smiled at her. A princess wasn't half so terrible after +all. + +"And your will shall be my law, Emma," he said. + +It was almost dark when they came to Blentz. The castle +lay far up on the side of a steep hill above the town. It was +an ancient pile, but had been maintained in an excellent +state of repair. As Barney Custer looked up at the grim tow- +ers and mighty, buttressed walls his heart sank. It had taken +the mad king ten years to make his escape from that gloomy +and forbidding pile! + +"Poor child," he murmured, thinking of the girl. + +Before the barbican the party was halted by the guard. +An officer with a lantern stepped out upon the lowered +portcullis. The lieutenant who had captured them rode for- +ward to meet him. + +"A detachment of the Royal Horse Guards escorting His +Majesty the King, who is returning to Blentz," he said in +reply to the officer's sharp challenge. + +"The king!" exclaimed the officer. "You have found him?" +and he advanced with raised lantern searching for the +monarch. + +"At last," whispered Barney to the girl at his side, "I shall +be vindicated. This man, at least, who is stationed at Blentz +must know his king by sight." + +The officer came quite close, holding his lantern until the +rays fell full in Barney's face. He scrutinized the young man +for a moment. There was neither humility nor respect in his +manner, so that the American was sure that the fellow had +discovered the imposture. + +From the bottom of his heart he hoped so. Then the officer +swung the lantern until its light shone upon the girl. + +"And who's the wench with him?" he asked the officer who +had found them. + +The man was standing close beside Barney's horse, and +the words were scarce out of his month when the American +slipped from his saddle to the portcullis and struck the offi- +cer full in the face. + +"She is the Princess von der Tann, you boor," said Bar- +ney, "and let that help you remember it in future." + +The officer scrambled to his feet, white with rage. Whip- +ping out his sword he rushed at Barney. + +"You shall die for that, you half-wit," he cried. + +Lieutenant Butzow, he of the Royal Horse, rushed forward +to prevent the assault and Emma von der Tann sprang +from her saddle and threw herself in front of Barney. + +Butzow grasped the other officer's arm. + +"Are you mad, Schonau?" he cried. "Would you kill the +king?" + +The fellow tugged to escape the grasp of Butzow. He was +crazed with anger. + +"Why not?" he bellowed. "You were a fool not to have +done it yourself. Maenck will do it and get a baronetcy. It +will mean a captaincy for me at least. Let me at him--no +man can strike Karl Schonau and live." + +"The king is unarmed," cried Emma von der Tann. "Would +you murder him in cold blood?" + +"He shall not murder him at all, your highness," said +Lieutenant Butzow quietly. "Give me your sword, Lieuten- +ant Schonau. I place you under arrest. What you have just +said will not please the Regent when it is reported to him. +You should keep your head better when you are angry." + +"It is the truth," growled Schonau, regretting that his +anger had led him into a disclosure of the plot against the +king's life, but like most weak characters fearing to admit +himself in error even more than he feared the consequences +of his rash words. + +"Do you intend taking my sword?" asked Schonau sud- +denly, turning toward Lieutenant Butzow standing beside +him. + +"We will forget the whole occurrence, lieutenant," replied +Butzow, "if you will promise not to harm his majesty, or +offer him or the Princess von der Tann further humiliation. +Their position is sufficiently unpleasant without our adding +to the degradation of it." + +"Very well," grumbled Schonau. "Pass on into the court- +yard." + +Barney and the girl remounted and the little cavalcade +moved forward through the ballium and the great gate into +the court beyond. + +"Did you notice," said Barney to the princess, "that even +he believes me to be the king? I cannot fathom it." + +Within the castle they were met by a number of servants +and soldiers. An officer escorted them to the great hall, and +presently a dark visaged captain of cavalry entered and +approached them. Butzow saluted. + +"His Majesty, the King," he announced, "has returned to +Blentz. In accordance with the commands of the Regent I +deliver his august person into your safe keeping, Captain +Maenck." + +Maenck nodded. He was looking at Barney with evident +curiosity. + +"Where did you find him?" he asked Butzow. + +He made no pretense of according to Barney the faintest +indication of the respect that is supposed to be due to those +of royal blood. Barney commenced to hope that he had +finally come upon one who would know that he was not +king. + +Butzow recounted the details of the finding of the king. As +he spoke, Maenck's eyes, restless and furtive, seemed to be +appraising the personal charms of the girl who stood just +back of Barney. + +The American did not like the appearance of the officer, +but he saw that he was evidently supreme at Blentz, and he +determined to appeal to him in the hope that the man +might believe his story and untangle the ridiculous muddle +that a chance resemblance to a fugitive monarch had thrown +him and the girl into. + +"Captain," said Barney, stepping closer to the officer, +"there has been a mistake in identity here. I am not the king. +I am an American traveling for pleasure in Lutha. The fact +that I have gray eyes and wear a full reddish-brown beard +is my only offense. You are doubtless familiar with the king's +appearance and so you at least have already seen that I am +not his majesty. + +"Not being the king, there is no cause to detain me longer, +and as I am not a fugitive and never have been, this young +lady has been guilty of no misdemeanor or crime in being +in my company. Therefore she too should be released. In +the name of justice and common decency I am sure that you +will liberate us both at once and furnish the Princess von +der Tann, at least, with a proper escort to her home." + +Maenck listened in silence until Barney had finished, a +half smile upon his thick lips. + +"I am commencing to believe that you are not so crazy +as we have all thought," he said. "Certainly," and he let his +eyes rest upon Emma von der Tann, "you are not mentally +deficient in so far as your judgment of a good-looking woman +is concerned. I could not have made a better selection my- +self. + +"As for my familiarity with your appearance, you know +as well as I that I have never seen you before. But that is +not necessary--you conform perfectly to the printed descrip- +tion of you with which the kingdom is flooded. Were that +not enough, the fact that you were discovered with old Von +der Tann's daughter is sufficient to remove the least doubt +as to your identity." + +"You are governor of Blentz," cried Barney, "and yet you +say that you have never seen the king?" + +"Certainly," replied Maenck. "After you escaped the en- +tire personnel of the garrison here was changed, even the +old servants to a man were withdrawn and others substituted. +You will have difficulty in again escaping, for those who +aided you before are no longer here." + +"There is no man in the castle of Blentz who has ever +seen the king?" asked Barney. + +"None who has seen him before tonight," replied Maenck. +"But were we in doubt we have the word of the Princess +Emma that you are Leopold. Did she not admit it to you, +Butzow?" + +"When she thought his majesty dead she admitted it," +replied Butzow. + +"We gain nothing by discussing the matter," said Maenck +shortly. "You are Leopold of Lutha. Prince Peter says that +you are mad. All that concerns me is that you do not escape +again, and you may rest assured that while Ernst Maenck +is governor of Blentz you shall not escape and go at large +again. + +"Are the royal apartments in readiness for his majesty, +Dr. Stein?" he concluded, turning toward a rat-faced little +man with bushy whiskers, who stood just behind him. + +The query was propounded in an ironical tone, and with +a manner that made no pretense of concealing the contempt +of the speaker for the man he thought the king. + +The eyes of the Princess Emma were blazing as she +caught the scant respect in Maenck's manner. She looked +quickly toward Barney to see if he intended rebuking the +man for his impertinence. She saw that the king evidently +intended overlooking Maenck's attitude. But Emma von der +Tann was of a different mind. + +She had seen Maenck several times at social functions in +the capital. He had even tried to win a place in her favor, +but she had always disliked him, even before the nasty +stories of his past life had become common gossip, and within +the year she had won his hatred by definitely indicating to +him that he was persona non grata, in so far as she was +concerned. Now she turned upon him, her eyes flashing with +indignation. + +"Do you forget, sir, that you address the king?" she cried. +"That you are without honor I have heard men say, and I +may truly believe it now that I have seen what manner of +man you are. The most lowly-bred boor in all Lutha would +not be so ungenerous as to take advantage of his king's help- +lessness to heap indignities upon him. + +"Leopold of Lutha shall come into his own some day, +and my dearest hope is that his first act may be to mete +out to such as you the punishment you deserve." + +Maenck paled in anger. His fingers twitched nervously, +but he controlled his temper remarkably well, biding his +time for revenge. + +"Take the king to his apartments, Stein," he commanded +curtly, "and you, Lieutenant Butzow, accompany them with +a guard, nor leave until you see that he is safely con- +fined. You may return here afterward for my further in- +structions. In the meantime I wish to examine the king's +mistress." + +For a moment tense silence reigned in the apartment after +Maenck had delivered his wanton insult. + +Emma von der Tann, her little chin high in the air, stood +straight and haughty, nor was there any sign in her expres- +sion to indicate that she had heard the man's words. + +Barney was the first to take cognizance of them. + +"You cur!" he cried, and took a step toward Maenck. +"You're going to eat that, word for word." + +Maenck stepped back, his hand upon his sword. Butzow +laid a hand upon Barney's arm. + +"Don't, your majesty," he implored, "it will but make +your position more unpleasant, nor will it add to the safety +of the Princess von der Tann for you to strike him now." + +Barney shook himself free from Butzow, and before either +Stein or the lieutenant could prevent had sprung upon +Maenck. + +The latter had not been quick enough with his sword, so +that Barney had struck him twice, heavily in the face before +the officer was able to draw. Butzow had sprung to the +king's side, and was attempting to interpose himself between +Maenck and the American. In a moment more the sword of +the infuriated captain would be in the king's heart. Barney +turned the first thrust with his forearm. + +"Stop!" cried Butzow to Maenck. "Are you mad, that you +would kill the king?" + +Maenck lunged again, viciously, at the unprotected body +of his antagonist. + +"Die, you pig of an idiot!" he screamed. + +Butzow saw that the man really meant to murder Leopold. +He seized Barney by the shoulder and whirled him back- +ward. At the same instant his own sword leaped from his +scabbard, and now Maenck found himself facing grim steel +in the hand of a master swordsman. + +The governor of Blentz drew back from the touch of that +sharp point. + +"What do you mean?" he cried. "This is mutiny." + +"When I received my commission," replied Butzow, quietly, +"I swore to protect the person of the king with my life, and +while I live no man shall affront Leopold of Lutha in my +presence, or threaten his safety else he accounts to me for +his act. Return your sword, Captain Maenck, nor ever again +draw it against the king while I be near." + +Slowly Maenck sheathed his weapon. Black hatred for +Butzow and the man he was protecting smoldered in his +eyes. + +"If he wishes peace," said Barney, "let him apologize to +the princess." + +"You had better apologize, captain," counseled Butzow, +"for if the king should command me to do so I should have +to compel you to," and the lieutenant half drew his sword +once more. + +There was something in Butzow's voice that warned +Maenck that his subordinate would like nothing better than +the king's command to run him through. + +He well knew the fame of Butzow's sword arm, and hav- +ing no stomach for an encounter with it he grumbled an +apology. + +"And don't let it occur again," warned Barney. + +"Come," said Dr. Stein, "your majesty should be in your +apartments, away from all excitement, if we are to effect a +cure, so that you may return to your throne quickly." + +Butzow formed the soldiers about the American, and the +party moved silently out of the great hall, leaving Captain +Maenck and Princess Emma von der Tann its only occupants. + +Barney cast a troubled glance toward Maenck, and half +hesitated. + +"I am sorry, your majesty," said Butzow in a low voice, +"but you must accompany us. In this the governor of Blentz +is well within his authority, and I must obey him." + +"Heaven help her!" murmured Barney. + +"The governor will not dare harm her," said Butzow. +"Your majesty need entertain no apprehension." + +"I wouldn't trust him," replied the American. "I know +his kind." + + + + +IV + +BARNEY FINDS A FRIEND + +AFTER THE party had left the room Maenck stood looking at +the princess for several seconds. A cunning expression sup- +planted the anger that had shown so plainly upon his face +but a moment before. The girl had moved to one side of the +apartment and was pretending an interest in a large tapestry +that covered the wall at that point. Maenck watched her +with greedy eves. Presently he spoke. + +"Let us be friends," he said. "You shall be my guest at +Blentz for a long time. I doubt if Peter will care to release +you soon, for he has no love for your father--and it will +he easier for both if we establish pleasant relations from +the beginning. What do you say?" + +"I shall not be at Blentz long," she replied, not even +looking in Maenck's direction, "though while I am it shall +be as a prisoner and not as a guest. It is incredible that one +could believe me willing to pose as the guest of a traitor, +even were he less impossible than the notorious and infamous +Captain Maenck." + +Maenck smiled. He was one of those who rather pride +themselves upon the possession of racy reputations. He +walked across the room to a bell cord which he pulled. Then +he turned toward the girl again. + +"I have given you an opportunity," he said, "to lighten +the burdens of your captivity. I hoped that you would be +sensible and accept my advances of friendship voluntarily," +and he emphasized the word "voluntarily," "but--" + +He shrugged his shoulders. + +A servant had entered the apartment in response to +Maenck's summons. + +"Show the Princess von der Tann to her apartments," he +commanded with a sinister tone. + +The man, who was in the livery of Peter of Blentz, bowed, +and with a deferential sign to the girl led the way from the +room. Emma von der Tann followed her guide up a winding +stairway which spiraled within a tower at the end of a long +passage. On the second floor of the castle the servant led her +to a large and beautifully furnished suite of three rooms--a +bedroom, dressing-room and boudoir. After showing her the +rooms that were to be hers the servant left her alone. + +As soon as he had gone the Princess von der Tann took +another turn through the suite, looking to the doors and +windows to ascertain how securely she might barricade her- +self against unwelcome visitors. + +She found that the three rooms lay in an angle of the +old, moss-covered castle wall. + +The bedroom and dressing-room were connected by a +doorway, and each in turn had another door opening into +the boudoir. The only connection with the corridor without +was through a single doorway from the boudoir. This door +was equipped with a massive bolt, which, when she had shot +it, gave her a feeling of immense relief and security. The +windows were all too high above the court on one side and +the moat upon the other to cause her the slightest appre- +hension of danger from the outside. + +The girl found the boudoir not only beautiful, but ex- +tremely comfortable and cozy. A huge log-fire blazed upon +the hearth, and, though it was summer, its warmth was +most welcome, for the night was chill. Across the room from +the fireplace a full length oil of a former Blentz princess +looked down in arrogance upon the unwilling occupant of +the room. It seemed to the girl that there was an expression +of annoyance upon the painted countenance that another, +and an enemy of her house, should be making free with her +belongings. She wondered a little, too, that this huge oil +should have been bung in a lady's boudoir. It seemed singu- +larly out of place. + +"If she would but smile," thought Emma von der Tann, +"she would detract less from the otherwise pleasant sur- +roundings, but I suppose she serves her purpose in some +way, whatever it may be." + +There were papers, magazines and books upon the center +table and more books upon a low tier of shelves on either +side of the fireplace. The girl tried to amuse herself by +reading, but she found her thoughts continually reverting to +the unhappy situation of the king, and her eyes momentarily +wandered to the cold and repellent face of the Blentz prin- +cess. + +Finally she wheeled a great armchair near the fireplace, +and with her back toward the portrait made a final attempt +to submerge her unhappy thoughts in a current periodical. + + +When Barney and his escort reached the apartments that +had been occupied by the king of Lutha before his escape, +Butzow and the soldiers left him in company with Dr. Stein +and an old servant, whom the doctor introduced as his new +personal attendant. + +"Your majesty will find him a very attentive and faithful +servant," said Stein. "He will remain with you and ad- +minister your medicine at proper intervals." + +"Medicine?" ejaculated Barney. "What in the world do I +need of medicine? There is nothing the matter with me." + +Stein smiled indulgently. + +"Ah, your majesty," he said, "if you could but realize the +sad affliction that clouds your life! You may never sit upon +your throne until the last trace of this sinister mental dis- +order is eradicated, so take your medicine voluntarily, or +otherwise Joseph will be compelled to administer it by force. +Remember, sire, that only through this treatment will you +be able to leave Blentz." + +After Stein had left the room Joseph bolted the door be- +hind him. Then he came to where Barney stood in the center +of the apartment, and dropping to his knees took the young +man's hand in his and kissed it. + +"God has been good indeed, your majesty," he whispered. +"It was He who made it possible for old Joseph to deceive +them and find his way to your side." + +"Who are you, my man?" asked Barney. + +"I am from Tann," whispered the old man, in a very low +voice. "His highness, the prince, found the means to obtain +service for me with the new retinue that has replaced the +old which permitted your majesty's escape. There was an- +other from Tann among the former servants here. + +"It was through his efforts that you escaped before, you +will recall. I have seen Fritz and learned from him the way, +so that if your majesty does not recall it it will make no +difference, for I know it well, having been over it three +times already since I came here, to be sure that when the +time came that they should recapture you I might lead you +out quickly before they could slay you." + +"You really think that they intend murdering me?" + +"There is no doubt about it, your majesty," replied the +old man. "This very bottle"--Joseph touched the phial +which Stein had left upon the table--"contains the means +whereby, through my hands, you were to be slowly poisoned." + +"Do you know what it is?" + +"Bichloride of mercury, your majesty. One dose would +have been sufficient, and after a few days--perhaps a week +--you would have died in great agony." + +Barney shuddered. + +"But I am not the king, Joseph," said the young man, "so +even had they succeeded in killing me it would have profited +them nothing." + +Joseph shook his head sadly. + +"Your majesty will pardon the presumption of one who +loves him," he said, "if he makes so bold as to suggest that +your majesty must not again deny that he is king. That only +tends to corroborate the contention of Prince Peter that your +majesty is not--er, just sane, and so, incompetent to rule +Lutha. But we of Tann know differently, and with the help +of the good God we will place your majesty upon the +throne which Peter has kept from you all these years." + +Barney sighed. They were determined that he should be +king whether he would or no. He had often thought he +would like to be a king; but now the realization of his boy- +ish dreaming which seemed so imminent bade fair to be +almost anything than pleasant. + +Barney suddenly realized that the old fellow was talking. +He was explaining how they might escape. It seemed that a +secret passage led from this very chamber to the vaults be- +neath the castle and from there through a narrow tunnel +below the moat to a cave in the hillside far beyond the +structure. + +"They will not return again tonight to see your majesty," +said Joseph, "and so we had best make haste to leave at +once. I have a rope and swords in readiness. We shall need +the rope to make our way down the hillside, but let us +hope that we shall not need the swords." + +"I cannot leave Blentz," said Barney, "unless the Princess +Emma goes with us." + +"The Princess Emma!" cried the old man. "What Princess +Emma?" + +"Princess von der Tann," replied Barney. "Did you not +know that she was captured with me!" + +The old man was visibly affected by the knowledge that +his young mistress was a prisoner within the walls of Blentz. +He seemed torn by conflicting emotions--his duty toward +his king and his love for the daughter of his old master. So +it was that he seemed much relieved when he found that +Barney insisted upon saving the girl before any thought of +their own escape should be taken into consideration. + +"My first duty, your majesty," said Joseph, "is to bring +you safely out of the hands of your enemies, but if you +command me to try to bring your betrothed with us I am +sure that his highness, Prince Ludwig, would be the last to +censure me for deviating thus from his instructions, for if he +loves another more than he loves his king it is his daughter, +the beautiful Princess Emma." + +"What do you mean, Joseph," asked Barney, "by referring +to the princess as my betrothed? I never saw her before +today." + +"It has slipped your majesty's mind," said the old man +sadly; "but you and my young mistress were betrothed many +years ago while you were yet but children. It was the old +king's wish that you wed the daughter of his best friend and +most loyal subject." + +Here was a pretty pass, indeed, thought Barney. It was +sufficiently embarrassing to be mistaken for the king, but to +be thrown into this false position in company with a beau- +tiful young woman to whom the king was engaged to be +married, and who, with the others, thought him to be the +king, was quite the last word in impossible positions. + +Following this knowledge there came to Barney the first +pangs of regret that he was not really the king, and then the +realization, so sudden that it almost took his breath away, +that the girl was very beautiful and very much to be desired. +He had not thought about the matter until her utter im- +possibility was forced upon him. + +It was decided that Joseph should leave the king's apart- +ment at once and discover in what part of the castle Emma +von der Tann was imprisoned. Their further plans were to +depend upon the information gained by the old man during +his tour of investigation of the castle. + +In the interval of his absence Barney paced the length of +his prison time and time again. He thought the fellow would +never return. Perhaps he had been detected in the act of +spying, and was himself a prisoner in some other part of the +castle! The thought came to Barney like a blow in the face, +for he realized that then he would be entirely at the mercy +of his captors, and that there would be none to champion +the cause of the Princess von der Tann. + +When his nervous tension had about reached the breaking +point there came a sound of stealthy movement just outside +the door of his room. Barney halted close to the massive +panels. He heard a key fitted quietly and then the lock +grated as it turned. + +Barney thought that they had surely detected Joseph's +duplicity and had come to make short work of the king +before other traitors arose in their midst entirely to frustrate +their plans. The young American stepped to the wall behind +the door that he might be out of sight of whoever entered. +Should it prove other than Joseph, might the Lord help +them! The clenched fists, square-set chin, and gleaming gray +eyes of the prisoner presaged no good for any incoming en- +emy. + +Slowly the door swung open and a man entered the room. +Barney breathed a deep sigh of relief--it was Joseph. + +"Well?" cried the young man from behind him, and +Joseph started as though Peter of Blentz himself had laid +an accusing finger upon his shoulder. "What news?" + +"Your majesty," gasped Joseph, "how you did startle me! +I found the apartments of the princess, sire. There is a bare +chance that we may succeed in rescuing her, but a very +bare one, indeed. + +"We must traverse a main corridor of the castle to reach +her suite, and then return by the same way. It will be a +miracle if we are not discovered; but the worst of it is that +next to her apartments, and between them and your majesty's, +are the apartments of Captain Maenck. + +"He is sure to be there and officers and servants may be +coming and going throughout the entire night, for the man +is a convivial fellow, sitting at cards and drink until sunrise +nearly every day." + +"And when we have brought the princess in safety to my +quarters," asked Barney, "what then? How shall we conduct +her from the castle? You have not told me that as yet." + +The old man explained then the plan of escape. It seemed +that one of the two huge tile panels that flanked the fire- +place on either side was in reality a door hiding the entrance +to a shaft that rose from the vaults beneath the castle to the +roof. At each floor there was a similar secret door conceal- +ing the mouth of the passage. From the vaults a corridor led +through another secret panel to the tunnel that wound down- +ward to the cave in the hillside. + +"Beyond that we shall find horses, your majesty," con- +cluded the old man. "They have been hidden in the woods +since I came to Blentz. Each day I go there to water and +feed them." + +During the servant's explanation Barney had been casting +about in his mind for some means of rescuing the princess +without so great risk of detection, and as the plan of the +secret passageway became clear to him he thought that he +saw a way to accomplish the thing with comparative safety +in so far as detection was concerned. + +"Who occupies the floor above us, Joseph?" he asked. + +"It is vacant," replied the old man. + +"Good! Come, show me the entrance to the shaft," di- +rected Barney. + +"You will go without attempting to succor the Princess +Emma?" exclaimed the old fellow in ill-concealed chagrin. + +"Far from it," replied Barney. "Bring your rope and the +swords. I think we are going to find the rescuing of the +Princess Emma the easiest part of our adventure." + +The old man shook his head, but went to another room +of the suite, from which he presently emerged with a stout +rope about fifty feet in length and two swords. As he +buckled one of the weapons to Barney his eyes fell upon +the American's seal ring that encircled the third finger of his +left hand. + +"The Royal Ring of Lutha!" exclaimed Joseph. "Where is +it, your majesty? What has become of the Royal Ring of +the Kings of Lutha?" + +"I'm sure I don't know, Joseph," replied the young man. +"Should I be wearing a royal ring?" + +"The profaning miscreants!" cried Joseph. "They have +dared to filch from you the great ring that has been handed +down from king to king for three hundred years. When did +they take it from you?" + +"I have never seen it, Joseph," replied the young man, +"and possibly this fact may assure you where all else has +failed that I am no true king of Lutha, after all." + +"Ah, no, your majesty," replied the old servitor; "it but +makes assurance doubly sure as to your true identity, for +the fact that you have not the ring is positive proof that +you are king and that they have sought to hide the fact by +removing the insignia of your divine right to rule in Lutha." + +Barney could not but smile at the old fellow's remarkable +logic. He saw that nothing short of a miracle would ever +convince Joseph that he was not the real monarch, and so, +as matters of greater importance were to the fore, he would +have allowed the subject to drop had not the man attempted +to recall to the impoverished memory of his king a recol- +lection of the historic and venerated relic of the dead mon- +archs of Lutha. + +"Do you not remember, sir," he asked, "the great ruby +that glared, blood-red from its center, and the four sets of +golden wings that formed the setting? From the blood of +Charlemagne was the ruby made, so history tells us, and +the setting represented the protecting wings of the power of +the kings of Lutha spread to the four points of the compass. +Now your majesty must recall the royal ring, I am sure." + +Barney only shook his head, much to Joseph's evident +sorrow. + +"Never mind the ring, Joseph," said the young man. "Bring +your rope and lead me to the floor above." + +"The floor above? But, your majesty, we cannot reach +the vaults and tunnel by going upward!" + +"You forget, Joseph, that we are going to fetch the +Princess Emma first." + +"But she is not on the floor above us, sire; she is upon +the same floor as we are," insisted the old man, hesitating. + +"Joseph, who do you think I am?" asked Barney. + +"You are the king, my lord," replied the old man. + +"Then do as your king commands," said the American +sharply. + +Joseph turned with dubious mutterings and approached +the tiled panel at the left of the fireplace. Here he fumbled +about for a moment until his fingers found the hidden catch +that held the cunningly devised door in place. An instant +later the panel swung inward before his touch, and stand- +ing to one side, the old fellow bowed low as he ushered +Barney into the Stygian darkness of the space beyond their +vision. + +Joseph halted the young man just within the doorway, +cautioning him against the danger of falling into the shaft, +then he closed the panel, and a moment later had found +the lantern he had hidden there and lighted it. The rays +disclosed to the American the rough masonry of the interior +of a narrow, well-built shaft. A rude ladder standing upon +a narrow ledge beside him extended upward to lose itself +in the shadows above. At its foot the top of another ladder +was visible protruding through the opening from the floor +beneath. + +No sooner had Joseph's lantern shown him the way than +Barney was ascending the ladder toward the floor above. +At the next landing he waited for the old man. + +Joseph put out the light and placed the lantern where +they could easily find it upon their return. Then he cautiously +slipped the catch that held the panel in place and slowly +opened the door until a narrow line of lesser darkness +showed from without. + +For a moment they stood in silence listening for any sound +from the chamber beyond, but as nothing occurred to indi- +cate that the apartment was occupied the old man opened +the portal a trifle further, and finally far enough to permit +his body to pass through. Barney followed him. They found +themselves in a large, empty chamber, identical in size and +shape with that which they had just quitted upon the floor +below. + +From this the two passed into the corridor beyond, and +thence to the apartments at the far end of the wing, directly +over those occupied by Emma von der Tann. + +Barney hastened to a window overlooking the moat. By +leaning far out he could see the light from the princess's +chamber shining upon the sill. He wished that the light +was not there, for the window was in plain view of the guard +on the lookout upon the barbican. + +Suddenly he caught the sound of voices from the chamber +beneath. For an instant he listened, and then, catching a +few words of the dialogue, he turned hurriedly toward his +companion. + +"The rope, Joseph! And for God's sake be quick about it." + + + + +V + +THE ESCAPE + +FOR HALF an hour the Princess von der Tann succeeded ad- +mirably in immersing herself in the periodical, to the ex- +clusion of her unhappy thoughts and the depressing influence +of the austere countenance of the Blentz Princess hanging +upon the wall behind her. + +But presently she became unaccountably nervous. At the +slightest sound from the palace-life on the floor below she +would start up with a tremor of excitement. Once she heard +footsteps in the corridor before her door, but they passed +on, and she thought she discerned the click of a latch a +short distance further on along the passageway. + +Again she attempted to gather up the thread of the article +she had been reading, but she was unsuccessful. A stealthy +scratching brought her round quickly, staring in the direc- +tion of the great portrait. The girl would have sworn that she +had heard a noise within her chamber. She shuddered at +the thought that it might have come from that painted thing +upon the wall. + +What was the matter with her? Was she losing all control +of herself to be frightened like a little child by ghostly noises? + +She tried to return to her reading, but for the life of her +she could not keep her eyes off the silent, painted woman +who stared and stared and stared in cold, threatening si- +lence upon this ancient enemy of her house. + +Presently the girl's eyes went wide in horror. She could +feel the scalp upon her head contract with fright. Her terror- +filled gaze was frozen upon that awful figure that loomed +so large and sinister above her, for the thing had moved! She +had seen it with her own eyes. There could be no mistake-- +no hallucination of overwrought nerves about it. The Blentz +Princess was moving slowly toward her! + +Like one in a trance the girl rose from her chair, her eyes +glued upon the awful apparition that seemed creeping upon +her. Slowly she withdrew toward the opposite side of the +chamber. As the painting moved more quickly the truth +flashed upon her--it was mounted on a door. + +The crack of the door widened and beyond it the girl saw +dimly, eyes fastened upon her. With difficulty she restrained +a shriek. The portal swung wide and a man in uniform +stepped into the room. + +It was Maenck. + +Emma von der Tann gazed in unveiled abhorrence upon +the leering face of the governor of Blentz. + +"What means this intrusion?" cried the girl. + +"What would you have here?" + +"You," replied Maenck. + +The girl crimsoned. + +Maenck regarded her sneeringly. + +"You coward!" she cried. "Leave my apartments at once. +Not even Peter of Blentz would countenance such abhorrent +treatment of a prisoner." + +"You do not know Peter my dear," responded Maenck. +"But you need not fear. You shall be my wife. Peter has +promised me a baronetcy for the capture of Leopold, and +before I am done I shall be made a prince, of that you may +rest assured, so you see I am not so bad a match after all." + +He crossed over toward her and would have laid a rough +hand upon her arm. + +The girl sprang away from him, running to the opposite +side of the library table at which she had been reading. +Maenck started to pursue her, when she seized a heavy, +copper bowl that stood upon the table and hurled it full +in his face. The missile struck him a glancing blow, but the +edge laid open the flesh of one cheek almost to the jaw bone. + +With a cry of pain and rage Captain Ernst Maenck leaped +across the table full upon the young girl. With vicious, mur- +derous fingers he seized upon her fair throat, shaking her as +a terrier might shake a rat. Futilely the girl struck at the +hate-contorted features so close to hers. + +"Stop!" she cried. "You are killing me." + +The fingers released their hold. + +"No," muttered the man, and dragged the princess roughly +across the room. + +Half a dozen steps he had taken when there came a sud- +den crash of breaking glass from the window across the +chamber. Both turned in astonishment to see the figure of a +man leap into the room, carrying the shattered crystal and +the casement with him. In one hand was a naked sword. + +"The king!" cried Emma von der Tann. + +"The devil!" muttered Maenck, as, dropping the girl, he +scurried toward the great painting from behind which he +had found ingress to the chambers of the princess. + +Maenck was a coward, and he had seen murder in the +eyes of the man rushing upon him. With a bound he reached +the picture which still stood swung wide into the room. + +Barney was close behind him, but fear lent wings to the +governor of Blentz, so that he was able to dart into the pas- +sage behind the picture and slam the door behind him a +moment before the infuriated man was upon him. + +The American clawed at the edge of the massive frame, +but all to no avail. Then he raised his sword and slashed +the canvas, hoping to find a way into the place beyond, but +mighty oaken panels barred his further progress. With a +whispered oath he turned back toward the girl. + +"Thank Heaven that I was in time, Emma," he cried. + +"Oh, Leopold, my king, but at what a price," replied the +girl. "He will return now with others and kill you. He is +furious--so furious that he scarce knows what he does." + +"He seemed to know what he was doing when he ran for +that hole in the wall," replied Barney with a grin. "But +come, it won't pay to let them find us should they return." + +Together they hastened to the window beyond which the +girl could see a rope dangling from above. The sight of it +partially solved the riddle of the king's almost uncanny pres- +ence upon her window sill in the very nick of time. + +Below, the lights in the watch tower at the outer gate +were plainly visible, and the twinkling of them reminded +Barney of the danger of detection from that quarter. Quickly +he recrossed the apartment to the wall-switch that operated +the recently installed electric lights, and an instant later the +chamber was in total darkness. + +Once more at the girl's side Barney drew in one end of +the rope and made it fast about her body below her arms, +leaving a sufficient length terminating in a small loop to per- +mit her to support herself more comfortably with one foot +within the noose. Then he stepped to the outer sill, and +reaching down assisted her to his side. + +Far below them the moonlight played upon the sluggish +waters of the moat. In the distance twinkled the lights of +the village of Blentz. From the courtyard and the palace +came faintly the sound of voices, and the movement of men. +A horse whinnied from the stables. + +Barney turned his eyes upward. He could see the head +and shoulders of Joseph leaning from the window of the +chamber directly above them. + +"Hoist away, Joseph!" whispered the American, and to +the girl: "Be brave. Shut your eyes and trust to Joseph and +--and--" + +"And my king," finished the girl for him. + +His arm was about her shoulders, supporting her upon +the narrow sill. His cheek so close to hers that once he felt +the soft velvet of it brush his own. Involuntarily his arm +tightened about the supple body. + +"My princess!" he murmured, and as he turned his face +toward hers their lips almost touched. + +Joseph was pulling upon the rope from above. They +could feel it tighten beneath the girl's arms. Impulsively +Barney Custer drew the sweet lips closer to his own. There +was no resistance. + +"I love you," he whispered. The words were smothered +as their lips met. + +Joseph, above, wondered at the great weight of the Princess +Emma von der Tann. + +"I love you, Leopold, forever," whispered the girl, and +then as Joseph's Herculean tugging seemed likely to drag +them both from the narrow sill, Barney lifted the girl up- +ward with one hand while he clung to the window frame +with the other. The distance to the sill above was short, +and a moment later Joseph had grasped the princess's hand +and was helping her over the ledge into the room beyond. + +At the same instant there came a sudden commotion from +the interior of the room in the window of which Barney still +stood waiting for Joseph to remove the rope from about the +princess and lower it for him. Barney heard the heavy feet +of men, the clank of arms, and muttered oaths as the +searchers stumbled against the furniture. + +Presently one of them found the switch and instantly the +room was flooded with light, which revealed to the American +a dozen Luthanian troopers headed by the murderous +Maenck. + +Barney looked anxiously aloft. Would Joseph never lower +that rope! Within the room the men were searching. He +could hear Maenck directing them. Only a thin portiere +screened him from their view. It was but a matter of seconds +before they would investigate the window through which +Maenck knew the king had found ingress. + +Yes! It had come. + +"Look to the window," commanded Maenck. "He may +have gone as he came." + +Two of the soldiers crossed the room toward the casement. +From above Joseph was lowering the rope; but it was too +late. The men would be at the window before he could +clamber out of their reach. + +"Hoist away!" he whispered to Joseph. "Quick now, my +man, and make your escape with the Princess von der Tann. +It is the king's command." + +Already the soldiers were at the window. At the sound +of his voice they tore aside the draperies; at the same instant +the pseudo-king turned and leaped out into the blackness +of the night. + +There were exclamations of surprise and rage from the +soldiers--a woman's scream. Then from far below came a +dull splash as the body of Bernard Custer struck the surface +of the moat. + +Maenck, leaning from the window, heard the scream and +the splash, and jumped to the conclusion that both the king +and the princess had attempted to make their escape in this +harebrained way. Immediately all the resources at his com- +mand were put to the task of searching the moat and the +adjacent woods. + +He was sure that one or both of the prisoners would be +stunned by impact with the surface of the water, and then +drowned before they regained consciousness, but he did not +know Bernard Custer, nor the facility and almost uncanny +ease with which that young man could negotiate a high dive +into shallow water. + +Nor did he know that upon the floor above him one +Joseph was hastening along a dark corridor toward a secret +panel in another apartment, and that with him was the Prin- +cess Emma bound for liberty and safety far from the frown- +ing walls of Blentz. + +As Barney's head emerged above the surface of the moat +he shook it vigorously to free his eyes from water, and then +struck out for the further bank. + +Long before his pursuers had reached the courtyard and +alarmed the watch at the barbican, the American had +crawled out upon dry land and hastened across the broad +clearing to the patch of stunted trees that grew lower down +upon the steep hillside before the castle. + +He shrank from the thought of leaving Blentz without +knowing positively that Joseph had made good the escape +of himself and the princess, but he finally argued that even +if they had been retaken, he could serve her best by hasten- +ing to her father and fetching the only succor that might +prevail against the strength of Blentz--armed men in suffi- +cient force to storm the ancient fortress. + +He had scarcely entered the wood when he heard the +sound of the searchers at the moat, and saw the rays of +their lanterns flitting hither and thither as they moved back +and forth along the bank. + +Then the young man turned his face from the castle and +set forth across the unfamiliar country in the direction of the +Old Forest and the castle Von der Tann. + +The memory of the warm lips that had so recently been +pressed to his urged him on in the service of the wondrous +girl who had come so suddenly into his life, bringing to him +the realization of a love that he knew must alter, for hap- +piness or for sorrow, all the balance of his existence, even +unto death. + +He dreaded the day of reckoning when, at last, she must +learn that he was no king. He did not have the temerity to +hope that her courage would be equal to the great sacrifice +which the acknowledgment of her love for one not of noble +blood must entail; but he could not believe that she would +cease to love him when she learned the truth. + +So the future looked black and cheerless to Barney Custer +as he trudged along the rocky, moonlit way. The only bright +spot was the realization that for a while at least he might +be serving the one woman in all the world. + +All the balance of the long night the young man traversed +valley and mountain, holding due south in the direction he +supposed the Old Forest to lie. He passed many a little +farm tucked away in the hollow of a hillside, and quaint +hamlets, and now and then the ruins of an ancient feudal +stronghold, but no great forest of black oaks loomed before +him to apprise him of the nearness of his goal, nor did he +dare to ask the correct route at any of the homes he passed. + +His fatal likeness to the description of the mad king of +Lutha warned him from intercourse with the men of Lutha +until he might know which were friends and which enemies +of the hapless monarch. + +Dawn found him still upon his way, but with the deter- +mination fully crystallized to hail the first man he met and +ask the way to Tann. He still avoided the main traveled +roads, but from time to time he paralleled them close enough +that he might have ample opportunity to hail the first +passerby. + +The road was becoming more and more mountainous and +difficult. There were fewer homes and no hamlets, and now +he began to despair entirely of meeting any who could give +him direction unless he turned and retraced his steps to the +nearest farm. + +Directly before him the narrow trail he had been following +for the past few miles wound sharply about the shoulder of +a protruding cliff. He would see what lay beyond the turn-- +perhaps he would find the Old Forest there, after all. + +But instead he found something very different, though +in its way quite as interesting, for as he rounded the rugged +bluff he came face to face with two evil-looking fellows +astride stocky, rough-coated ponies. + +At sight of him they drew in their mounts and eyed him +suspiciously. Nor was there great cause for wonderment in +that, for the American presented aught but a respectable +appearance. His khaki motoring suit, soaked from immersion +in the moat, had but partially dried upon him. Mud from +the banks of the stagnant pool caked his legs to the knees, +almost hiding his once tan puttees. More mud streaked his +jacket front and stained its sleeves to the elbows. He was +bare-headed, for his cap had remained in the moat at Blentz, +and his disheveled hair was tousled upon his head, while +his full beard had dried into a weird and tangled fringe +about his face. At his side still hung the sword that Joseph +had buckled there, and it was this that caused the two men +the greatest suspicion of this strange looking character. + +They continued to eye Barney in silence, every now and +then casting apprehensive glances beyond him, as though +expecting others of his kind to appear in the trail at his back. +And that is precisely what they did fear, for the sword at +Barney's side had convinced them that he must be an officer +of the army, and they looked to see his command following +in his wake. + +The young man saluted them pleasantly, asking the direc- +tion to the Old Forest. They thought it strange that a soldier +of Lutha should not know his own way about his native land, +and so judged that his question was but a blind to deceive +them. + +"Why do you not ask your own men the way?" parried +one of the fellows. + +"I have no men, I am alone," replied Barney. "I am a +stranger in Lutha and have lost my way." + +He who had spoken before pointed to the sword at Bar- +ney's side. + +"Strangers traveling in Lutha do not wear swords," he said. +"You are an officer. Why should you desire to conceal the +fact from two honest farmers? We have done nothing. Let +us go our way." + +Barney looked his astonishment at this reply. + +"Most certainly, go your way, my friends," he said laugh- +ing. "I would not delay you if I could; but before you go +please be good enough to tell me how to reach the Old +Forest and the ancient castle of the Prince von der Tann." + +For a moment the two men whispered together, then the +spokesman turned to Barney. + +"We will lead you upon the right road. Come," and the +two turned their horses, one of them starting slowly back up +the trail while the other remained waiting for Barney to +pass him. + +The American, suspecting nothing, voiced his thanks, and +set out after him who had gone before. As be passed the +fellow who waited the latter moved in behind him, so that +Barney walked between the two. Occasionally the rider at +his back turned in his saddle to scan the trail behind, as +though still fearful that Barney had been lying to them +and that he would discover a company of soldiers charging +down upon them. + +The trail became more and more difficult as they ad- +vanced, until Barney wondered how the little horses clung +to the steep mountainside, where he himself had difficulty +in walking without using his hand to keep from falling. + +Twice the American attempted to break through the taci- +turnity of his guides, but his advances were met with noth- +ing more than sultry grunts or silence, and presently a sus- +picion began to obtrude itself among his thoughts that pos- +sibly these "honest farmers" were something more sinister +than they represented themselves to be. + +A malign and threatening atmosphere seemed to surround +them. Even the cat-like movement of their silent mounts +breathed a sinister secrecy, and now, for the first time, +Barney noticed the short, ugly looking carbines that were +slung in boots at their saddle-horns. Then, promoted to fur- +ther investigation, he dropped back beside the man who had +been riding behind him, and as he did so he saw beneath +the fellow's cloak the butts of two villainous-looking pistols. + +As Barney dropped back beside him the man turned his +mount across the narrow trail, and reining him in motioned +Barney ahead. + +"I have changed my mind," said the American, "about +going to the Old Forest." + +He had determined that he might as well have the thing +out now as later, and discover at once how he stood with +these two, and whether or not his suspicions of them were +well grounded. + +The man ahead had halted at the sound of Barney's voice, +and swung about in the saddle. + +"What's the trouble?" he asked. + +"He don't want to go to the Old Forest," explained his +companion, and for the first time Barney saw one of them +grin. It was not at all a pleasant grin, nor reassuring. + +"He don't, eh?" growled the other. "Well, he ain't goin', +is he? Who ever said he was?" + +And then he, too, laughed. + +"I'm going back the way I came," said Barney, starting +around the horse that blocked his way. + +"No, you ain't," said the horseman. "You're goin' with us." + +And Barney found himself gazing down the muzzle of one +of the wicked looking pistols. + +For a moment he stood in silence, debating mentally the +wisdom of attempting to rush the fellow, and then, with a +shake of his head, he turned back up the trail between his +captors. + +"Yes," he said, "on second thought I have decided to go +with you. Your logic is most convincing." + + + + +VI + +A KING'S RANSOM + +FOR ANOTHER mile the two brigands conducted their captor +along the mountainside, then they turned into a narrow +ravine near the summit of the hills--a deep, rocky, wooded +ravine into whose black shadows it seemed the sun might +never penetrate. + +A winding path led crookedly among the pines that +grew thickly in this sheltered hollow, until presently, after +half an hour of rough going, they came upon a small natural +clearing, rock-bound and impregnable. + +As they filed from the wood Barney saw a score of vil- +lainous fellows clustered about a camp fire where they +seemed engaged in cooking their noonday meal. Bits of meat +were roasting upon iron skewers, and a great iron pot boiled +vigorously at one side of the blaze. + +At the sound of their approach the men sprang to their +feet in alarm, and as many weapons as there were men +leaped to view; but when they saw Barney's companions +they returned their pistols to their holsters, and at sight of +Barney they pressed forward to inspect the prisoner. + +"Who have we here?" shouted a big blond giant, who +affected extremely gaudy colors in his selection of wearing +apparel, and whose pistols and knife had their grips heavily +ornamented with pearl and silver. + +"A stranger in Lutha he calls himself," replied one of +Barney's captors. "But from the sword I take it he is one of +old Peter's wolfhounds." + +"Well, he's found the wolves at any rate," replied the giant, +with a wide grin at his witticism. "And if Yellow Franz is +the particular wolf you're after, my friend, why here I am," +he concluded, addressing the American with a leer. + +"I'm after no one," replied Barney. "I tell you I'm a +stranger, and I lost my way in your infernal mountains. All +I wish is to be set upon the right road to Tann, and if you +will do that for me you shall be well paid for your trouble." + +The giant, Yellow Franz, had come quite close to Barney +and was inspecting him with an expression of considerable +interest. Presently he drew a soiled and much-folded paper +from his breast. Upon one side was a printed notice, and at +the corners bits were torn away as though the paper had +once been tacked upon wood, and then torn down without +removing the tacks. + +At sight of it Barney's heart sank. The look of the thing +was all too familiar. Before the yellow one had commenced +to read aloud from it Barney had repeated to himself the +words he knew were coming. + +"'Gray eyes,'" read the brigand, "'brown hair, and a full, +reddish-brown beard.' Herman and Friedrich, my dear chil- +dren, you have stumbled upon the richest haul in all Lutha. +Down upon your marrow-bones, you swine, and rub your +low-born noses in the dirt before your king." + +The others looked their surprise. + +"The king?" one cried. + +"Behold!" cried Yellow Franz. "Leopold of Lutha!" + +He waved a ham-like hand toward Barney. + +Among the rough men was a young smooth-faced boy, +and now with wide eyes he pressed forward to get a nearer +view of the wonderful person of a king. + +"Take a good look at him, Rudolph," cried Yellow Franz. +"It is the first and will probably be the last time you will +ever see a king. Kings seldom visit the court of their fellow +monarch, Yellow Franz of the Black Mountains. + +"Come, my children, remove his majesty's sword, lest he +fall and stick himself upon it, and then prepare the royal +chamber, seeing to it that it be made so comfortable that +Leopold will remain with us a long time. Rudolph, fetch +food and water for his majesty, and see to it that the silver +plates and the golden goblets are well scoured and polished +up." + +They conducted Barney to a miserable lean-to shack at +one side of the clearing, and for a while the motley crew +loitered about bandying coarse jests at the expense of the +"king." The boy, Rudolph, brought food and water, he alone +of them all evincing the slightest respect or awe for the +royalty of their unwilling guest. + +After a time the men tired of the sport of king-baiting, for +Barney showed neither rancor nor outraged majesty at their +keenest thrusts, instead, often joining in the laugh with +them at his own expense. They thought it odd that the king +should hold his dignity in so low esteem, but that he was +king they never doubted, attributing his denials to a dis- +position to deceive them, and rob them of the "king's ran- +som" they had already commenced to consider as their own. + +Shortly after Barney arrived at the rendezvous he saw a +messenger dispatched by Yellow Franz, and from the re- +peated gestures toward himself that had accompanied the +giant's instructions to his emissary, Barney was positive that +the man's errand had to do with him. + +After the men had left his prison, leaving the boy standing +awkwardly in wide-eyed contemplation of his august charge, +the American ventured to open a conversation with his +youthful keeper. + +"Aren't you rather young to be starting in the bandit +business, Rudolph?" asked Barney, who had taken a fancy +to the youth. + +"I do not want to be a bandit, your majesty," whispered +the lad; "but my father owes Yellow Franz a great sum of +money, and as he could not pay the debt Yellow Franz stole +me from my home and says that he will keep me until my +father pays him, and that if he does not pay he will make a +bandit of me, and that then some day I shall be caught and +hanged until I am dead." + +"Can't you escape?" asked the young man. "It would +seem to me that there would be many opportunities for you +to get away undetected." + +"There are, but I dare not. Yellow Franz says that if I +run away he will be sure to come across me some day again +and that then he will kill me." + +Barney laughed. + +"He is just talking, my boy," he said. "He thinks that by +frightening you he will be able to keep you from running +away." + +"Your majesty does not know him," whispered the youth, +shuddering. "He is the wickedest man in all the world. +Nothing would please him more than killing me, and he +would have done it long since but for two things. One is +that I have made myself useful about his camp, doing +chores and the like, and the other is that were he to kill +me he knows that my father would never pay him." + +"How much does your father owe him?" + +"Five hundred marks, your majesty," replied Rudolph. +"Two hundred of this amount is the original debt, and the +balance Yellow Franz has added since he captured me, so +that it is really ransom money. But my father is a poor man, +so that it will take a long time before he can accumulate +so large a sum. + +"You would really like to go home again, Rudolph?" + +"Oh, very much, your majesty, if I only dared." +Barney was silent for some time, thinking. Possibly he +could effect his own escape with the connivance of Rudolph, +and at the same time free the boy. The paltry ransom he +could pay out of his own pocket and send to Yellow Franz +later, so that the youth need not fear the brigand's revenge. +It was worth thinking about, at any rate. + +"How long do you imagine they will keep me, Rudolph?" +he asked after a time. + +"Yellow Franz has already sent Herman to Lustadt with +a message for Prince Peter, telling him that you are being +held for ransom, and demanding the payment of a huge sum +for your release. Day after tomorrow or the next day he +should return with Prince Peter's reply. + +"If it is favorable, arrangements will be made to turn +you over to Prince Peter's agents, who will have to come to +some distant meeting place with the money. A week, per- +haps, it will take, maybe longer." + +It was the second day before Herman returned from Lus- +tadt. He rode in just at dark, his pony lathered from hard +going. + +Barney and the boy saw him coming, and the youth ran +forward with the others to learn the news that he had +brought; but Yellow Franz and his messenger withdrew to +a hut which the brigand chief reserved for his own use, nor +would he permit any beside the messenger to accompany +him to hear the report. + +For half an hour Barney sat alone waiting for word from +Yellow Franz that arrangements had been consummated for +his release, and then out of the darkness came Rudolph, +wide-eyed and trembling. + +"Oh, my king?" he whispered. "What shall we do? Peter +has refused to ransom you alive, but he has offered a great +sum for unquestioned proof of your death. Already he has +caused a proclamation to be issued stating that you have +been killed by bandits after escaping from Blentz, and or- +dering a period of national mourning. In three weeks he is +to be crowned king of Lutha." + +"When do they intend terminating my existence?" queried +Barney. + +There was a smile upon his lips, for even now he could +scarce believe that in the twentieth century there could be +any such medieval plotting against a king's life, and yet, on +second thought, had he not ample proof of the lengths +to which Peter of Blentz was willing to go to obtain the +crown of Lutha! + +"I do not know, your majesty," replied Rudolph, "when +they will do it; but soon, doubtless, since the sooner it is +done the sooner they can collect their pay." + +Further conversation was interrupted by the sound of +footsteps without, and an instant later Yellow Franz entered +the squalid apartment and the dim circle of light which +flickered feebly from the smoky lantern that hung suspended +from the rafters. + +He stopped just within the doorway and stood eyeing the +American with an ugly grin upon his vicious face. Then his +eyes fell upon the trembling Rudolph. + +"Get out of here, you!" he growled. "I've got private +business with this king. And see that you don't come nosing +round either, or I'll slit that soft throat for you." + +Rudolph slipped past the burly ruffian, barely dodging a +brutal blow aimed at him by the giant, and escaped into +the darkness without. + +"And now for you, my fine fellow," said the brigand, +turning toward Barney. "Peter says you ain't worth nothing +to him--alive, but that your dead body will fetch us a +hundred thousand marks." + +"Rather cheap for a king, isn't it?" was Barney's only +comment. + +"That's what Herman tells him," replied Yellow Franz. +"But he's a close one, Peter is, and so it was that or nothing." + +"When are you going to pull off this little--er--ah-- +royal demise?" asked Barney. + +"If you mean when am I going to kill you," replied the +bandit, "why, there ain't no particular rush about it. I'm a +tender-hearted chap, I am. I never should have been in this +business at all, but here I be, and as there ain't nobody that +can do a better job of the kind than me, or do it so pain- +lessly, why I just got to do it myself, and that's all there +is to it. But, as I says, there ain't no great rush. If you +want to pray, why, go ahead and pray. I'll wait for you." + +"I don't remember," said Barney, "when I have met so +generous a party as you, my friend. Your self-sacrificing +magnanimity quite overpowers me. It reminds me of an- +other unloved Robin Hood whom I once met. It was in +front of Burket's coal-yard on Ella Street, back in dear old +Beatrice, at some unchristian hour of the night. + +"After he had relieved me of a dollar and forty cents he +remarked: 'I gotta good mind to kick yer slats in fer not +havin' more of de cush on yeh; but I'm feelin' so good +about de last guy I stuck up I'll let youse off dis time.'" + +"I do not know what you are talking about," replied +Yellow Franz; "but if you want to pray you'd better hurry +up about it." + +He drew his pistol from its holster on the belt at his hips. + +Now Barney Custer had no mind to give up the ghost +without a struggle; but just how he was to overcome the +great beast who confronted him with menacing pistol was, +to say the least, not precisely plain. He wished the man +would come a little nearer where he might have some chance +to close with him before the fellow could fire. To gain time +the American assumed a prayerful attitude, but kept one +eye on the bandit. + +Presently Yellow Franz showed indications of impatience. +He fingered the trigger of his weapon, and then slowly +raised it on a line with Barney's chest. + +"Hadn't you better come closer?" asked the young man. +"You might miss at that distance, or just wound me." + +Yellow Franz grinned. + +"I don't miss," he said, and then: "You're certainly a game +one. If it wasn't for the hundred thousand marks, I'd be +hanged if I'd kill you." + +"The chances are that you will be if you do," said Barney, +"so wouldn't you rather take one hundred and fifty thousand +marks and let me make my escape?" + +Yellow Franz looked at the speaker a moment through +narrowed lids. + +"Where would you find any one willing to pay that +amount for a crazy king?" he asked. + +"I have told you that I am not the king," said Barney. +"I am an American with a father who would gladly pay +that amount on my safe delivery to any American consul." + +Yellow Franz shook his head and tapped his brow sig- +nificantly. + +"Even if you was what you are dreaming, it wouldn't pay +me," he said. + +"I'll make it two hundred thousand," said Barney. + +"No--it's a waste of time talking about it. It's worth more +than money to me to know that I'll always have this thing +on Peter, and that when he's king he won't dare bother me +for fear I'll publish the details of this little deal. Come, you +must be through praying by this time. I can't wait around +here all night." Again Yellow Franz raised his pistol toward +Barney's heart. + +Before the brigand could pull the trigger, or Barney hurl +himself upon his would-be assassin, there was a flash and a +loud report from the open window of the shack. + +With a groan Yellow Franz crumpled to the dirt floor, +and simultaneously Barney was upon him and had wrested +the pistol from his hand; but the precaution was unneces- +sary for Yellow Franz would never again press finger to +trigger. He was dead even before Barney reached his side. + +In possession of the weapon, the American turned toward +the window from which had come the rescuing shot, and +as he did so he saw the boy, Rudolph, clambering over the +sill, white-faced and trembling. In his hand was a smoking +carbine, and on his brow great beads of cold sweat. + +"God forgive me!" murmured the youth. "I have killed +a man." + +"You have killed a dangerous wild beast, Rudolph," said +Barney, "and both God and your fellow man will thank +and reward you." + +"I am glad that I killed him, though," went on the boy, +"for he would have killed you, my king, had I not done so. +Gladly would I go to the gallows to save my king." + +"You are a brave lad, Rudolph," said Barney, "and if ever +I get out of the pretty pickle I'm in you'll be well rewarded +for your loyalty to Leopold of Lutha. After all," thought the +young man, "being a kind has its redeeming features, for if +the boy had not thought me his monarch he would never +have risked the vengeance of the bloodthirsty brigands in +this attempt to save me." + +"Hasten, your majesty," whispered the boy, tugging at +the sleeve of Barney's jacket. "There is no time to be lost. +We must be far away from here when the others discover +that Yellow Franz has been killed." + +Barney stooped above the dead man, and removing his +belt and cartridges transferred them to his own person. Then +blowing out the lantern the two slipped out into the dark- +ness of the night. + +About the camp fire of the brigands the entire pack was +congregated. They were talking together in low voices, ever +and anon glancing expectantly toward the shack to which +their chief had gone to dispatch the king. It is not every day +that a king is murdered, and even these hardened cut- +throats felt the spell of awe at the thought of what they +believed the sharp report they had heard from the shack +portended. + +Keeping well to the far side of the clearing, Rudolph led +Barney around the group of men and safely into the wood +below them. From this point the boy followed the trail +which Barney and his captors had traversed two days previ- +ously, until he came to a diverging ravine that led steeply +up through the mountains upon their right hand. + +In the distance behind them they suddenly heard, faintly, +the shouting of men. + +"They have discovered Yellow Franz," whispered the boy, +shuddering. + +"Then they'll be after us directly," said Barney. + +"Yes, your majesty," replied Rudolph, "but in the dark- +ness they will not see that we have turned up this ravine, +and so they will ride on down the other. I have chosen this +way because their horses cannot follow us here, and thus +we shall be under no great disadvantage. It may be, how- +ever, that we shall have to hide in the mountains for a +while, since there will be no place of safety for us between +here and Lustadt until after the edge of their anger is dulled." + +And such proved to be the case, for try as they would +they found it impossible to reach Lustadt without detection +by the brigands who patrolled every highway and byway +from their rugged mountains to the capital of Lutha. + +For nearly three weeks Barney and the boy hid in caves +or dense underbrush by day, and by night sought some +avenue which would lead them past the vigilant sentries +that patrolled the ways to freedom. + +Often they were wet by rains, nor were they ever in the +warm sunlight for a sufficient length of time to become +thoroughly dry and comfortable. Of food they had little, +and of the poorest quality. + +They dared not light a fire for warmth or cooking, and +their light was so miserable that, but for the boy's pitiful +terror at the thought of being recaptured by the bandits, +Barney would long since have made a break for Lustadt, +depending upon their arms and ammunition to carry them +safely through were they discovered by their enemies. + +Rudolph had contracted a severe cold the first night, and +now, it having settled upon his lungs, he had developed a +persistent and aggravating cough that caused Barney not a +little apprehension. When, after nearly three weeks of suffer- +ing and privation, it became clear that the boy's lungs were +affected, the American decided to take matters into his own +hands and attempt to reach Lustadt and a good doctor; but +before he had an opportunity to put his plan into execution +the entire matter was removed from his jurisdiction. + +It happened like this: After a particularly fatiguing and +uncomfortable night spent in attempting to elude the senti- +nels who blocked their way from the mountains, daylight +found them near a little spring, and here they decided to +rest for an hour before resuming their way. + +The little pool lay not far from a clump of heavy bushes +which would offer them excellent shelter, as it was Barney's +intention to go into hiding as soon as they had quenched +their thirst at the spring. + +Rudolph was coughing pitifully, his slender frame wracked +by the convulsion of each new attack. Barney had placed +an arm about the boy to support him, for the paroxysms +always left him very weak. + +The young man's heart went out to the poor boy, and +pangs of regret filled his mind as he realized that the child's +pathetic condition was the direct result of his self-sacrificing +attempt to save his king. Barney felt much like a murderer +and a thief, and dreaded the time when the boy should be +brought to a realization of his mistake. + +He had come to feel a warm affection for the loyal little +lad, who had suffered so uncomplainingly and whose every +thought had been for the safety and comfort of his king. + +Today, thought Barney, I'll take this child through to +Lustadt even if every ragged brigand in Lutha lies between +us and the capital; but even as he spoke a sudden crashing +of underbrush behind caused him to wheel about, and there, +not twenty paces from them, stood two of Yellow Franz's +cutthroats. + +At sight of Barney and the lad they gave voice to a shout +of triumph, and raising their carbines fired point-blank at +the two fugitives. + +But Barney had been equally as quick with his own +weapon, and at the moment that they fired he grasped Ru- +dolph and dragged him backward to a great boulder behind +which their bodies might be protected from the fire of their +enemies. + +Both the bullets of the bandits' first volley had been di- +rected at Barney, for it was upon his head that the great +price rested. They had missed him by a narrow margin, +due, perhaps, to the fact that the mounts of the brigands +had been prancing in alarm at the unexpected sight of the +two strangers at the very moment that their riders attempted +to take aim and fire. + +But now they had ridden back into the brush and dis- +mounted, and after hiding their ponies they came creeping +out upon their bellies upon opposite sides of Barney's shelter. + +The American saw that it would be an easy thing for +them to pick him off if he remained where he was, and so +with a word to Rudolph he sprang up and the boy with +him. Each delivered a quick shot at the bandit nearest him, +and then together they broke for the bushes in which the +brigand's mounts were hidden. + +Two shots answered theirs. Rudolph, who was ahead of +Barney, stumbled and threw up his hands. He would have +fallen had not the American thrown a strong arm about him. + +"I'm shot, your majesty," murmured the boy, his head +dropping against Barney's breast. + +With the lad grasped close to him, the young man turned +at the edge of the brush to meet the charge of the two +ruffians. The wounding of the youth had delayed them just +enough to preclude their making this temporary refuge in +safety. + +As Barney turned both the men fired simultaneously, and +both missed. The American raised his revolver, and with the +flash of it the foremost brigand came to a sudden stop. An +expression of bewilderment crossed his features. He ex- +tended his arms straight before him, the revolver slipped +from his grasp, and then like a dying top he pivoted once +drunkenly and collapsed upon the turf. + +At the instant of his fall his companion and the American +fired point-blank at one another. + +Barney felt a burning sensation in his shoulder, but it was +forgotten for the moment in the relief that came to him as +he saw the second rascal sprawl headlong upon his face. +Then he turned his attention to the limp little figure that +hung across his left arm. + +Gently Barney laid the boy upon the sward, and fetching +water from the pool bathed his face and forced a few drops +between the white lips. The cooling draft revived the +wounded child, but brought on a paroxysm of coughing. +When this had subsided Rudolph raised his eyes to those +of the man bending above him. + +"Thank God, your majesty is unharmed," he whispered. +"Now I can die in peace." + +The white lids drooped lower, and with a tired sigh the +boy lay quiet. Tears came to the young man's eyes as he +let the limp body gently to the ground. + +"Brave little heart," he murmured, "you gave up your life +in the service of your king as truly as though you had not +been all mistaken in the object of your veneration, and if +it lies within the power of Barney Custer you shall not have +died in vain." + + + + +VII + +THE REAL LEOPOLD + +TWO HOURS later a horseman pushed his way between tum- +bled and tangled briers along the bottom of a deep ravine. + +He was hatless, and his stained and ragged khaki be- +tokened much exposure to the elements and hard and con- +tinued usage. At his saddle-bow a carbine swung in its boot, +and upon either hip was strapped a long revolver. Am- +munition in plenty filled the cross belts that he had looped +about his shoulders. + +Grim and warlike as were his trappings, no less grim was +the set of his strong jaw or the glint of his gray eyes, nor +did the patch of brown stain that had soaked through the +left shoulder of his jacket tend to lessen the martial atmos- +phere which surrounded him. Fortunate it was for the brig- +ands of the late Yellow Franz that none of them chanced in +the path of Barney Custer that day. + +For nearly two hours the man had ridden downward out +of the high hills in search of a dwelling at which he might +ask the way to Tann; but as yet he had passed but a single +house, and that a long untenanted ruin. He was wondering +what had become of all the inhabitants of Lutha when his +horse came to a sudden halt before an obstacle which en- +tirely blocked the narrow trail at the bottom of the ravine. + +As the horseman's eyes fell upon the thing they went wide +in astonishment, for it was no less than the charred rem- +nants of the once beautiful gray roadster that had brought +him into this twentieth century land of medieval adventure +and intrigue. Barney saw that the machine had been lifted +from where it had fallen across the horse of the Princess +von der Tann, for the animal's decaying carcass now lay +entirely clear of it; but why this should have been done, or +by whom, the young man could not imagine. + +A glance aloft showed him the road far above him, from +which he, the horse and the roadster had catapulted; and +with the sight of it there flashed to his mind the fair face of +the young girl in whose service the thing had happened. +Barney wondered if Joseph had been successful in returning +her to Tann, and he wondered, too, if she mourned for the +man she had thought king--if she would be very angry +should she ever learn the truth. + +Then there came to the American's mind the figure of the +shopkeeper of Tafelberg, and the fellow's evident loyalty to +the mad king he had never seen. Here was one who might +aid him, thought Barney. He would have the will, at least +and with the thought the young man turned his pony's head +diagonally up the steep ravine side. + +It was a tough and dangerous struggle to the road above, +but at last by dint of strenuous efforts on the part of the +sturdy little beast the two finally scrambled over the edge +of the road and stood once more upon level footing. + +After breathing his mount for a few minutes Barney +swung himself into the saddle again and set off toward +Tafelberg. He met no one upon the road, nor within the +outskirts of the village, and so he came to the door of the +shop he sought without attracting attention. + +Swinging to the ground he tied the pony to one of the +supporting columns of the porch-roof and a moment later +had stepped within the shop. + +From a back room the shopkeeper presently emerged, and +when he saw who it was that stood before him his eyes went +wide in consternation. + +"In the name of all the saints, your majesty," cried the old +fellow, "what has happened? How comes it that you are +out of the hospital, and travel-stained as though from a long, +hard ride? I cannot understand it, sire." + +"Hospital?" queried the young man. "What do you mean, +my good fellow? I have been in no hospital." + +"You were there only last evening when I inquired after +you of the doctor," insisted the shopkeeper, "nor did any +there yet suspect your true identity." + +"Last evening I was hiding far up in the mountains from +Yellow Franz's band of cutthroats," replied Barney. "Tell me +what manner of riddle you are propounding." + +Then a sudden light of understanding flashed through +Barney's mind. + +"Man!" he exclaimed. "Tell me--you have found the true +king? He is at a hospital in Tafelberg?" + +"Yes, your majesty, I have found the true king, and it is +so that he was at the Tafelberg sanatorium last evening. It +was beside the remnants of your wrecked automobile that +two of the men of Tafelberg found you. + +"One leg was pinioned beneath the machine which was +on fire when they discovered you. They brought you to my +shop, which is the first on the road into town, and not +guessing your true identity they took my word for it that +you were an old acquaintance of mine and without more +ado turned you over to my care." + +Barney scratched his head in puzzled bewilderment. He +began to doubt if he were in truth himself, or, after all, +Leopold of Lutha. As no one but himself could, by the +wildest stretch of imagination, have been in such a position, +he was almost forced to the conclusion that all that had +passed since the instant that his car shot over the edge of +the road into the ravine had been but the hallucinations +of a fever-excited brain, and that for the past three weeks +he had been lying in a hospital cot instead of experiencing +the strange and inexplicable adventures that he had believed +to have befallen him. + +But yet the more he thought of it the more ridiculous +such a conclusion appeared, for it did not in the least explain +the pony tethered without, which he plainly could see from +where he stood within the shop, nor did it satisfactorily ac- +count for the blotch of blood upon his shoulder from a +wound so fresh that the stain still was damp; nor for the +sword which Joseph had buckled about his waist within +Blentz's forbidding walls; nor for the arms and ammunition +he had taken from the dead brigands--all of which he had +before him as tangible evidence of the rationality of the +past few weeks. + +"My friend," said Barney at last, "I cannot wonder that +you have mistaken me for the king, since all those I have +met within Lutha have leaped to the same error, though +not one among them made the slightest pretense of ever +having seen his majesty. A ridiculous beard started the +trouble, and later a series of happenings, no one of which +was particularly remarkable in itself, aggravated it, until +but a moment since I myself was almost upon the point of +believing that I am the king. + +"But, my dear Herr Kramer, I am not the king; and when +you have accompanied me to the hospital and seen that your +patient still is there, you may be willing to admit that there +is some justification for doubt as to my royalty." + +The old man shook his head. + +"I am not so sure of that," he said, "for he who lies at the +hospital, providing you are not he, or he you, maintains as +sturdily as do you that he is not Leopold. If one of you, +whichever be king--providing that you are not one and +the same, and that I be not the only maniac in the sad +muddle--if one of you would but trust my loyalty and love +for the true king and admit your identity, then I might be +of some real service to that one of you who is really Leo- +pold. Herr Gott! My words are as mixed as my poor brain." + +"If you will listen to me, Herr Kramer," said Barney, "and +believe what I tell you, I shall be able to unscramble your +ideas in so far as they pertain to me and my identity. As to +the man you say was found beneath my car, and who now +lies in the sanatorium of Tafelberg, I cannot say until I have +seen and talked with him. He may be the king and he may +not; but if he insists that he is not, I shall be the last to +wish a kingship upon him. I know from sad experience the +hardships and burdens that the thing entails." + +Then Barney narrated carefully and in detail the principal +events of his life, from his birth in Beatrice to his coming to +Lutha upon pleasure. He showed Herr Kramer his watch +with his monogram upon it, his seal ring, and inside the +pocket of his coat the label of his tailor, with his own name +written beneath it and the date that the garment had been +ordered. + +When he had completed his narrative the old man shook +his head. + +"I cannot understand it," he said; "and yet I am almost +forced to believe that you are not the king." + +"Direct me to the sanatorium," suggested Barney, "and if +it be within the range of possibility I shall learn whether the +man who lies there is Leopold or another, and if he be the +king I shall serve him as loyally as you would have served +me. Together we may assist him to gain the safety of Tann +and the protection of old Prince Ludwig." + +"If you are not the king," said Kramer suspiciously, "why +should you be so interested in aiding Leopold? You may +even be an enemy. How can I know?" + +"You cannot know, my good friend," replied Barney. "But +had I been an enemy, how much more easily might I have +encompassed my designs, whatever they might have been, +had I encouraged you to believe that I was king. The fact +that I did not, must assure you that I have no ulterior +designs against Leopold." + +This line of reasoning proved quite convincing to the old +shopkeeper, and at last he consented to lead Barney to the +sanatorium. Together they traversed the quiet village streets +to the outskirts of the town, where in large, park-like grounds +the well-known sanatorium of Tafelberg is situated in quiet +surroundings. It is an institution for the treatment of nervous +diseases to which patients are brought from all parts of +Europe, and is doubtless Lutha's principal claim upon the +attention of the outer world. + +As the two crossed the gardens which lay between the +gate and the main entrance and mounted the broad steps +leading to the veranda an old servant opened the door, and +recognizing Herr Kramer, nodded pleasantly to him. + +"Your patient seems much brighter this morning, Herr +Kramer," he said, "and has been asking to be allowed to +sit up." + +"He is still here, then?" questioned the shopkeeper with +a sigh that might have indicated either relief or resignation. + +"Why, certainly. You did not expect that he had entirely +recovered overnight, did you?" + +"No," replied Herr Kramer, "not exactly. In fact, I did +not know what I should expect." + +As the two passed him on their way to the room in which +the patient lay, the servant eyed Herr Kramer in surprise, as +though wondering what had occurred to his mentality since +he had seen him the previous day. He paid no attention to +Barney other than to bow to him as he passed, but there +was another who did--an attendant standing in the hallway +through which the two men walked toward the private room +where one of them expected to find the real mad king of +Lutha. + +He was a dark-visaged fellow, sallow and small-eyed; and +as his glance rested upon the features of the American a +puzzled expression crossed his face. He let his gaze follow +the two as they moved on up the corridor until they turned +in at the door of the room they sought, then he followed +them, entering an apartment next to that in which Herr +Kramer's patient lay. + +As Barney and the shopkeeper entered the small, white- +washed room, the former saw upon the narrow iron cot the +figure of a man of about his own height. The face that turned +toward them as they entered was covered by a full, reddish- +brown beard, and the eyes that looked up at them in trou- +bled surprise were gray. Beyond these Barney could see no +likenesses to himself; yet they were sufficient, he realized, +to have deceived any who might have compared one solely +to the printed description of the other. + +At the doorway Kramer halted, motioning Barney within. + +"It will be better if you talk with him alone," he said. "I +am sure that before both of us he will admit nothing." + +Barney nodded, and the shopkeeper of Tafelberg with- +drew and closed the door behind him. The American ap- +proached the bedside with a cheery "Good morning." + +The man returned the salutation with a slight inclination +of his head. There was a questioning look in his eyes; but +dominating that was a pitiful, hunted expression that touched +the American's heart. + +The man's left hand lay upon the coverlet. Barney glanced +at the third finger. About it was a plain gold band. There +was no royal ring of the kings of Lutha in evidence, yet +that was no indication that the man was not Leopold; for +were he the king and desirous of concealing his identity, his +first act would be to remove every symbol of his kingship. + +Barney took the hand in his. + +"They tell me that you are well on the road to recovery," +he said. "I am very glad that it is so." + +"Who are you?" asked the man. + +"I am Bernard Custer, an American. You were found +beneath my car at the bottom of a ravine. I feel that I owe +you full reparation for the injuries you received, though +it is beyond me how you happened to be found under the +machine. Unless I am truly mad, I was the only occupant +of the roadster when it plunged over the embankment." + +"It is very simple," replied the man upon the cot. "I +chanced to be at the bottom of the ravine at the time and +the car fell upon me." + +"What were you doing at the bottom of the ravine?" asked +Barney quite suddenly, after the manner of one who ad- +ministers a third degree. + +The man started and flushed with suspicion. + +"That is my own affair," he said. + +He tried to disengage his hand from Barney's, and as he +did so the American felt something within the fingers of the +other. For an instant his own fingers tightened upon those +that lay within them, so that as the others were withdrawn +his index finger pressed close upon the thing that had +aroused his curiosity. + +It was a large setting turned inward upon the third +finger of the left hand. The gold band that Barney had +seen was but the opposite side of the same ring. + +A quick look of comprehension came to Barney's eyes. The +man upon the cot evidently noted it and rightly interpreted +its cause, for, having freed his hand, he now slipped it +quickly beneath the coverlet. + +"I have passed through a series of rather remarkable ad- +ventures since I came to Lutha," said Barney apparently +quite irrelevantly, after the two had remained silent for a +moment. "Shortly after my car fell upon you I was mistaken +for the fugitive King Leopold by the young lady whose +horse fell into the ravine with my car. She is a most loyal +supporter of the king, being none other than the Princess +Emma von der Tann. From her I learned to espouse the +cause of Leopold." + +Step by step Barney took the man through the adventures +that had befallen him during the past three weeks, closing +with the story of the death of the boy, Rudolph. + +"Above his dead body I swore to serve Leopold of Lutha +as loyally as the poor, mistaken child had served me, your +majesty," and Barney looked straight into the eyes of him +who lay upon the little iron cot. + +For a moment the man held his eyes upon those of the +American, but finally, under the latter's steady gaze, they +dropped and wandered. + +"Why do you address me as 'your majesty'?" he asked +irritably. + +"With my forefinger I felt the ruby and the four wings of +the setting of the royal ring of the kings of Lutha upon +the third finger of your left hand," replied Barney. + +The king started up upon his elbow, his eyes wild with +apprehension. + +"It is not so," he cried. "It is a lie! I am not the king." + +"Hush!" admonished Barney. "You have nothing to fear +from me. There are good friends and loyal subjects in plenty +to serve and protect your majesty, and place you upon the +throne that has been stolen from you. I have sworn to serve +you. The old shopkeeper, Herr Kramer, who brought me +here, is an honest, loyal old soul. He would die for you, +your majesty. Trust us. Let us help you. Tomorrow, Kramer +tells me, Peter of Blentz is to have himself crowned as king +in the cathedral at Lustadt. + +"Will you sit supinely by and see another rob you of your +kingdom, and then continue to rob and throttle your sub- +jects as he has been doing for the past ten years? No, you +will not. Even if you do not want the crown, you were +born to the duties and obligations it entails, and for the sake +of your people you must assume them now." + +"How am I to know that you are not another of the +creatures of that fiend of Blentz?" cried the king. "How am +I to know that you will not drag me back to the terrors of +that awful castle, and to the poisonous potions of the new +physician Peter has employed to assassinate me? I can trust +none. + +"Go away and leave me. I do not want to be king. I wish +only to go away as far from Lutha as I can get and pass +the balance of my life in peace and security. Peter may +have the crown. He is welcome to it, for all of me. All I +ask is my life and my liberty." + +Barney saw that while the king was evidently of sound +mind, his was not one of those iron characters and coura- +geous hearts that would willingly fight to the death for his +own rights and the rights and happiness of his people. Per- +haps the long years of bitter disappointment and misery, +the tedious hours of imprisonment, and the constant haunt- +ing fears for his life had reduced him to this pitiable condi- +tion. + +Whatever the cause, Barney Custer was determined to +overcome the man's aversion to assuming the duties which +were rightly his, for in his memory were the words of Emma +von der Tann, in which she had made plain to him the fate +that would doubtless befall her father and his house were +Peter of Blentz to become king of Lutha. Then, too, there +was the life of the little peasant boy. Was that to be given +up uselessly for a king with so mean a spirit that he would +not take a scepter when it was forced upon him? + +And the people of Lutha? Were they to be further and +continually robbed and downtrodden beneath the heel of +Peter's scoundrelly officials because their true king chose to +evade the responsibilities that were his by birth? + +For half an hour Barney pleaded and argued with the +king, until he infused in the weak character of the young +man a part of his own tireless enthusiasm and courage. +Leopold commenced to take heart and see things in a brighter +and more engaging light. Finally he became quite excited +about the prospects, and at last Barney obtained a willing +promise from him that he would consent to being placed +upon his throne and would go to Lustadt at any time that +Barney should come for him with a force from the retainers +of Prince Ludwig von der Tann. + +"Let us hope," cried the king, "that the luck of the reign- +ing house of Lutha has been at last restored. Not since my +aunt, the Princess Victoria, ran away with a foreigner has +good fortune shone upon my house. It was when my father +was still a young man--before he had yet come to the +throne--and though his reign was marked with great peace +and prosperity for the people of Lutha, his own private +fortunes were most unhappy. + +"My mother died at my birth, and the last days of my +father's life were filled with suffering from the cancer that +was slowly killing him. Let us pray, Herr Custer, that you +have brought new life to the fortunes of my house." + +"Amen, your majesty," said Barney. "And now I'll be off +for Tann--there must not be a moment lost if we are to +bring you to Lustadt in time for the coronation. Herr +Kramer will watch over you, but as none here guesses your +true identity you are safer here than anywhere else in Lutha. +Good-bye, your majesty. Be of good heart. We'll have you +on the road to Lustadt and the throne tomorrow morning." + +After Barney Custer had closed the door of the king's +chamber behind him and hurried down the corridor, the door +of the room next the king's opened quietly and a dark- +visaged fellow, sallow and small-eyed, emerged. Upon his +lips was a smile of cunning satisfaction, as he hastened to +the office of the medical director and obtained a leave of +absence for twenty-four hours. + + + + +VIII + +THE CORONATION DAY + +TOWARD DUSK of the day upon which the mad king of Lutha +had been found, a dust-covered horseman reined in before +the great gate of the castle of Prince Ludwig von der Tann. +The unsettled political conditions which overhung the little +kingdom of Lutha were evident in the return to medievalism +which the raised portcullis and the armed guard upon the +barbican of the ancient feudal fortress revealed. Not for a +hundred years before had these things been done other +than as a part of the ceremonials of a fete day, or in honor +of visiting royalty. + +At the challenge from the gate Barney replied that he +bore a message for the prince. Slowly the portcullis sank +into position across the moat and an officer advanced to +meet the rider. + +"The prince has ridden to Lustadt with a large retinue," +he said, "to attend the coronation of Peter of Blentz to- +morrow." + +"Prince Ludwig von der Tann has gone to attend the +coronation of Peter!" cried Barney in amazement. "Has the +Princess Emma returned from her captivity in the castle of +Blentz?" + +"She is with her father now, having returned nearly three +weeks ago," replied the officer, "and Peter has disclaimed +responsibility for the outrage, promising that those respon- +sible shall be punished. He has convinced Prince Ludwig +that Leopold is dead, and for the sake of Lutha--to save +her from civil strife--my prince has patched a truce with +Peter; though unless I mistake the character of the latter +and the temper of the former it will be short-lived. + +"To demonstrate to the people," continued the officer, "that +Prince Ludwig and Peter are good friends, the great Von +der Tann will attend the coronation, but that he takes little +stock in the sincerity of the Prince of Blentz would be ap- +parent could the latter have a peep beneath the cloaks and +look into the loyal hearts of the men of Tann who rode +down to Lustadt today." + +Barney did not wait to hear more. He was glad that in +the gathering dusk the officer had not seen his face plainly +enough to mistake him for the king. With a parting, "Then +I must ride to Lustadt with my message for the prince," he +wheeled his tired mount and trotted down the steep trail +from Tann toward the highway which leads to the capital. + +All night Barney rode. Three times he wandered from the +way and was forced to stop at farmhouses to inquire the +proper direction; but darkness hid his features from the +sleepy eyes of those who answered his summons, and day- +light found him still forging ahead in the direction of the +capital of Lutha. + +The American was sunk in unhappy meditation as his +weary little mount plodded slowly along the dusty road. +For hours the man had not been able to urge the beast out +of a walk. The loss of time consequent upon his having +followed wrong roads during the night and the exhaustion +of the pony which retarded his speed to what seemed little +better than a snail's pace seemed to assure the failure of +his mission, for at best he could not reach Lustadt before +noon. + +There was no possibility of bringing Leopold to his capital +in time for the coronation, and but a bare possibility that +Prince Ludwig would accept the word of an entire stranger +that Leopold lived, for the acknowledgment of such a con- +dition by the old prince could result in nothing less than an +immediate resort to arms by the two factions. It was certain +that Peter would be infinitely more anxious to proceed with +his coronation should it be rumored that Leopold lived, and +equally certain that Prince Ludwig would interpose every +obstacle, even to armed resistance, to prevent the consum- +mation of the ceremony. + +Yet there seemed to Barney no other alternative than to +place before the king's one powerful friend the information +that he had. It would then rest with Ludwig to do what he +thought advisable. + +An hour from Lustadt the road wound through a dense +forest, whose pleasant shade was a grateful relief to both +horse and rider from the hot sun beneath which they had +been journeying the greater part of the morning. Barney +was still lost in thought, his eyes bent forward, when at a +sudden turning of the road he came face to face with a +troop of horse that were entering the main highway at this +point from an unfrequented byroad. + +At sight of them the American instinctively wheeled his +mount in an effort to escape, but at a command from an +officer a half dozen troopers spurred after him, their fresh +horses soon overtaking his jaded pony. + +For a moment Barney contemplated resistance, for these +were troopers of the Royal Horse, the body which was now +Peter's most effective personal tool; but even as his hand +slipped to the butt of one of the revolvers at his hip, the +young man saw the foolish futility of such a course, and +with a shrug and a smile he drew rein and turned to face +the advancing soldiers. + +As he did so the officer rode up, and at sight of Barney's +face gave an exclamation of astonishment. The officer was +Butzow. + +"Well met, your majesty," he cried saluting. "We are rid- +ing to the coronation. We shall be just in time." + +"To see Peter of Blentz rob Leopold of a crown," said +the American in a disgusted tone. + +"To see Leopold of Lutha come into his own, your +majesty. Long live the king!" cried the officer. + +Barney thought the man either poking fun at him be- +cause he was not the king, or, thinking he was Leopold, tak- +ing a mean advantage of his helplessness to bait him. Yet +this last suspicion seemed unfair to Butzow, who at Blentz +had given ample evidence that he was a gentleman, and of +far different caliber from Maenck and the others who served +Peter. + +If he could but convince the man that he was no king +and thus gain his liberty long enough to reach Prince Lud- +wig's ear, his mission would have been served in so far as +it lay in his power to serve it. For some minutes Barney +expended his best eloquence and logic upon the cavalry +officer in an effort to convince him that he was not Leopold. + +The king had given the American his great ring to safe- +guard for him until it should be less dangerous for Leopold +to wear it, and for fear that at the last moment someone +within the sanatorium might recognize it and bear word to +Peter of the king's whereabouts. Barney had worn it turned +in upon the third finger of his left hand, and now he slipped +it surreptitiously into his breeches pocket lest Butzow should +see it and by it be convinced that Barney was indeed Leo- +pold. + +"Never mind who you are," cried Butzow, thinking to +humor the king's strange obsession. "You look enough like +Leopold to be his twin, and you must help us save Lutha +from Peter of Blentz." + +The American showed in his expression the surprise he +felt at these words from an officer of the prince regent. + +"You wonder at my change of heart?" asked Butzow. + +"How can I do otherwise?" + +"I cannot blame you," said the officer. "Yet I think that +when you know the truth you will see that I have done +only that which I believed to be the duty of a patriotic +officer and a true gentleman." + +They had rejoined the troop by this time, and the entire +company was once more headed toward Lustadt. Butzow +had commanded one of the troopers to exchange horses +with Barney, bringing the jaded animal into the city slowly, +and now freshly mounted the American was making better +time toward his destination. His spirits rose, and as they +galloped along the highway, he listened with renewed in- +terest to the story which Lieutenant Butzow narrated in +detail. + +It seemed that Butzow had been absent from Lutha for +a number of years as military attache to the Luthanian +legation at a foreign court. He had known nothing of the +true condition at home until his return, when he saw such +scoundrels as Coblich, Maenck, and Stein high in the +favor of the prince regent. For some time before the events +that had transpired after he had brought Barney and the +Princess Emma to Blentz he had commenced to have his +doubts as to the true patriotism of Peter of Blentz; and +when he had learned through the unguarded words of +Schonau that there was a real foundation for the rumor +that the regent had plotted the assassination of the king his +suspicions had crystallized into knowledge, and he had +sworn to serve his king before all others--were he sane or +mad. From this loyalty he could not be shaken. + +"And what do you intend doing now?" asked Barney. + +"I intend placing you upon the throne of your ancestors, +sire," replied Butzow; "nor will Peter of Blentz dare the +wrath of the people by attempting to interpose any ob- +stacle. When he sees Leopold of Lutha ride into the capital +of his kingdom at the head of even so small a force as ours +he will know that the end of his own power is at hand, for +he is not such a fool that he does not perfectly realize that +he is the most cordially hated man in all Lutha, and that +only those attend upon him who hope to profit through his +success or who fear his evil nature." + +"If Peter is crowned today," asked Barney, "will it pre- +vent Leopold regaining his throne?" + +"It is difficult to say," replied Butzow; "but the chances +are that the throne would be lost to him forever. To regain +it he would have to plunge Lutha into a bitter civil war, +for once Peter is proclaimed king he will have the law +upon his side, and with the resources of the State behind +him--the treasury and the army--he will feel in no mood +to relinquish the scepter without a struggle. I doubt much +that you will ever sit upon your throne, sire, unless you do +so within the very next hour." + +For some time Barney rode in silence. He saw that only +by a master stroke could the crown be saved for the true +king. Was it worth it? The man was happier without a +crown. Barney had come to believe that no man lived who +could be happy in possession of one. Then there came be- +fore his mind's eye the delicate, patrician face of Emma +von der Tann. + +Would Peter of Blentz be true to his new promises to +the house of Von der Tann? Barney doubted it. He recalled +all that it might mean of danger and suffering to the girl +whose kisses he still felt upon his lips as though it had +been but now that hers had placed them there. He re- +called the limp little body of the boy, Rudolph, and the +Spartan loyalty with which the little fellow had given his +life in the service of the man he had thought king. The +pitiful figure of the fear-haunted man upon the iron cot at +Tafelberg rose before him and cried for vengeance. + +To this man was the woman he loved betrothed! He +knew that he might never wed the Princess Emma. Even +were she not promised to another, the iron shackles of con- +vention and age-old customs must forever separate her from +an untitled American. But if he couldn't have her he still +could serve her! + +"For her sake," he muttered. + +"Did your majesty speak?" asked Butzow. + +"Yes, lieutenant. We urge greater haste, for if we are to +be crowned today we have no time to lose." + +Butzow smiled a relieved smile. The king had at last +regained his senses! + + +Within the ancient cathedral at Lustadt a great and gor- +geously attired assemblage had congregated. All the nobles +of Lutha were gathered there with their wives, their chil- +dren, and their retainers. There were the newer nobility of +the lowlands--many whose patents dated but since the +regency of Peter--and there were the proud nobility of the +highlands--the old nobility of which Prince Ludwig von +der Tann was the chief. + +It was noticeable that though a truce had been made +between Ludwig and Peter, yet the former chancellor of the +kingdom did not stand upon the chancel with the other +dignitaries of the State and court. + +Few there were who knew that he had been invited to +occupy a place of honor there, and had replied that he +would take no active part in the making of any king in +Lutha whose veins did not pulse to the flow of the blood +of the house in whose service he had grown gray. + +Close packed were the retainers of the old prince so that +their great number was scarcely noticeable, though quite so +was the fact that they kept their cloaks on, presenting a +somber appearance in the midst of all the glitter of gold +and gleam of jewels that surrounded them--a grim, business- +like appearance that cast a chill upon Peter of Blentz as his +eyes scanned the multitude of faces below him. + +He would have shown his indignation at this seeming +affront had he dared; but until the crown was safely upon +his head and the royal scepter in his hand Peter had no +mind to do aught that might jeopardize the attainment of +the power he had sought for the past ten years. + +The solemn ceremony was all but completed; the Bishop +of Lustadt had received the great golden crown from the +purple cushion upon which it had been borne at the head +of the procession which accompanied Peter up the broad +center aisle of the cathedral. He had raised it above the +head of the prince regent, and was repeating the solemn +words which precede the placing of the golden circlet upon +the man's brow. In another moment Peter of Blentz would +be proclaimed the king of Lutha. + +By her father's side stood Emma von der Tann. Upon +her haughty, high-bred face there was no sign of the emo- +tions which ran riot within her fair bosom. In the act that +she was witnessing she saw the eventual ruin of her father's +house. That Peter would long want for an excuse to break +and humble his ancient enemy she did not believe; but +this was not the only cause for the sorrow that overwhelmed +her. + +Her most poignant grief, like that of her father, was for +the dead king, Leopold; but to the sorrow of the loyal sub- +ject was added the grief of the loving woman, bereft. Close +to her heart she hugged the memory of the brief hours spent +with the man whom she had been taught since childhood to +look upon as her future husband, but for whom the all- +consuming fires of love had only been fanned to life within +her since that moment, now three weeks gone, that he had +crushed her to his breast to cover her lips with kisses for +the short moment ere he sacrificed his life to save her from a +fate worse than death. + +Before her stood the Nemesis of her dead king. The last +act of the hideous crime against the man she had loved was +nearing its close. As the crown, poised over the head of Peter +of Blentz, sank slowly downward the girl felt that she could +scarce restrain her desire to shriek aloud a protest against +the wicked act--the crowning of a murderer king of her +beloved Lutha. + +A glance at the old man at her side showed her the stern, +commanding features of her sire molded in an expression of +haughty dignity; only the slight movement of the muscles of +the strong jaw revealed the tensity of the hidden emotions +of the stern old warrior. He was meeting disappointment and +defeat as a Von der Tann should--brave to the end. + +The crown had all but touched the head of Peter of +Blentz when a sudden commotion at the back of the cathe- +dral caused the bishop to look up in ill-concealed annoy- +ance. At the sight that met his eyes his hands halted in +mid-air. + +The great audience turned as one toward the doors at +the end of the long central aisle. There, through the wide- +swung portals, they saw mounted men forcing their way into +the cathedral. The great horses shouldered aside the foot- +soldiers that attempted to bar their way, and twenty troop- +ers of the Royal Horse thundered to the very foot of the +chancel steps. + +At their head rode Lieutenant Butzow and a tall young +man in soiled and tattered khaki, whose gray eyes and full +reddish-brown beard brought an exclamation from Captain +Maenck who commanded the guard about Peter of Blentz. + +"Mein Gott--the king!" cried Maenck, and at the words +Peter went white. + +In open-mouthed astonishment the spectators saw the +hurrying troopers and heard Butzow's "The king! The king! +Make way for Leopold, King of Lutha!" + +And a girl saw, and as she saw her heart leaped to her +mouth. Her small hand gripped the sleeve of her father's +coat. "The king, father," she cried. "It is the king." + +Old Von der Tann, the light of a new hope firing his eyes, +threw aside his cloak and leaped to the chancel steps beside +Butzow and the others who were mounting them. Behind +him a hundred cloaks dropped from the shoulders of his +fighting men, exposing not silks and satins and fine velvet, +but the coarse tan of khaki, and grim cartridge belts well +filled, and stern revolvers slung to well-worn service belts. + +As Butzow and Barney stepped upon the chancel Peter +of Blentz leaped forward. "What mad treason is this?" he +fairly screamed. + +"The days of treason are now past, prince," replied But- +zow meaningly. "Here is not treason, but Leopold of Lutha +come to claim his crown which he inherited from his father." + +"It is a plot," cried Peter, "to place an impostor upon the +throne! This man is not the king." + +For a moment there was silence. The people had not taken +sides as yet. They awaited a leader. Old Von der Tann +scrutinized the American closely. + +"How may we know that you are Leopold?" he asked. +"For ten years we have not seen our king." + +"The governor of Blentz has already acknowledged his +identity," cried Butzow. "Maenck was the first to proclaim +the presence of the putative king." + +At that someone near the chancel cried: "Long live Leo- +pold, king of Lutha!" and at the words the whole assemblage +raised their voices in a tumultuous: "Long live the king!" + +Peter of Blentz turned toward Maenck. "The guard!" he +cried. "Arrest those traitors, and restore order in the cathe- +dral. Let the coronation proceed." + +Maenck took a step toward Barney and Butzow, when old +Prince von der Tann interposed his giant frame with grim +resolve. + +"Hold!" He spoke in a low, stern voice that brought the +cowardly Maenck to a sudden halt. + +The men of Tann had pressed eagerly forward until they +stood, with bared swords, a solid rank of fighting men in +grim semicircle behind their chief. There were cries from +different parts of the cathedral of: "Crown Leopold, our +true king! Down with Peter! Down with the assassin!" + +"Enough of this," cried Peter. "Clear the cathedral!" + +He drew his own sword, and with half a hundred loyal +retainers at his back pressed forward to clear the chancel. +There was a brief fight, from which Barney, much to his +disgust, was barred by the mighty figure of the old prince +and the stalwart sword-arm of Butzow. He did get one +crack at Maenck, and had the satisfaction of seeing blood +spurt from a fleshwound across the fellow's cheek. + +"That for the Princess Emma," he called to the governor of +Blentz, and then men crowded between them and he did +not see the captain again during the battle. + +When Peter saw that more than half of the palace guard +were shouting for Leopold, and fighting side by side with +the men of Tann, he realized the futility of further armed +resistance at this time. Slowly he withdrew, and at last the +fighting ceased and some semblance of order was restored +within the cathedral. + +Fearfully, the bishop emerged from hiding, his robes dis- +heveled and his miter askew. Butzow grasped him none too +reverently by the arm and dragged him before Barney. The +crown of Lutha dangled in the priest's palsied hands. + +"Crown the king!" cried the lieutenant. "Crown Leopold, +king of Lutha!" + +A mad roar of acclaim greeted this demand, and again +from all parts of the cathedral rose the same wild cry. But +in the lull that followed there were some who demanded +proof of the tattered young man who stood before them and +claimed that he was king. + +"Let Prince Ludwig speak!" cried a dozen voices. + +"Yes, Prince Ludwig! Prince Ludwig!" took up the throng. + +Prince Ludwig von der Tann turned toward the bearded +young man. Silence fell upon the crowded cathedral. Peter +of Blentz stood awaiting the outcome, ready to demand the +crown upon the first indication of wavering belief in the +man he knew was not Leopold. + +"How may we know that you are really Leopold?" again +asked Ludwig of Barney. + +The American raised his left hand, upon the third finger +of which gleamed the great ruby of the royal ring of the +kings of Lutha. Even Peter of Blentz started back in surprise +as his eyes fell upon the ring. + +Where had the man come upon it? + +Prince von der Tann dropped to one knee before Mr. +Bernard Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., and lifted +that gentleman's hand to his lips, and as the people of Lutha +saw the act they went mad with joy. + +Slowly Prince Ludwig rose and addressed the bishop. +"Leopold, the rightful heir to the throne of Lutha, is here. +Let the coronation proceed." + +The quiet of the sepulcher fell upon the assemblage as the +holy man raised the crown above the head of the king. Bar- +ney saw from the corner of his eye the sea of faces up- +turned toward him. He saw the relief and happiness upon +the stern countenance of the old prince. + +He hated to dash all their new found joy by the an- +nouncement that he was not the king. He could not do that, +for the moment he did Peter would step forward and de- +mand that his own coronation continue. How was he to +save the throne for Leopold? + +Among the faces beneath him he suddenly descried that +of a beautiful young girl whose eyes, filled with the tears of +a great happiness and a greater love, were upturned to his. +To reveal his true identity would lose him this girl forever. +None save Peter knew that he was not the king. All save +Peter would hail him gladly as Leopold of Lutha. How +easily he might win a throne and the woman he loved by a +moment of seeming passive compliance. + +The temptation was great, and then he recalled the boy, +lying dead for his king in the desolate mountains, and the +pathetic light in the eyes of the sorrowful man at Tafelberg, +and the great trust and confidence in the heart of the +woman who had shown that she loved him. + +Slowly Barney Custer raised his palm toward the bishop +in a gesture of restraint. + +"There are those who doubt that I am king," he said. "In +these circumstances there should be no coronation in Lutha +until all doubts are allayed and all may unite in accepting +without question the royal right of the true Leopold to the +crown of his father. Let the coronation wait, then, until +another day, and all will be well." + +"It must take place before noon of the fifth day of Nov- +ember, or not until a year later," said Prince Ludwig. "In +the meantime the Prince Regent must continue to rule. For +the sake of Lutha the coronation must take place today, +your majesty." + +"What is the date?" asked Barney. + +"The third, sire." + +"Let the coronation wait until the fifth." + +"But your majesty," interposed Von der Tann, "all may +be lost in two days." + +"It is the king's command," said Barney quietly. + +"But Peter of Blentz will rule for these two days, and in +that time with the army at his command there is no telling +what he may accomplish," insisted the old man. + +"Peter of Blentz shall not rule Lutha for two days, or +two minutes," replied Barney. "We shall rule. Lieutenant +Butzow, you may place Prince Peter, Coblich, Maenck, and +Stein under arrest. We charge them with treason against +their king, and conspiring to assassinate their rightful mon- +arch." + +Butzow smiled as he turned with his troopers at his back +to execute this most welcome of commissions; but in a mo- +ment he was again at Barney's side. + +"They have fled, your majesty," he said. "Shall I ride to +Blentz after them?" + +"Let them go," replied the American, and then, with his +retinue about him the new king of Lutha passed down the +broad aisle of the cathedral of Lustadt and took his way +to the royal palace between ranks of saluting soldiery backed +by cheering thousands. + + + + +IX + +THE KING'S GUESTS + +ONCE WITHIN the palace Barney sought the seclusion of a +small room off the audience chamber. Here he summoned +Butzow. + +"Lieutenant," said the American, "for the sake of a woman, +a dead child and an unhappy king I have become dictator +of Lutha for forty-eight hours; but at noon upon the fifth +this farce must cease. Then we must place the true Leopold +upon the throne, or a new dictator must replace me. + +"In vain I have tried to convince you that I am not the +king, and today in the cathedral so great was the tempta- +tion to take advantage of the odd train of circumstances +that had placed a crown within my reach that I all but +surrendered to it--not for the crown of gold, Butzow, but +for an infinitely more sacred diadem which belongs to him +to whom by right of birth and lineage, belongs the crown +of Lutha. I do not ask you to understand--it is not neces- +sary--but this you must know and believe: that I am not +Leopold, and that the true Leopold lies in hiding in the +sanatorium at Tafelberg, from which you and I, Butzow, +must fetch him to Lustadt before noon on the fifth." + +"But, sire--" commenced Butzow, when Barney raised +his hand. + +"Enough of that, Butzow!" he cried almost irritably. "I +am sick of being 'sired' and 'majestied'--my name is Custer. +Call me that when others are not present. Believe what you +will, but ride with me in secrecy to Tafelberg tonight, and +together we shall bring back Leopold of Lutha. Then we +may call Prince Ludwig into our confidence, and none need +ever know of the substitution. + +"I doubt if many had a sufficiently close view of me to- +day to realize the trick that I have played upon them, and +if they note a difference they will attribute it to the change +in apparel, for we shall see to it that the king is fittingly +garbed before we exhibit him to his subjects, while here- +after I shall continue in khaki, which becomes me better +than ermine." + +Butzow shook his head. + +"King or dictator," he said, "it is all the same, and I must +obey whatever commands you see fit to give, and so I will +ride to Tafelberg tonight, though what we shall find there +I cannot imagine, unless there are two Leopolds of Lutha. +But shall we also find another royal ring upon the finger of +this other king?" + +Barney smiled. "You're a typical hard-headed Dutchman, +Butzow," he said. + +The lieutenant drew himself up haughtily. "I am not a +Dutchman, your majesty. I am a Luthanian." + +Barney laughed. "Whatever else you may be, Butzow, +you're a brick," he said, laying his hand upon the other's +arm. + +Butzow looked at him narrowly. + +"From your speech," he said, "and the occasional Ameri- +canisms into which you fall I might believe that you were +other than the king but for the ring." + +"It is my commission from the king," replied Barney. "Leo- +pold placed it upon my finger in token of his royal authority +to act in his behalf. Tonight, then Butzow, you and I shall +ride to Tafelberg. Have three good horses. We must lead +one for the king." + +Butzow saluted and left the apartment. For an hour or +two the American was busy with tailors whom he had or- +dered sent to the palace to measure him for the numerous +garments of a royal wardrobe, for he knew the king to be +near enough his own size that he might easily wear clothes +that had been fitted to Barney; and it was part of his plan +to have everything in readiness for the substitution which +was to take place the morning of the coronation. + +Then there were foreign dignitaries, and the heads of +numerous domestic and civic delegations to be given audi- +ence. Old Von der Tann stood close behind Barney prompt- +ing him upon the royal duties that had fallen so suddenly +upon his shoulders, and none thought it strange that he +was unfamiliar with the craft of kingship, for was it not +common knowledge that he had been kept a close prisoner +in Blentz since boyhood, nor been given any coaching for +the duties Peter of Blentz never intended he should perform? + +After it was all over Prince Ludwig's grim and leathery +face relaxed into a smile of satisfaction. + +"None who witnessed the conduct of your first audience, +sire," he said, "could for a moment doubt your royal line- +age--if ever a man was born to kingship, your majesty, +it be you." + +Barney smiled, a bit ruefully, however, for in his mind's +eye he saw a future moment when the proud old Prince von +der Tann would know the truth of the imposture that had +been played upon him, and the young man foresaw that he +would have a rather unpleasant half-hour. + +At a little distance from them Barney saw Emma von der +Tann surrounded by a group of officials and palace officers. +Since he had come to Lustadt that day he had had no +word with her, and now he crossed toward her, amused as +the throng parted to form an aisle for him, the men saluting +and the women curtsying low. + +He took both of the girl's hands in his, and, drawing one +through his arm, took advantage of the prerogatives of king- +ship to lead her away from the throng of courtiers. + +"I thought that I should never be done with all the tire- +some business which seems to devolve upon kings," he said, +laughing. "All the while that I should have been bending +my royal intellect to matters of state, I was wondering just +how a king might find a way to see the woman he loves +without interruptions from the horde that dogs his foot- +steps." + +"You seem to have found a way, Leopold," she whis- +pered, pressing his arm close to her. "Kings usually do." + +"It is not because I am a king that I found a way, Emma," +he replied. "It is because I am an American." + +She looked up at him with an expression of pleading in +her eyes. + +"Why do you persist?" she cried. "You have come into +your own, and there is no longer aught to fear from Peter +or any other. To me at least, it is most unkind still to deny +your identity." + +"I wonder," said Barney, "if your love could withstand +the knowledge that I am not the king." + +"It is the MAN I love, Leopold," the girl replied. + +"You think so now," he said, "but wait until the test +comes, and when it does, remember that I have always +done my best to undeceive you. I know that you are not for +such as I, my princess, and when I have returned your +true king to you all that I shall ask is that you be happy +with him." + +"I shall always be happy with my king," she whispered, +and the look that she gave him made Barney Custer curse +the fate that had failed to make him a king by birth. + +An hour later darkness had fallen upon the little city of +Lustadt, and from a small gateway in the rear of the palace +grounds two horsemen rode out into the ill-paved street +and turned their mounts' heads toward the north. At the +side of one trotted a led horse. + +As they passed beneath the glare of an arc-light before a +cafe at the side of the public square, a diner sitting at a +table upon the walk spied the tall figure and the bearded +face of him who rode a few feet in advance of his com- +panion. Leaping to his feet the man waved his napkin above +his head. + +"Long live the king!" he cried. "God save Leopold of +Lutha!" + +And amid the din of cheering that followed, Barney +Custer of Beatrice and Lieutenant Butzow of the Royal +Horse rode out into the night upon the road to Tafelberg. + + +When Peter of Blentz had escaped from the cathedral +he had hastily mounted with a handful of his followers and +hurried out of Lustadt along the road toward his formidable +fortress at Blentz. Half way upon the journey he had met a +dusty and travel-stained horseman hastening toward the +capital city that Peter and his lieutenants had just left. + +At sight of the prince regent the fellow reined in and +saluted. + +"May I have a word in private with your highness?" he +asked. "I have news of the greatest importance for your +ears alone." + +Peter drew to one side with the man. + +"Well," he asked, "and what news have you for Peter of +Blentz?" + +The man leaned from his horse close to Peter's ear. + +"The king is in Tafelberg, your highness," he said. + +"The king is dead," snapped Peter. "There is an impostor +in the palace at Lustadt. But the real Leopold of Lutha +was slain by Yellow Franz's band of brigands weeks ago." + +"I heard the man at Tafelberg tell another that he was +the king," insisted the fellow. "Through the keyhole of his +room I saw him take a great ring from his finger--a ring +with a mighty ruby set in its center--and give it to the other. +Both were bearded men with gray eyes--either might have +passed for the king by the description upon the placards +that have covered Lutha for the past month. At first he +denied his identity, but when the other had convinced him +that he sought only the king's welfare he at last admitted +that he was Leopold." + +"Where is he now?" cried Peter. + +"He is still in the sanatorium at Tafelberg. In room +twenty-seven. The other promised to return for him and take +him to Lustadt, but when I left Tafelberg he had not yet +done so, and if you hasten you may reach there before they +take him away, and if there be any reward for my loyalty +to you, prince, my name is Ferrath." + +"Ride with us and if you have told the truth, fellow, +there shall be a reward and if not--then there shall be +deserts," and Peter of Blentz wheeled his horse and with +his company galloped on toward Tafelberg. + +As he rode he talked with his lieutenants Coblich, Maenck, +and Stein, and among them it was decided that it would be +best that Peter stop at Blentz for the night while the others +rode on to Tafelberg. + +"Do not bring Leopold to Blentz," directed Peter, "for if +it be he who lies at Tafelberg and they find him gone it +will be toward Blentz that they will first look. Take him--" + +The Regent leaned from his saddle so that his mouth +was close to the ear of Coblich, that none of the troopers +might hear. + +Coblich nodded his head. + +"And, Coblich, the fewer that ride to Tafelberg tonight +the surer the success of the mission. Take Maenck, Stein +and one other with you. I shall keep this man with me, for +it may prove but a plot to lure me to Tafelberg." + +Peter scowled at the now frightened hospital attendant. + +"Tomorrow I shall be riding through the lowlands, Cob- +lich, and so you may not find means to communicate with +me, but before noon of the fifth have word at your town +house in Lustadt for me of the success of your venture." + +They had reached the point now where the road to Tafel- +berg branches from that to Blentz, and the four who were +to fetch the king wheeled their horses into the left-hand fork +and cantered off upon their mission. + +The direct road between Lustadt and Tafelberg is but +little more than half the distance of that which Coblich and +his companions had to traverse because of the wide detour +they had made by riding almost to Blentz first, and so it +was that when they cantered into the little mountain town +near midnight Barney Custer and Lieutenant Butzow were +but a mile or two behind them. + +Had the latter had even the faintest of suspicions that +the identity of the hiding place of the king might come to +the knowledge of Peter of Blentz they could have reached +Tafelberg ahead of Coblich and his party, but all unsus- +pecting they rode slowly to conserve the energy of their +mounts for the return trip. + +In silence the two men approached the grounds sur- +rounding the sanatorium. In the soft dirt of the road the +hoofs of their mounts made no sound, and the shadows of +the trees that border the front of the enclosure hid them +from the view of the trooper who held four riderless horses +in a little patch of moonlight that broke through the opening +in the trees at the main gate of the institution. + +Barney was the first to see the animals and the man. + +"S-s-st," he hissed, reining in his horse. + +Butzow drew alongside the American. + +"What can it mean?" asked Barney. "That fellow is a +trooper, but I cannot make out his uniform." + +"Wait here," said Butzow, and slipping from his horse he +crept closer to the man, hugging the dense shadows close +to the trees. + +Barney reined in nearer the low wall. From his saddle he +could see the grounds beyond through the branches of a +tree. As he looked his attention was suddenly riveted upon a +sight that sent his heart into his throat. + +Three men were dragging a struggling, half-naked figure +down the gravel walk from the sanatorium toward the gate. +One kept a hand clapped across the mouth of the prisoner, +who struck and fought his assailants with all the frenzy of +despair. + +Barney leaped from his saddle and ran headlong after +Butzow. The lieutenant had reached the gate but an instant +ahead of him when the trooper, turning suddenly at some +slight sound of the officer's foot upon the ground, detected +the man creeping upon him. In an instant the fellow had +whipped out a revolver, and raising it fired point-blank at +Butzow's chest; but in the same instant a figure shot out of +the shadows beside him, and with the report of the revolver +a heavy fist caught the trooper on the side of the chin, +crumpling him to the ground as if he were dead. + +The blow had been in time to deflect the muzzle of the +firearm, and the bullet whistled harmlessly past the lieu- +tenant. + +"Your majesty!" exclaimed Butzow excitedly. "Go back. +He might have killed you." + +Barney leaped to the other's side and grasping him by the +shoulders wheeled him about so that he faced the gate. + +"There, Butzow," he cried, "there is your king, and from +the looks of it he never needed a loyal subject more than he +does this moment. Come!" Without waiting to see if the other +followed him, Barney Custer leaped through the gate full +in the faces of the astonished trio that was dragging Leopold +of Lutha from his sanctuary. + +At sight of the American the king gave a muffled cry +of relief, and then Barney was upon those who held him. A +stinging uppercut lifted Coblich clear of the ground to drop +him, dazed and bewildered, at the foot of the monarch he +had outraged. Maenck drew a revolver only to have it struck +from his hand by the sword of Butzow, who had followed +closely upon the American's heels. + +Barney, seizing the king by the arm, started on a run for +the gateway. In his wake came Butzow with a drawn sword +beating back Stein, who was armed with a cavalry saber, +and Maenck who had now drawn his own sword. + +The American saw that the two were pressing Butzow +much too closely for safety and that Coblich had now re- +covered from the effects of the blow and was in pursuit, +drawing his saber as he ran. Barney thrust the king behind +him and turned to face the enemy, at Butzow's side. + +The three men rushed upon the two who stood between +them and their prey. The moonlight was now full in the +faces of Butzow and the American. For the first time Maenck +and the others saw who it was that had interrupted them. + +"The impostor!" cried the governor of Blentz. "The false +king!" + +Imbued with temporary courage by the knowledge that +his side had the advantage of superior numbers he launched +himself full upon the American. To his surprise he met a +sword-arm that none might have expected in an American, +for Barney Custer had been a pupil of the redoubtable +Colonel Monstery, who was, as Barney was wont to say, +"one of the thanwhomest of fencing masters." + +Quickly Maenck fell back to give place to Stein, but not +before the American's point had found him twice to leave +him streaming blood from two deep flesh wounds. + +Neither of those who fought in the service of the king +saw the trembling, weak-kneed figure, which had stood be- +hind them, turn and scurry through the gateway, leaving +the men who battled for him to their fate. + +The trooper whom Barney had felled had regained con- +sciousness and as he came to his feet rubbing his swollen +jaw he saw a disheveled, half-dressed figure running toward +him from the sanatorium grounds. The fellow was no fool, +and knowing the purpose of the expedition as he did he +was quick to jump to the conclusion that this fleeing personi- +fication of abject terror was Leopold of Lutha; and so it +was that as the king emerged from the gateway in search +of freedom he ran straight into the widespread arms of the +trooper. + +Maenck and Coblich had seen the king's break for liberty, +and the latter maneuvered to get himself between Butzow +and the open gate that he might follow after the fleeing +monarch. + +At the same instant Maenck, seeing that Stein was being +worsted by the American, rushed in upon the latter, and +thus relieved, the rat-faced doctor was enabled to swing a +heavy cut at Barney which struck him a glancing blow upon +the head, sending him stunned and bleeding to the sward. + +Coblich and the governor of Blentz hastened toward the +gate, pausing for an instant to overwhelm Butzow. In the +fierce scrimmage that followed the lieutenant was over- +thrown, though not before his sword had passed through +the heart of the rat-faced one. Deserting their fallen com- +rade the two dashed through the gate, where to their im- +mense relief they found Leopold safe in the hands of the +trooper. + +An instant later the precious trio, with Leopold upon the +horse of the late Dr. Stein, were galloping swiftly into the +darkness of the wood that lies at the outskirts of Tafelberg. + +When Barney regained consciousness he found himself +upon a cot within the sanatorium. Close beside him lay +Butzow, and above them stood an interne and several +nurses. No sooner had the American regained his scattered +wits than he leaped to the floor. The interne and the nurses +tried to force him back upon the cot, thinking that he was in +the throes of a delirium, and it required his best efforts to +convince them that he was quite rational. + +During the melee Butzow regained consciousness; his +wound being as superficial as that of the American, the two +men were soon donning their clothing, and, half-dressed, +rushing toward the outer gate. + +The interne had told them that when he had reached the +scene of the conflict in company with the gardener he had +found them and another lying upon the sward. + +Their companion, he said, was quite dead. + +"That must have been Stein," said Butzow. "And the +others had escaped with the king!" + +"The king?" cried the interne. + +"Yes, the king, man--Leopold of Lutha. Did you not +know that he who has lain here for three weeks was the +king?" replied Butzow. + +The interne accompanied them to the gate and beyond, +but everywhere was silence. The king was gone. + + + + +X + +ON THE BATTLEFIELD + +ALL THAT night and the following day Barney Custer and +his aide rode in search of the missing king. + +They came to Blentz, and there Butzow rode boldly into +the great court, admitted by virtue of the fact that the +guard upon the gate knew him only as an officer of the +royal guard whom they believed still loyal to Peter of Blentz. + +The lieutenant learned that the king was not there, nor +had he been since his escape. He also learned that Peter +was abroad in the lowland recruiting followers to aid him +forcibly to regain the crown of Lutha. + +The lieutenant did not wait to hear more, but, hurrying +from the castle, rode to Barney where the latter had re- +mained in hiding in the wood below the moat--the same +wood through which he had stumbled a few weeks previ- +ously after his escape from the stagnant waters of the moat. + +"The king is not here," said Butzow to him, as soon as the +former reached his side. "Peter is recruiting an army to aid +him in seizing the palace at Lustadt, and king or no king, +we must ride for the capital in time to check that move. +Thank God," he added, "that we shall have a king to place +upon the throne of Lutha at noon tomorrow in spite of all +that Peter can do." + +"What do you mean?" asked Barney. "Have you any +clue to the whereabouts of Leopold?" + +"I saw the man at Tafelberg whom you say is king," +replied Butzow. "I saw him tremble and whimper in the face +of danger. I saw him run when he might have seized some- +thing, even a stone, and fought at the sides of the men who +were come to rescue him. And I saw you there also. + +"The truth and the falsity of this whole strange business +is beyond me, but this I know: if you are not the king today +I pray God that the other may not find his way to Lustadt +before noon tomorrow, for by then a brave man will sit +upon the throne of Lutha, your majesty." + +Barney laid his hand upon the shoulder of the other. + +"It cannot be, my friend," he said. "There is more than a +throne at stake for me, but to win them both I could not +do the thing you suggest. If Leopold of Lutha lives he +must be crowned tomorrow." + +"And if he does not live?" asked Butzow. + +Barney Custer shrugged his shoulders. + +It was dusk when the two entered the palace grounds in +Lustadt. The sight of Barney threw the servants and func- +tionaries of the royal household into wild excitement and +confusion. Men ran hither and thither bearing the glad tid- +ings that the king had returned. + +Old von der Tann was announced within ten minutes after +Barney reached his apartments. He urged upon the Ameri- +can the necessity for greater caution in the future. + +"Your majesty's life is never safe while Peter of Blentz is +abroad in Lutha," cried he. + +"It was to save your king from Peter that we rode from +Lustadt last night," replied Barney, but the old prince did +not catch the double meaning of the words. + +While they talked a young officer of cavalry begged an +audience. He had important news for the king, he said. +From him Barney learned that Peter of Blentz had succeeded +in recruiting a fair-sized army in the lowlands. Two regi- +ments of government infantry and a squadron of cavalry +had united forces with him, for there were those who still +accepted him as regent, believing his contention that the +true king was dead, and that he whose coronation was to +be attempted was but the puppet of old Von der Tann. + +The morning of November 5 broke clear and cold. The +old town of Lustadt was awakened with a start at daybreak +by the booming of cannon. Mounted messengers galloped +hither and thither through the steep, winding streets. Troops, +foot and horse, moved at the double from the barracks +along the King's Road to the fortifications which guard the +entrance to the city at the foot of Margaretha Street. + +Upon the heights above the town Barney Custer and the +old Prince von der Tann stood surrounded by officers and +aides watching the advance of a skirmish line up the slopes +toward Lustadt. Behind, the thin line columns of troops +were marching under cover of two batteries of field artil- +lery that Peter of Blentz had placed upon a wooden knoll +to the southeast of the city. + +The guns upon the single fort that, overlooking the broad +valley, guarded the entire southern exposure of the city +were answering the fire of Prince Peter's artillery, while +several machine guns had been placed to sweep the slope +up which the skirmish line was advancing. + +The trees that masked the enemy's pieces extended up- +ward along the ridge and the eastern edge of the city. Bar- +ney saw that a force of men might easily reach a command- +ing position from that direction and enter Lustadt almost in +rear of the fortifications. Below him a squadron of the Royal +Horse were just emerging from their stables, taking their +way toward the plain to join in a concerted movement +against the troops that were advancing toward the fort. + +He turned to an aide de camp standing just behind him. + +"Intercept that squadron and direct the major to move +due east along the King's Road to the grove," he commanded. +"We will join him there." + +And as the officer spurred down the steep and narrow +street the American, followed by Von der Tann and his +staff, wheeled and galloped eastward. + +Ten minutes later the party entered the wood at the edge +of town, where the squadron soon joined them. Von der +Tann was mystified at the purpose of this change in the +position of the general staff, since from the wood they could +see nothing of the battle waging upon the slope. During his +brief intercourse with the man he thought king he had quite +forgotten that there had been any question as to the young +man's sanity, for he had given no indication of possessing +aught but a well-balanced mind. Now, however, he com- +menced to have misgivings, if not of his sanity, then as to +his judgment at least. + +"I fear, your majesty," he ventured, "that we are putting +ourselves too much out of touch with the main body of the +army. We can neither see nor accomplish anything from +this position." + +"We were too far away to accomplish much upon the top +of that mountain," replied Barney, "but we're going to +commence doing things now. You will please to ride back +along the King's Road and take direct command of the +troops mobilized near the fort. + +"Direct the artillery to redouble their fire upon the enemy's +battery for five minutes, and then to cease firing into the +wood entirely. At the same instant you may order a cautious +advance against the troops advancing up the slope. + +"When you see us emerge upon the west side of the +grove where the enemy's guns are now, you may order a +charge, and we will take them simultaneously upon their +right flank with a cavalry charge." + +"But, your majesty," exclaimed Von der Tann dubiously, +"where will you be in the mean time?" + +"We shall be with the major's squadron, and when you +see us emerging from the grove, you will know that we have +taken Peter's guns and that everything is over except the +shouting." + +"You are not going to accompany the charge!" cried the +old prince. + +"We are going to lead it," and the pseudo-king of Lutha +wheeled his mount as though to indicate that the time for +talking was past. + +With a signal to the major commanding the squadron of +Royal Horse, he moved eastward into the wood. Prince Lud- +wig hesitated a moment as though to question further the +wisdom of the move, but finally with a shake of his head he +trotted off in the direction of the fort. + +Five minutes later the enemy were delighted to note that +the fire upon their concealed battery had suddenly ceased. + +Then Peter saw a force of foot-soldiers deploy from the +city and advance slowly in line of skirmishers down the +slope to meet his own firing line. + +Immediately he did what Barney had expected that he +would--turned the fire of his artillery toward the south- +west, directly away from the point from which the Ameri- +can and the crack squadron were advancing. + +So it came that the cavalrymen crept through the woods +upon the rear of the guns, unseen; the noise of their advance +was drowned by the detonation of the cannon. + +The first that the artillerymen knew of the enemy in their +rear was a shout of warning from one of the powder-men +at a caisson, who had caught a glimpse of the grim line ad- +vancing through the trees at his rear. + +Instantly an effort was made to wheel several of the pieces +about and train them upon the advancing horsemen; but +even had there been time, a shout that rose from several of +Peter's artillerymen as the Royal Horse broke into full view +would doubtless have prevented the maneuver, for at sight +of the tall, bearded, young man who galloped in front of +the now charging cavalrymen there rose a shout of "The +king! The king!" + +With the force of an avalanche the Royal Horse rode +through those two batteries of field artillery; and in the +thick of the fight that followed rode the American, a smile +upon his face, for in his ears rang the wild shouts of his +troopers: "For the king! For the king!" + +In the moment that the enemy made their first determined +stand a bullet brought down the great bay upon which +Barney rode. A dozen of Peter's men rushed forward to +seize the man stumbling to his feet. As many more of the +Royal Horse closed around him, and there, for five minutes, +was waged as fierce a battle for possession of a king as was +ever fought. + +But already many of the artillerymen had deserted the +guns that had not yet been attacked, for the magic name of +king had turned their blood to water. Fifty or more raised +a white flag and surrendered without striking a blow, and +when, at last, Barney and his little bodyguard fought their +way through those who surrounded them they found the +balance of the field already won. + +Upon the slope below the city the loyal troops were ad- +vancing upon the enemy. Old Prince Ludwig paced back +and forth behind them, apparently oblivious to the rain of +bullets about him. Every moment he turned his eyes toward +the wooded ridge from which there now belched an almost +continuous fusillade of shells upon the advancing royalists. + +Quite suddenly the cannonading ceased and the old man +halted in his tracks, his gaze riveted upon the wood. For +several minutes he saw no sign of what was transpiring be- +hind that screen of sere and yellow autumn leaves, and then +a man came running out, and after him another and an- +other. + +The prince raised his field glasses to his eyes. He almost +cried aloud in his relief--the uniforms of the fugitives were +those of artillerymen, and only cavalry had accompanied the +king. A moment later there appeared in the center of his +lenses a tall figure with a full beard. He rode, swinging his +saber above his head, and behind him at full gallop came a +squadron of the Royal Horse. + +Old von der Tann could restrain himself no longer. + +"The king! The king!" he cried to those about him, point- +ing in the direction of the wood. + +The officers gathered there and the soldiery before him +heard and took up the cry, and then from the old man's +lips came the command, "Charge!" and a thousand men tore +down the slopes of Lustadt upon the forces of Peter of +Blentz, while from the east the king charged their right flank +at the head of the Royal Horse. + +Peter of Blentz saw that the day was lost, for the troops +upon the right were crumpling before the false king while +he and his cavalrymen were yet a half mile distant. Before +the retreat could become a rout the prince regent ordered +his forces to fall back slowly upon a suburb that lies in the +valley below the city. + +Once safely there he raised a white flag, asking a confer- +ence with Prince Ludwig. + +"Your majesty," said the old man, "what answer shall we +send the traitor who even now ignores the presence of his +king?" + +"Treat with him," replied the American. "He may be hon- +est enough in his belief that I am an impostor." + +Von der Tann shrugged his shoulders, but did as Barney +bid, and for half an hour the young man waited with Butzow +while Von der Tann and Peter met halfway between the +forces for their conference. + +A dozen members of the most powerful of the older no- +bility accompanied Ludwig. When they returned their faces +were a picture of puzzled bewilderment. With them were +several officers, soldiers and civilians from Peter's contingency. + +"What said he?" asked Barney. + +"He said, your majesty," replied Von der Tann, "that he +is confident you are not the king, and that these men he +has sent with me knew the king well at Blentz. As proof +that you are not the king he has offered the evidence of +your own denials--made not only to his officers and soldiers, +but to the man who is now your loyal lieutenant, Butzow, and +to the Princess Emma von der Tann, my daughter. + +"He insists that he is fighting for the welfare of Lutha, +while we are traitors, attempting to seat an impostor upon +the throne of the dead Leopold. I will admit that we are at +a loss, your majesty, to know where lies the truth and where +the falsity in this matter. + +"We seek only to serve our country and our king but +there are those among us who, to be entirely frank, are not +yet convinced that you are Leopold. The result of the con- +ference may not, then, meet with the hearty approval of +your majesty." + +"What was the result?" asked Barney. + +"It was decided that all hostilities cease, and that Prince +Peter be given an opportunity to establish the validity of +his claim that your majesty is an impostor. If he is able to +do so to the entire satisfaction of a majority of the old no- +bility, we have agreed to support him in a return to his +regency." + +For a moment there was deep silence. Many of the nobles +stood with averted faces and eyes upon the ground. + +The American, a half-smile upon his face, turned toward +the men of Peter who had come to denounce him. He knew +what their verdict would be. He knew that if he were to +save the throne for Leopold he must hold it at any cost until +Leopold should be found. + +Troopers were scouring the country about Lustadt as far +as Blentz in search of Maenck and Coblich. Could they lo- +cate these two and arrest them "with all found in their +company," as his order read, he felt sure that he would be +able to deliver the missing king to his subjects in time for +the coronation at noon. + +Barney looked straight into the eyes of old Von der Tann. + +"You have given us the opinion of others, Prince Lud- +wig," he said. "Now you may tell us your own views of +the matter." + +"I shall have to abide by the decision of the majority," +replied the old man. "But I have seen your majesty under +fire, and if you are not the king, for Lutha's sake you ought +to be." + +"He is not Leopold," said one of the officers who had ac- +companied the prince from Peter's camp. "I was governor +of Blentz for three years and as familiar with the king's +face as with that of my own brother." + +"No," cried several of the others, "this man is not the +king." + +Several of the nobles drew away from Barney. Others +looked at him questioningly. + +Butzow stepped close to his side, and it was noticeable +that the troopers, and even the officers, of the Royal Horse +which Barney had led in the charge upon the two batteries +in the wood, pressed a little closer to the American. This +fact did not escape Butzow's notice. + +"If you are content to take the word of the servants of a +traitor and a would-be regicide," he cried, "I am not. There +has been no proof advanced that this man is not the king. +In so far as I am concerned he is the king, nor ever do I +expect to serve another more worthy of the title. + +"If Peter of Blentz has real proof--not the testimony of +his own faction--that Leopold of Lutha is dead, let him +bring it forward before noon today, for at noon we shall +crown a king in the cathedral at Lustadt, and I for one +pray to God that it may be he who has led us in battle +today." + +A shout of applause rose from the Royal Horse, and from +the foot-soldiers who had seen the king charge across the +plain, scattering the enemy before him. + +Barney, appreciating the advantage in the sudden turn +affairs had taken following Butzow's words, swung to his +saddle. + +"Until Peter of Blentz brings to Lustadt one with a better +claim to the throne," he said, "we shall continue to rule +Lutha, nor shall other than Leopold be crowned her king. +We approve of the amnesty you have granted, Prince Lud- +wig, and Peter of Blentz is free to enter Lustadt, as he will, +so long as he does not plot against the true king. + +"Major," he added, turning to the commander of the +squadron at his back, "we are returning to the palace. Your +squadron will escort us, remaining on guard there about the +grounds. Prince Ludwig, you will see that machine guns are +placed about the palace and commanding the approaches to +the cathedral." + +With a nod to the cavalry major he wheeled his horse +and trotted up the slope toward Lustadt. + +With a grim smile Prince Ludwig von der Tann mounted +his horse and rode toward the fort. At his side were several +of the nobles of Lutha. They looked at him in astonishment. + +"You are doing his bidding, although you do not know +that he is the true king?" asked one of them. + +"Were he an impostor," replied the old man, "he would +have insisted by word of mouth that he is king. But not +once has he said that he is Leopold. Instead, he has proved +his kingship by his acts." + + + + +XI + +A TIMELY INTERVENTION + +NINE O'CLOCK found Barney Custer pacing up and down his +apartments in the palace. No clue as to the whereabouts of +Coblich, Maenck or the king had been discovered. One by +one his troopers had returned to Butzow empty-handed, +and as much at a loss as to the hiding-place of their quarry +as when they had set out upon their search. + +Peter of Blentz and his retainers had entered the city and +already had commenced to gather at the cathedral. + +Peter, at the residence of Coblich, had succeeded in +gathering about him many of the older nobility whom he +pledged to support him in case he could prove to them that +the man who occupied the royal palace was not Leopold +of Lutha. + +They agreed to support him in his regency if he produced +proof that the true Leopold was dead, and Peter of Blentz +waited with growing anxiety the coming of Coblich with +word that he had the king in custody. Peter was staking all +on a single daring move which he had decided to make in +his game of intrigue. + +As Barney paced within the palace, waiting for word +that Leopold had been found, Peter of Blentz was filled with +equal apprehension as he, too, waited for the same tidings. +At last he heard the pound of hoofs upon the pavement +without and a moment later Coblich, his clothing streaked +with dirt, blood caked upon his face from a wound across +the forehead, rushed in to the presence of the prince regent. + +Peter drew him hurriedly into a small study on the first +floor. + +"Well?" he whispered, as the two faced each other. + +"We have him," replied Coblich. But we had the devil's +own time getting him. Stein was killed and Maenck and I +both wounded, and all morning we have spent the time +hiding from troopers who seemed to be searching for us. +Only fifteen minutes since did we reach the hiding-place +that you instructed us to use. But we have him, your high- +ness, and he is in such a state of cowardly terror that he is +ready to agree to anything, if you will but spare his life +and set him free across the border." + +"It is too late for that now, Coblich," replied Peter. +"There is but one way that Leopold of Lutha can serve +me now, and that is--dead. Were his corpse to be carried +into the cathedral of Lustadt before noon today, and were +those who fetched it to swear that the king was killed by +the impostor after being dragged from the hospital at Tafel- +berg where you and Maenck had located him, and from +which you were attempting to rescue him, I believe that the +people would tear our enemies to pieces. What say you, +Coblich?" + +The other stared at Peter of Blentz for several seconds +while the atrocity of his chief's plan filtered through his +brain. + +"My God!" he exclaimed at last. "You mean that you +wish me to murder Leopold with my own hands?" + +"You put it too crudely, my dear Coblich," replied the +other. + +"I cannot do it," muttered Coblich. "I have never killed a +man in my life. I am getting old. No, I could never do it. +I should not sleep nights." + +"If it is not done, Coblich, and Leopold comes into his +own," said Peter slowly, "you will be caught and hanged +higher than Haman. And if you do not do it, and the im- +poster is crowned today, then you will be either hanged +officially or knifed unofficially, and without any choice in +the matter whatsoever. Nothing, Coblich, but the dead body +of the true Leopold can save your neck. You have your +choice, therefore, of letting him live to prove your treason, +or letting him die and becoming chancellor of Lutha." + +Slowly Coblich turned toward the door. "You are right," +he said, "but may God have mercy on my soul. I never +thought that I should have to do it with my own hands." + +So saying he left the room and a moment later Peter of +Blentz smiled as he heard the pounding of a horse's hoofs +upon the pavement without. + +Then the Regent entered the room he had recently quitted +and spoke to the nobles of Lutha who were gathered there. + +"Coblich has found the body of the murdered king," he +said. "I have directed him to bring it to the cathedral. He +came upon the impostor and his confederate, Lieutenant +Butzow, as they were bearing the corpse from the hospital +at Tafelberg where the king has lain unknown since the +rumor was spread by Von der Tann that he had been killed +by bandits. + +"He was not killed until last evening, my lords, and you +shall see today the fresh wounds upon him. When the time +comes that we can present this grisly evidence of the guilt +of the impostor and those who uphold him, I shall expect +you all to stand at my side, as you have promised." + +With one accord the noblemen pledged anew their alle- +giance to Peter of Blentz if he could produce one-quarter of +the evidence he claimed to possess. + +"All that we wish to know positively is," said one, "that +the man who bears the title of king today is really Leopold +of Lutha, or that he is not. If not then he stands convicted +of treason, and we shall know how to conduct ourselves." + +Together the party rode to the cathedral, the majority of +the older nobility now openly espousing the cause of the +Regent. + + +At the palace Barney was about distracted. Butzow was +urging him to take the crown whether he was Leopold or +not, for the young lieutenant saw no hope for Lutha, if +either the scoundrelly Regent or the cowardly man whom +Barney had assured him was the true king should come into +power. + +It was eleven o'clock. In another hour Barney knew that +he must have found some new solution of his dilemma, for +there seemed little probability that the king would be lo- +cated in the brief interval that remained before the corona- +tion. He wondered what they did to people who stole thrones. +For a time he figured his chances of reaching the border +ahead of the enraged populace. All had depended upon the +finding of the king, and he had been so sure that it could +be accomplished in time, for Coblich and Maenck had had +but a few hours in which to conceal the monarch before +the search was well under way. + +Armed with the king's warrants, his troopers had ridden +through the country, searching houses, and questioning all +whom they met. Patrols had guarded every road that the +fugitives might take either to Lustadt, Blentz, or the border; +but no king had been found and no trace of his abductors. + +Prince von der Tann, Barney was convinced, was on the +point of deserting him, and going over to the other side. It +was true that the old man had carried out his instructions +relative to the placing of the machine guns; but they might +be used as well against him, where they stood, as for him. + +From his window he could see the broad avenue which +passes before the royal palace of Lutha. It was crowded +with throngs moving toward the cathedral. Presently there +came a knock upon the closed door of his chamber. + +At his "Enter" a functionary announced: "His Royal High- +ness Ludwig, Prince von der Tann!" + +The old man was much perturbed at the rumors he had +heard relative to the assassination of the true Leopold. +Soldier-like, he blurted out his suspicions and his ultimatum. + +"None but the royal blood of Rubinroth may reign in +Lutha while there be a Rubinroth left to reign and old Von +der Tann lives," he cried in conclusion. + +At the name "Rubinroth" Barney started. It was his +mother's name. Suddenly the truth flashed upon him. He +understood now the reticence of both his father and mother +relative to her early life. + +"Prince Ludwig," said the young man earnestly, "I have +only the good of Lutha in my heart. For three weeks I have +labored and risked death a hundred times to place the +legitimate heir to the crown of Lutha upon his throne. I--" + +He hesitated, not knowing just how to commence the +confession he was determined to make, though he was posi- +tive that it would place Peter of Blentz upon the throne, +since the old prince had promised to support the Regent +could it be proved that Barney was an impostor. + +"I," he started again, and then there came an interruption +at the door. + +"A messenger, your majesty," announced the doorman, +"who says that he must have audience at once upon a mat- +ter of life and death to the king." + +"We will see him in the ante-chamber," replied Barney, +moving toward the door. "Await us here, Prince Ludwig." + +A moment later he re-entered the apartment. There was +an expression of renewed hope upon his face. + +"As we were about to remark, my dear prince," he said, +"I swear that the royal blood of the Rubinroths flows in my +veins, and as God is my judge, none other than the true +Leopold of Lutha shall be crowned today. And now we +must prepare for the coronation. If there be trouble in the +cathedral, Prince Ludwig, we look to your sword in pro- +tection of the king." + +"When I am with you, sire," said Von der Tann, "I know +that you are king. When I saw how you led the troops in +battle, I prayed that there could be no mistake. God give +that I am right. But God help you if you are playing with +old Ludwig von der Tann." + +When the old man had left the apartment Barney sum- +moned an aide and sent for Butzow. Then he hurried to the +bath that adjoined the apartment, and when the lieutenant +of horse was announced Barney called through a soapy +lather for his confederate to enter. + +"What are you doing, sire?" cried Butzow in amazement. + +"Cut out the 'sire,' old man," shouted Barney Custer of +Beatrice. "this is the fifth of November and I am shaving +off this alfalfa. The king is found!" + +"What?" cried Butzow, and upon his face there was little +to indicate the rejoicing that a loyal subject of Leopold of +Lutha should have felt at that announcement. + +"There is a man in the next room," went on Barney, "who +can lead us to the spot where Coblich and Maenck guard +the king. Get him in here." + +Butzow hastened to comply with the American's instruc- +tions, and a moment later returned to the apartment with +the old shopkeeper of Tafelberg. + +As Barney shaved he issued directions to the two. Within +the room to the east, he said, there were the king's corona- +tion robes, and in a smaller dressingroom beyond they would +find a long gray cloak. + +They were to wrap all these in a bundle which the old +shopkeeper was to carry. + +"And, Butzow," added Barney, "look to my revolvers and +your own, and lay my sword out as well. The chances are +that we shall have to use them before we are ten minutes +older." + +In an incredibly short space of time the young man +emerged from the bath, his luxuriant beard gone forever, +he hoped. Butzow looked at him with a smile. + +"I must say that the beard did not add greatly to your +majesty's good looks," he said. + +"Never mind the bouquets, old man," cried Barney, cram- +ming his arms into the sleeves of his khaki jacket and buck- +ling sword and revolver about him, as he hurried toward a +small door that opened upon the opposite side of the apart- +ment to that through which his visitors had been conducted. + +Together the three hastened through a narrow, little-used +corridor and down a flight of well-worn stone steps to a door +that let upon the rear court of the palace. + +There were grooms and servants there, and soldiers too, +who saluted Butzow, according the old shopkeeper and +the smooth-faced young stranger only cursory glances. It +was evident that without his beard it was not likely that +Barney would be again mistaken for the king. + +At the stables Butzow requisitioned three horses, and soon +the trio was galloping through a little-frequented street +toward the northern, hilly environs of Lustadt. They rode +in silence until they came to an old stone building, whose +boarded windows and general appearance of dilapidation +proclaimed its long tenantless condition. Rank weeds, now +rustling dry and yellow in the November wind, choked +what once might have been a luxuriant garden. A stone +wall, which had at one time entirely surrounded the grounds, +had been almost completely removed from the front to serve +as foundation stone for a smaller edifice farther down the +mountainside. + +The horsemen avoided this break in the wall, coming up +instead upon the rear side where their approach was wholly +screened from the building by the wall upon that exposure. + +Close in they dismounted, and leaving the animals in +charge of the shopkeeper of Tafelberg, Barney and Butzow +hastened toward a small postern-gate which swung, groan- +ing, upon a single rusted hinge. Each felt that there was no +time for caution or stratagem. Instead all depended upon +the very boldness and rashness of their attack, and so as +they came through into the courtyard the two dashed +headlong for the building. + +Chance accomplished for them what no amount of careful +execution might have done, and they came within the ruin +unnoticed by the four who occupied the old, darkened +library. + +Possibly the fact that one of the men had himself just +entered and was excitedly talking to the others may have +drowned the noisy approach of the two. However that may +be, it is a fact that Barney and the cavalry officer came to +the very door of the library unheard. + +There they halted, listening. Coblich was speaking. + +"The Regent commands it, Maenck," he was saying. "It is +the only thing that can save our necks. He said that you had +better be the one to do it, since it was your carelessness that +permitted the fellow to escape from Blentz." + +Huddled in a far corner of the room was an abject figure +trembling in terror. At the words of Coblich it staggered to +its feet. It was the king. + +"Have pity--have pity!" he cried. "Do not kill me, and I +will go away where none will ever know that I live. You can +tell Peter that I am dead. Tell him anything, only spare my +life. Oh, why did I ever listen to the cursed fool who +tempted me to think of regaining the crown that has brought +me only misery and suffering--the crown that has now +placed the sentence of death upon me." + +"Why not let him go?" suggested the trooper, who up to +this time had not spoken. "If we don't kill him, we can't be +hanged for his murder." + +"Don't be too sure of that," exclaimed Maenck. "If he +goes away and never returns, what proof can we offer that +we did not kill him, should we be charged with the crime? +And if we let him go, and later he returns and gains his +throne, he will see that we are hanged anyway for treason. + +"The safest thing to do is to put him where he at least +cannot come back to threaten us, and having done so upon +the orders of Peter, let the king's blood be upon Peter's +head. I, at least, shall obey my master, and let you two bear +witness that I did the thing with my own hand." So saying +he drew his sword and crossed toward the king. + +But Captain Ernst Maenck never reached his sovereign. + +As the terrified shriek of the sorry monarch rang through +the interior of the desolate ruin another sound mingled with +it, half-drowning the piercing wail of terror. + +It was the sharp crack of a revolver, and even as it spoke +Maenck lunged awkwardly forward, stumbled, and collapsed +at Leopold's feet. With a moan the king shrank back from +the grisly thing that touched his boot, and then two men +were in the center of the room, and things were happening +with a rapidity that was bewildering. + +About all that he could afterward recall with any distinct- +ness was the terrified face of Coblich, as he rushed past him +toward a door in the opposite side of the room, and the +horrid leer upon the face of the dead trooper, who foolishly, +had made a move to draw his revolver. + + +Within the cathedral at Lustadt excitement was at fever +heat. It lacked but two minutes of noon, and as yet no king +had come to claim the crown. Rumors were running riot +through the close-packed audience. + +One man had heard the king's chamberlain report to Prince +von der Tann that the master of ceremonies had found the +king's apartments vacant when he had gone to urge the +monarch to hasten his preparations for the coronation. + +Another had seen Butzow and two strangers galloping +north through the city. A third told of a little old man who +had come to the king with an urgent message. + +Peter of Blentz and Prince Ludwig were talking in whis- +pers at the foot of the chancel steps. Peter ascended the +steps and facing the assemblage raised a silencing hand. + +"He who claimed to be Leopold of Lutha," he said, "was +but a mad adventurer. He would have seized the throne of +the Rubinroths had his nerve not failed him at the last mo- +ment. He has fled. The true king is dead. Now I, Prince +Regent of Lutha, declare the throne vacant, and announce +myself king!" + +There were a few scattered cheers and some hissing. A +score of the nobles rose as though to protest, but before any +could take a step the attention of all was directed toward +the sorry figure of a white-faced man who scurried up the +broad center aisle. + +It was Coblich. + +He ran to Peter's side, and though he attempted to speak +in a whisper, so out of breath, and so filled with hysterical +terror was he that his words came out in gasps that were +audible to many of those who stood near by. + +"Maenck is dead," he cried. "The impostor has stolen the +king." + +Peter of Blentz went white as his lieutenant. Von der Tann +heard and demanded an explanation. + +"You said that Leopold was dead," he said accusingly. + +Peter regained his self-control quickly. + +"Coblich is excited," he explained. "He means that the +impostor has stolen the body of the king that Coblich and +Maenck had discovered and were bring to Lustadt." + +Von der Tann looked troubled. + +He knew not what to make of the series of wild tales that +had come to his ears within the past hour. He had hoped +that the young man whom he had last seen in the king's +apartments was the true Leopold. He would have been glad +to have served such a one, but there had been many in- +explicable occurrences which tended to cast a doubt upon +the man's claims--and yet, had he ever claimed to be the +king? It suddenly occurred to the old prince that he had +not. On the contrary he had repeatedly stated to Prince +Ludwig's daughter and to Lieutenant Butzow that he was +not Leopold. + +It seemed that they had all been so anxious to believe +him king that they had forced the false position upon him, +and now if he had indeed committed the atrocity that +Coblich charged against him, who could wonder? With less +provocation men had before attempted to seize thrones by +more dastardly means. + +Peter of Blentz was speaking. + +"Let the coronation proceed," he cried, "that Lutha may +have a true king to frustrate the plans of the impostor and +the traitors who had supported him." + +He cast a meaning glance at Prince von der Tann. + +There were many cries for Peter of Blentz. "Let's have +done with treason, and place upon the throne of Lutha +one whom we know to be both a Luthanian and sane. +Down with the mad king! Down with the impostor!" + +Peter turned to ascend the chancel steps. + +Von der Tann still hesitated. Below him upon one side of +the aisle were massed his own retainers. Opposite them were +the men of the Regent, and dividing the two the parallel +ranks of Horse Guards stretched from the chancel down +the broad aisle to the great doors. These were strongly for +the impostor, if impostor he was, who had led them to +victory over the men of the Blentz faction. + +Von der Tann knew that they would fight to the last ditch +for their hero should he come to claim the crown. Yet how +would they fight--to which side would they cleave, were +he to attempt to frustrate the design of the Regent to seize +the throne of Lutha? + +Already Peter of Blentz had approached the bishop, who, +eager to propitiate whoever seemed most likely to become +king, gave the signal for the procession that was to mark +the solemn bearing of the crown of Lutha up the aisle to +the chancel. + +Outside the cathedral there was the sudden blare of +trumpets. The great doors swung violently open, and the +entire throng were upon their feet in an instant as a trooper +of the Royal Horse shouted: "The king! The king! Make +way for Leopold of Lutha!" + + + + +XII + +THE GRATITUDE OF A KING + +AT THE CRY silence fell upon the throng. Every head was +turned toward the great doors through which the head of a +procession was just visible. It was a grim looking procession +--the head of it, at least. + +There were four khaki-clad trumpeters from the Royal +Horse Guards, the gay and resplendent uniforms which they +should have donned today conspicuous for their absence. +From their brazen bugles sounded another loud fanfare, and +then they separated, two upon each side of the aisle, and +between them marched three men. + +One was tall, with gray eyes and had a reddish-brown +beard. He was fully clothed in the coronation robes of Leo- +pold. Upon his either hand walked the others--Lieutenant +Butzow and a gray-eyed, smooth-faced, square-jawed stran- +ger. + +Behind them marched the balance of the Royal Horse +Guards that were not already on duty within the cathedral. +As the eyes of the multitude fell upon the man in the +coronation robes there were cries of: "The king! Impostor!" +and "Von der Tann's puppet!" + +"Denounce him!" whispered one of Peter's henchmen in +his master's ear. + +The Regent moved closer to the aisle, that he might meet +the impostor at the foot of the chancel steps. The pro- +cession was moving steadily up the aisle. + +Among the clan of Von der Tann a young girl with wide +eyes was bending forward that she might have a better +look at the face of the king. As he came opposite her her +eyes filled with horror, and then she saw the eyes of the +smooth-faced stranger at the king's side. They were brave, +laughing eyes, and as they looked straight into her own the +truth flashed upon her, and the girl gave a gasp of dismay +as she realized that the king of Lutha and the king of her +heart were not one and the same. + +At last the head of the procession was almost at the foot +of the chancel steps. There were murmurs of: "It is not +the king," and "Who is this new impostor?" + +Leopold's eyes were searching the faces of the close- +packed nobility about the chancel. At last they fell upon +the face of Peter. The young man halted not two paces +from the Regent. The man went white as the king's eyes +bored straight into his miserable soul. + +"Peter of Blentz," cried the young man, "as God is your +judge, tell the truth today. Who am I?" + +The legs of the Prince Regent trembled. He sank upon +his knees, raising his hands in supplication toward the other. +"Have pity on me, your majesty, have pity!" he cried. + +"Who am I, man?" insisted the king. + +"You are Leopold Rubinroth, sire, by the grace of God, +king of Lutha," cried the frightened man. "Have mercy on +an old man, your majesty." + +"Wait! Am I mad? Was I ever mad?" + +"As God is my judge, sire, no!" replied Peter of Blentz. + +Leopold turned to Butzow. + +"Remove the traitor from our presence," he commanded, +and at a word from the lieutenant a dozen guardsmen +seized the trembling man and hustled him from the cathedral +amid hisses and execrations. + + +Following the coronation the king was closeted in his +private audience chamber in the palace with Prince Lud- +wig. + +"I cannot understand what has happened, even now, your +majesty," the old man was saying. "That you are the true +Leopold is all that I am positive of, for the discomfiture +of Prince Peter evidenced that fact all too plainly. But who +the impostor was who ruled Lutha in your name for two +days, disappearing as miraculously as he came, I cannot +guess. + +"But for another miracle which preserved you for us in +the nick of time he might now be wearing the crown of +Lutha in your stead. Having Peter of Blentz safely in cus- +tody our next immediate task should be to hunt down the +impostor and bring him to justice also; though"--and the +old prince sighed--"he was indeed a brave man, and a +noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle." + +The king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of +the "impostor," but at the old man's praise of the other's +bravery a slight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of +a scowl crossed his brow. + +"Wait," he said, "we shall not have to look far for your +'impostor,'" and summoning an aide he dispatched him for +"Lieutenant Butzow and Mr. Custer." + +A moment later the two entered the audience chamber. +Barney found that Leopold the king, surrounded by com- +forts and safety, was a very different person from Leopold +the fugitive. The weak face now wore an expression of ar- +rogance, though the king spoke most graciously to the +American. + +"Here, Von der Tann," said Leopold, "is your 'impostor.' +But for him I should doubtless be dead by now, or once +again a prisoner at Blentz." + +Barney and Butzow found it necessary to repeat their +stories several times before the old man could fully grasp +all that had transpired beneath his very nose without his +being aware of scarce a single detail of it. + +When he was finally convinced that they were telling the +truth, he extended his hand to the American. + +"I knelt to you once, young man," he said, "and kissed +your hand. I should be filled with bitterness and rage to- +ward you. On the contrary, I find that I am proud to have +served in the retinue of such an impostor as you, for you +upheld the prestige of the house of Rubinroth upon the +battlefield, and though you might have had a crown, you +refused it and brought the true king into his own." + +Leopold sat tapping his foot upon the carpet. It was all +very well if he, the king, chose to praise the American, but +there was no need for old von der Tann to slop over so. +The king did not like it. As a matter of fact, he found him- +self becoming very jealous of the man who had placed him +upon his throne. + +"There is only one thing that I can harbor against you," +continued Prince Ludwig, "and that is that in a single in- +stance you deceived me, for an hour before the coronation +you told me that you were a Rubinroth." + +"I told you, prince," corrected Barney, "that the royal +blood of Rubinroth flowed in my veins, and so it does. I +am the son of the runaway Princess Victoria of Lutha." + +Both Leopold and Ludwig looked their surprise, and to +the king's eyes came a sudden look of fear. With the royal +blood in his veins, what was there to prevent this popular +hero from some day striving for the throne he had once re- +fused? Leopold knew that the minds of men were wont to +change most unaccountably. + +"Butzow," he said suddenly to the lieutenant of horse, +"how many do you imagine know positively that he who +has ruled Lutha for the past two days and he who was +crowned in the cathedral this noon are not one and the +same?" + +"Only a few besides those who are in this room, your +majesty," replied Butzow. "Peter and Coblich have known +it from the first, and then there is Kramer, the loyal old +shopkeeper of Tafelberg, who followed Coblich and Maenck +all night and half a day as they dragged the king to the +hiding-place where we found him. Other than these there +may be those who guess the truth, but there are none who +know." + +For a moment the king sat in thought. Then he rose and +commenced packing back and forth the length of the apart- +ment. + +"Why should they ever know?" he said at last, halting +before the three men who had been standing watching him. +"For the sake of Lutha they should never know that an- +other than the true king sat upon the throne even for an +hour." + +He was thinking of the comparison that might be drawn +between the heroic figure of the American and his own +colorless part in the events which had led up to his corona- +tion. In his heart of hearts he felt that old Von der Tann +rather regretted that the American had not been the king, +and he hated the old man accordingly, and was commenc- +ing to hate the American as well. + +Prince Ludwig stood looking at the carpet after the king +had spoken. His judgment told him that the king's sug- +gestion was a wise one; but he was sorry and ashamed that +it had come from Leopold. Butzow's lips almost showed +the contempt that he felt for the ingratitude of his king. + +Barney Custer was the first to speak. + +"I think his majesty is quite right," he said, "and tonight +I can leave the palace after dark and cross the border some +time tomorrow evening. The people need never know the +truth." + +Leopold looked relieved. + +"We must reward you, Mr. Custer," he said. "Name that +which it lies within our power to grant you and it shall +be yours." + +Barney thought of the girl he loved; but he did not men- +tion her name, for he knew that she was not for him now. + +"There is nothing, your majesty," he said. + +"A money reward," Leopold started to suggest, and then +Barney Custer lost his temper. + +A flush mounted to his face, his chin went up, and there +came to his lips bitter words of sarcasm. With an effort, +however, he held his tongue, and, turning his back upon +the king, his broad shoulders proclaiming the contempt he +felt, he walked slowly out of the room. + +Von der Tann and Butzow and Leopold of Lutha stood +in silence as the American passed out of sight beyond the +portal. + +The manner of his going had been an affront to the king, +and the young ruler had gone red with anger. + +"Butzow," he cried, "bring the fellow back; he shall be +taught a lesson in the deference that is due kings." + +Butzow hesitated. "He has risked his life a dozen times +for your majesty," said the lieutenant. + +Leopold flushed. + +"Do not humiliate him, sire," advised Von der Tann. "He +has earned a greater reward at your hands than that." + +The king resumed his pacing for a moment, coming to a +halt once more before the two. + +"We shall take no notice of his insolence," he said, "and +that shall be our royal reward for his services. More than he +deserves, we dare say, at that." + +As Barney hastened through the palace on his way to his +new quarters to obtain his arms and order his horse sad- +dled, he came suddenly upon a girlish figure gazing sadly +from a window upon the drear November world--her heart +as sad as the day. + +At the sound of his footstep she turned, and as her eyes +met the gray ones of the man she stood poised as though +of half a mind to fly. For a moment neither spoke. + +"Can your highness forgive?" he asked. + +For answer the girl buried her face in her hands and +dropped upon the cushioned window seat before her. The +American came close and knelt at her side. + +"Don't," he begged as he saw her shoulders rise to the +sudden sobbing that racked her slender frame. "Don't!" + +He thought that she wept from mortification that she had +given her kisses to another than the king. + +"None knows," he continued, "what has passed between +us. None but you and I need ever know. I tried to make +you understand that I was not Leopold; but you would +not believe. It is not my fault that I loved you. It is not +my fault that I shall always love you. Tell me that you for- +give me my part in the chain of strange circumstances that +deceived you into an acknowledgment of a love that you +intended for another. Forgive me, Emma!" + +Down the corridor behind them a tall figure approached +on silent, noiseless feet. At sight of the two at the window +seat it halted. It was the king. + +The girl looked up suddenly into the eyes of the Ameri- +can bending so close above her. + +"I can never forgive you," she cried, "for not being the +king, for I am betrothed to him--and I love you!" + +Before she could prevent him, Barney Custer had taken +her in his arms, and though at first she made a pretense of +attempting to escape, at last she lay quite still. Her arms +found their way about the man's neck, and her lips returned +the kisses that his were showering upon her upturned mouth. + +Presently her glance wandered above the shoulder of the +American, and of a sudden her eyes filled with terror, and, +with a little gasp of consternation, she struggled to free her- +self. + +"Let me go!" she whispered. "Let me go--the king!" + +Barney sprang to his feet and, turning, faced Leopold. +The king had gone quite white. + +"Failing to rob me of my crown," he cried in a trembling +voice, "you now seek to rob me of my betrothed! Go to +your father at once, and as for you--you shall learn what +it means for you thus to meddle in the affairs of kings." + +Barney saw the terrible position in which his love had +placed the Princess Emma. His only thought now was for +her. Bowing low before her he spoke so that the king might +hear, yet as though his words were for her ears alone. + +"Your highness knows the truth, now," he said, "and that +after all I am not the king. I can only ask that you will +forgive me the deception. Now go to your father as the +king commands." + +Slowly the girl turned away. Her heart was torn between +love for this man, and her duty toward the other to whom +she had been betrothed in childhood. The hereditary in- +stinct of obedience to her sovereign was strong within her, +and the bonds of custom and society held her in their re- +lentless shackles. With a sob she passed up the corridor, +curtsying to the king as she passed him. + +When she had gone Leopold turned to the American. +There was an evil look in the little gray eyes of the monarch. + +"You may go your way," he said coldly. "We shall give +you forty-eight hours to leave Lutha. Should you ever re- +turn your life shall be the forfeit." + +The American kept back the hot words that were ready +upon the end of his tongue. For her sake he must bow to +fate. With a slight inclination of his head toward Leopold +he wheeled and resumed his way toward his quarters. + +Half an hour later as he was about to descend to the +courtyard where a trooper of the Royal Horse held his +waiting mount, Butzow burst suddenly into his room. + +"For God's sake," cried the lieutenant, "get out of this. +The king has changed his mind, and there is an officer of the +guard on his way here now with a file of soldiers to place +you under arrest. Leopold swears that he will hang you for +treason. Princess Emma has spurned him, and he is wild +with rage." + +The dismal November twilight had given place to bleak +night as two men cantered from the palace courtyard and +turned their horses' heads northward toward Lutha's nearest +boundary. All night they rode, stopping at daylight before a +distant farm to feed and water their mounts and snatch a +mouthful for themselves. Then onward once again they +pressed in their mad flight. + +Now that day had come they caught occasional glimpses +of a body of horsemen far behind them, but the border was +near, and their start such that there was no danger of their +being overtaken. + +"For the thousandth time, Butzow," said one of the men, +"will you turn back before it is too late?" + +But the other only shook his head obstinately, and so +they came to the great granite monument which marks the +boundary between Lutha and her powerful neighbor upon +the north. + +Barney held out his hand. "Good-bye, old man," he said. +"If I've learned the ingratitude of kings here in Lutha, I +have found something that more than compensates me-- +the friendship of a brave man. Now hurry back and tell them +that I escaped across the border just as I was about to fall +into your hands and they will think that you have been +pursuing me instead of aiding in my escape across the +border." + +But again Butzow shook his head. + +"I have fought shoulder to shoulder with you, my friend," +he said. "I have called you king, and after that I could +never serve the coward who sits now upon the throne of +Lutha. I have made up my mind during this long ride from +Lustadt, and I have come to the decision that I should pre- +fer to raise corn in Nebraska with you rather than serve in +the court of an ingrate." + +"Well, you are an obstinate Dutchman, after all," replied +the American with a smile, placing his hand affectionately +upon the shoulder of his comrade. + +There was a clatter of horses' hoofs upon the gravel of +the road behind them. + +The two men put spurs to their mounts, and Barney +Custer galloped across the northern boundary of Lutha just +ahead of a troop of Luthanian cavalry, as had his father +thirty years before; but a royal princess had accompanied +the father--only a soldier accompanied the son. + + + + + +PART II + + +I + +BARNEY RETURNS TO LUTHA + +"WHAT'S THE MATTER, Vic?" asked Barney Custer of his +sister. "You look peeved." + +"I am peeved," replied the girl, smiling. "I am terribly +peeved. I don't want to play bridge this afternoon. I want +to go motoring with Lieutenant Butzow. This is his last +day with us." + +"Yes. I know it is, and I hate to think of it," replied +Barney; "but why in the world do you have to play bridge +if you don't want to?" + +"I promised Margaret that I'd go. They're short one, and +she's coming after me in her car." + +"Where are you going to play--at the champion lady +bridge player's on Fourth Street?" asked Barney, grinning. + +His sister answered with a nod and a smile. "Where you +brought down the wrath of the lady champion upon your +head the other night when you were letting your mind +wander across to Lutha and the Old Forest, instead of +paying attention to the game," she added. + +"Well, cheer up, Vic," cried her brother. "Bert'll probably +set fire to the car, the way he did to their first one, and +then you won't have to go." + +"Oh, yes, I would; Margaret would send him after me +in that awful-looking, unwashed Ford runabout of his," an- +swered the girl. + +"And then you WOULD go," said Barney. + +"You bet I would," laughed Victoria. "I'd go in a wheel- +barrow with Bert." + +But she didn't have to; and after she had driven off with +her chum, Barney and Butzow strolled down through the +little city of Beatrice to the corn mill in which the former +was interested. + +"I'm mighty sorry that you have to leave us, Butzow," +said Barney's partner. "It's bad enough to lose you, but I'm +afraid it will mean the loss of Barney, too. He's been hunt- +ing for some excuse to get back to Lutha, and with you +there and a war in sight I'm afraid nothing can hold him." + +"I don't know but that it may be just as well for my +friends here that I leave," said Butzow seriously. "I did not +tell you, Barney, all there is in this letter"--he tapped his +breastpocket, where the foreign-looking envelope reposed +with its contents. + +Custer looked at him inquiringly. + +"Besides saying that war between Austria and Serbia +seems unavoidable and that Lutha doubtless will be drawn +into it, my informant warns me that Leopold had sent +emissaries to America to search for you, Barney, and my- +self. What his purpose may be my friend does not know, +but he warns us to be upon our guard. Von der Tann wants +me to return to Lutha. He has promised to protect me, +and with the country in danger there is nothing else for +me to do. I must go." + +"I wish I could go with you," said Barney. "If it wasn't +for this dinged old mill I would; but Bert wants to go +away this summer, and as I have been away most of the +time for the past two years, it's up to me to stay." + +As the three men talked the afternoon wore on. Heavy +clouds gathered in the sky; a storm was brewing. Outside, a +man, skulking behind a box car on the siding, watched the +entrance through which the three had gone. He watched +the workmen, and as quitting time came and he saw them +leaving for their homes he moved more restlessly, trans- +ferring the package which he held from one hand to an- +other many times, yet always gingerly. + +At last all had left. The man started from behind the box +car, only to jump back as the watchman appeared around +the end of one of the buildings. He watched the guardian +of the property make his rounds; he saw him enter his of- +fice, and then he crept forward toward the building, hold- +ing his queer package in his right hand. + +In the office the watchman came upon the three friends. +At sight of him they looked at one another in surprise. + +"Why, what time is it?" exclaimed Custer, and as he +looked at his watch he rose with a laugh. "Late to dinner +again," he cried. "Come on, we'll go out this other way." +And with a cheery good night to the watchman Barney +and his friends hastened from the building. + +Upon the opposite side the stranger approached the door- +way to the mill. The rain was falling in blinding sheets. +Ominously the thunder roared. Vivid flashes of lightning +shot the heavens. The watchman, coming suddenly from +the doorway, his hat brim pulled low over his eyes, passed +within a couple of paces of the stranger without seeing him. + +Five minutes later there was a blinding glare accompanied +by a deafening roar. It was as though nature had marshaled +all her forces in one mighty, devastating effort. At the same +instant the walls of the great mill burst asunder, a nebulous +mass of burning gas shot heavenward, and then the flames +settled down to complete the destruction of the ruin. + +It was the following morning that Victoria and Barney +Custer, with Lieutenant Butzow and Custer's partner, stood +contemplating the smoldering wreckage. + +"And to think," said Barney, "that yesterday this muss +was the largest corn mill west of anywhere. I guess we +can both take vacations now, Bert." + +"Who would have thought that a single bolt of lightning +could have resulted in such havoc?" mused Victoria. + +"Who would?" agreed Lieutenant Butzow, and then, with +a sudden narrowing of his eyes and a quick glance at Bar- +ney, "if it WAS lightning." + +The American looked at the Luthanian. "You think--" he +started. + +"I don't dare think," replied Butzow, "because of the +fear of what this may mean to you and Miss Victoria if it +was not lightning that destroyed the mill. I shouldn't have +spoken of it but that it may urge you to greater caution, +which I cannot but think is most necessary since the warn- +ing I received from Lutha." + +"Why should Leopold seek to harm me now?" asked Bar- +ney. "It has been almost two years since you and I placed +him upon his throne, only to be rewarded with threats and +hatred. In that time neither of us has returned to Lutha +nor in any way conspired against the king. I cannot fathom +his motives." + +"There is the Princess Emma von der Tann," Butzow +reminded him. "She still repulses him. He may think that, +with you removed definitely and permanently, all will then +be plain sailing for him in that direction. Evidently he does +not know the princess." + + +An hour later they were all bidding Butzow good-bye at +the station. Victoria Custer was genuinely grieved to see +him go, for she liked this soldierly young officer of the Royal +Horse Guards immensely. + +"You must come back to America soon," she urged. + +He looked down at her from the steps of the moving train. +There was something in his expression that she had never +seen there before. + +"I want to come back soon," he answered, "to--to Bea- +trice," and he flushed and smiled at his own stumbling +tongue. + +For about a week Barney Custer moped disconsolately, +principally about the ruins of the corn mill. He was in every- +one's way and accomplished nothing. + +"I was never intended for a captain of industry," he con- +fided to his partner for the hundredth time. "I wish some +excuse would pop up to which I might hang a reason for +beating it to Europe. There's something doing there. Nearly +everybody has declared war upon everybody else, and here +I am stagnating in peace. I'd even welcome a tornado." + +His excuse was to come sooner than he imagined. That +night, after the other members of his family had retired, +Barney sat smoking within a screened porch off the living- +room. His thoughts were upon a trim little figure in riding +togs, as he had first seen it nearly two years before, clinging +desperately to a runaway horse upon the narrow mountain +road above Tafelberg. + +He lived that thrilling experience through again as he had +many times before. He even smiled as he recalled the series +of events that had resulted from his resemblance to the mad +king of Lutha. + +They had come to a culmination at the time when the +king, whom Barney had placed upon a throne at the risk +of his own life, discovered that his savior loved the girl to +whom the king had been betrothed since childhood and +that the girl returned the American's love even after she +knew that he had but played the part of a king. + +Barney's cigar, forgotten, had long since died out. Not +even its former fitful glow proclaimed his presence upon the +porch, whose black shadows completely enveloped him. Be- +fore him stretched a wide acreage of lawn, tree dotted at +the side of the house. Bushes hid the stone wall that +marked the boundary of the Custer grounds and extended +here and there out upon the sward among the trees. The +night was moonless but clear. A faint light pervaded the +scene. + +Barney sat staring straight ahead, but his gaze did not +stop upon the familiar objects of the foreground. Instead it +spanned two continents and an ocean to rest upon the little +spot of woodland and rugged mountain and lowland that +is Lutha. It was with an effort that the man suddenly focused +his attention upon that which lay directly before him. A +shadow among the trees had moved! + +Barney Custer sat perfectly still, but now he was sud- +denly alert and watchful. Again the shadow moved where +no shadow should be moving. It crossed from the shade of +one tree to another. Barney came cautiously to his feet. +Silently he entered the house, running quickly to a side door +that opened upon the grounds. As he drew it back its +hinges gave forth no sound. Barney looked toward the spot +where he had seen the shadow. Again he saw it scuttle +hurriedly beneath another tree nearer the house. This time +there was no doubt. It was a man! + +Directly before the door where Barney stood was a per- +gola, ivy-covered. Behind this he slid, and, running its +length, came out among the trees behind the night prowler. +Now he saw him distinctly. The fellow was bearded, and +in his right hand he carried a package. Instantly Barney +recalled Butzow's comment upon the destruction of the mill +--"if it WAS lightning!" + +Cold sweat broke from every pore of his body. His mother +and father were there in the house, and Vic--all sleeping +peacefully. He ran quickly toward the menacing figure, +and as he did so he saw the other halt behind a great tree +and strike a match. In the glow of the flame he saw it +touch close to the package that the fellow held, and then he +was upon him. + +There was a brief and terrific struggle. The stranger hurled +the package toward the house. Barney caught him by the +throat, beating him heavily in the face; and then, realizing +what the package was, he hurled the fellow from him, and +sprang toward the hissing and sputtering missile where it +lay close to the foundation wall of the house, though in the +instant of his close contact with the man he had recognized +through the disguising beard the features of Captain Ernst +Maenck, the principal tool of Peter of Blentz. + +Quick though Barney was to reach the bomb and ex- +tinguish the fuse, Maenck had disappeared before he re- +turned to search for him; and, though he roused the gardener +and chauffeur and took turns with them in standing guard +the balance of the night, the would-be assassin did not +return. + +There was no question in Barney Custer's mind as to +whom the bomb was intended for. That Maenck had hurled +it toward the house after Barney had seized him was merely +the result of accident and the man's desire to get the death- +dealing missile as far from himself as possible before it ex- +ploded. That it would have wrecked the house in the hope +of reaching him, had he not fortunately interfered, was too +evident to the American to be questioned. + +And so he decided before the night was spent to put him- +self as far from his family as possible, lest some future +attempt upon his life might endanger theirs. Then, too, +righteous anger and a desire for revenge prompted his de- +cision. He would run Maenck to earth and have an ac- +counting with him. It was evident that his life would not +be worth a farthing so long as the fellow was at liberty. + +Before dawn he swore the gardener and chauffeur to si- +lence, and at breakfast announced his intention of leaving +that day for New York to seek a commission as correspondent +with an old classmate, who owned the New York Evening +National. At the hotel Barney inquired of the proprietor +relative to a bearded stranger, but the man had had no one +of that description registered. Chance, however, gave him a +clue. His roadster was in a repair shop, and as he stopped +in to get it he overheard a conversation that told him all +he wanted to know. As he stood talking with the foreman +a dust-covered automobile pulled into the garage. + +"Hello, Bill," called the foreman to the driver. "Where +you been so early?" + +"Took a guy to Lincoln," replied the other. "He was in +an awful hurry. I bet we broke all the records for that +stretch of road this morning--I never knew the old boat +had it in her." + +"Who was it?" asked Barney. + +"I dunno," replied the driver. "Talked like a furriner, and +looked the part. Bushy black beard. Said he was a German +army officer, an' had to beat it back on account of the war. +Seemed to me like he was mighty anxious to get back there +an' be killed." + +Barney waited to hear no more. He did not even go +home to say good-bye to his family. Instead he leaped into +his gray roadster--a later model of the one he had lost in +Lutha--and the last that Beatrice, Nebraska, saw of him +was a whirling cloud of dust as he raced north out of town +toward Lincoln. + +He was five minutes too late into the capital city to catch +the eastbound limited that Maenck must have taken; but +he caught the next through train for Chicago, and the +second day thereafter found him in New York. There he +had little difficulty in obtaining the desired credentials from +his newspaper friend, especially since Barney offered to pay +all his own expenses and donate to the paper anything he +found time to write. + +Passenger steamers were still sailing, though irregularly, +and after scanning the passenger-lists of three he found the +name he sought. "Captain Ernst Maenck, Lutha." So he had +not been mistaken, after all. It was Maenck he had appre- +hended on his father's grounds. Evidently the man had little +fear of being followed, for he had made no effort to hide +his identity in booking passage for Europe. + +The steamer he had caught had sailed that very morning. +Barney was not so sorry, after all, for he had had time +during his trip from Beatrice to do considerable thinking, +and had found it rather difficult to determine just what to +do should he have overtaken Maenck in the United States. +He couldn't kill the man in cold blood, justly as he may +have deserved the fate, and the thought of causing his ar- +rest and dragging his own name into the publicity of court +proceedings was little less distasteful to him. + +Furthermore, the pursuit of Maenck now gave Barney a +legitimate excuse for returning to Lutha, or at least to the +close neighborhood of the little kingdom, where he might +await the outcome of events and be ready to give his services +in the cause of the house of Von der Tann should they be +required. + +By going directly to Italy and entering Austria from that +country Barney managed to arrive within the boundaries of +the dual monarchy with comparatively few delays. Nor did +he encounter any considerable bodies of troops until he +reached the little town of Burgova, which lies not far from the +Serbian frontier. Beyond this point his credentials would +not carry him. The emperor's officers were polite, but firm. +No newspaper correspondents could be permitted nearer +the front than Burgova. + +There was nothing to be done, therefore, but wait until +some propitious event gave him the opportunity to approach +more closely the Serbian boundary and Lutha. In the mean- +time he would communicate with Butzow, who might be +able to obtain passes for him to some village nearer the +Luthanian frontier, when it should be an easy matter to +cross through to Serbia. He was sure the Serbian authori- +ties would object less strenuously to his presence. + +The inn at which he applied for accommodations was al- +ready overrun by officers, but the proprietor, with scant +apologies for a civilian, offered him a little box of a room in +the attic. The place was scarce more than a closet, and for +that Barney was in a way thankful since the limited space +could accommodate but a single cot, thus insuring him the +privacy that a larger chamber would have precluded. + +He was very tired after his long and comfortless land +journey, so after an early dinner he went immediately to +his room and to bed. How long he slept he did not know, +but some time during the night he was awakened by the +sound of voices apparently close to his ear. + +For a moment he thought the speakers must be in his +own room, so distinctly did he overhear each word of their +conversation; but presently he discovered that they were +upon the opposite side of a thin partition in an adjoining +room. But half awake, and with the sole idea of getting +back to sleep again as quickly as possible, Barney paid only +the slightest attention to the meaning of the words that fell +upon his ears, until, like a bomb, a sentence broke through +his sleepy faculties, banishing Morpheus upon the instant. + +"It will take but little now to turn Leopold against Von +der Tann." The speaker evidently was an Austrian. "Already +I have half convinced him that the old man aspires to the +throne. Leopold fears the loyalty of his army, which is for +Von der Tann body and soul. He knows that Von der Tann +is strongly anti-Austrian, and I have made it plain to him +that if he allows his kingdom to take sides with Serbia he +will have no kingdom when the war is over--it will be a +part of Austria. + +"It was with greater difficulty, however, my dear Peter, +that I convinced him that you, Von Coblich, and Captain +Maenck were his most loyal friends. He fears you yet, but, +nevertheless, he has pardoned you all. Do not forget when +you return to your dear Lutha that you owe your repatria- +tion to Count Zellerndorf of Austria." + +"You may be assured that we shall never forget," replied +another voice that Barney recognized at once as belonging +to Prince Peter of Blentz, the one time regent of Lutha. + +"It is not for myself," continued Count Zellerndorf, "that I +crave your gratitude, but for my emperor. You may do +much to win his undying gratitude, while for yourselves +you may win to almost any height with the friendship of +Austria behind you. I am sure that should any accident, +which God forfend, deprive Lutha of her king, none would +make a more welcome successor in the eyes of Austria than +our good friend Peter." + +Barney could almost see the smile of satisfaction upon the +thin lips of Peter of Blentz as this broad hint fell from the +lips of the Austrian diplomat--a hint that seemed to the +American little short of the death sentence of Leopold, King +of Lutha. + +"We owed you much before, count," said Peter. "But for +you we should have been hanged a year ago--without your +aid we should never have been able to escape from the +fortress of Lustadt or cross the border into Austria-Hungary. +I am sorry that Maenck failed in his mission, for had he +not we would have had concrete evidence to present to the +king that we are indeed his loyal supporters. It would have +dispelled at once such fears and doubts as he may still +entertain of our fealty." + +"Yes, I, too, am sorry," agreed Zellerndorf. "I can assure +you that the news we hoped Captain Maenck would bring +from America would have gone a long way toward re- +storing you to the confidence and good graces of the king." + +"I did my best," came another voice that caused Barney's +eyes to go wide in astonishment, for it was none other than +the voice of Maenck himself. "Twice I risked hanging to +get him and only came away after I had been recognized." + +"It is too bad," sighed Zellerndorf; "though it may not be +without its advantages after all, for now we still have this +second bugbear to frighten Leopold with. So long, of course, +as the American lives there is always the chance that he +may return and seek to gain the throne. The fact that his +mother was a Rubinroth princess might make it easy for +Von der Tann to place him upon the throne without much +opposition, and if he married the old man's daughter it is +easy to conceive that the prince might favor such a move. +At any rate, it should not be difficult to persuade Leopold +of the possibility of such a thing. + +"Under the circumstances Leopold is almost convinced +that his only hope of salvation lies in cementing friendly +relations with the most powerful of Von der Tann's enemies, +of which you three gentlemen stand preeminently in the +foreground, and of assuring to himself the support of Aus- +tria. And now, gentlemen," he went on after a pause, "good +night. I have handed Prince Peter the necessary military +passes to carry you safely through our lines, and tomorrow +you may be in Blentz if you wish." + + + + +II + +CONDEMNED TO DEATH + +FOR SOME time Barney Custer lay there in the dark revolv- +ing in his mind all that he had overheard through the parti- +tion--the thin partition which alone lay between himself +and three men who would be only too glad to embrace the +first opportunity to destroy him. But his fears were not for +himself so much as for the daughter of old Von der Tann, +and for all that might befall that princely house were these +three unhung rascals to gain Lutha and have their way +with the weak and cowardly king who reigned there. + +If he could but reach Von der Tann's ear and through +him the king before the conspirators came to Lutha! But +how might he accomplish it? Count Zellerndorf's parting +words to the three had shown that military passes were +necessary to enable one to reach Lutha. + +His papers were practically worthless even inside the lines. +That they would carry him through the lines he had not +the slightest hope. There were two things to be accomplished +if possible. One was to cross the frontier into Lutha; and +the other, which of course was quite out of the question, +was to prevent Peter of Blentz, Von Coblich, and Maenck +from doing so. But was that altogether impossible? + +The idea that followed that question came so suddenly +that it brought Barney Custer out onto the floor in a bound, +to don his clothes and sneak into the hall outside his room +with the stealth of a professional second-story man. + +To the right of his own door was the door to the apart- +ment in which the three conspirators slept. At least, Barney +hoped they slept. He bent close to the keyhole and lis- +tened. From within came no sound other than the regular +breathing of the inmates. It had been at least half an hour +since the American had heard the conversation cease. A +glance through the keyhole showed no light within the +room. Stealthily Barney turned the knob. Had they bolted +the door? He felt the tumbler move to the pressure-- +soundlessly. Then he pushed gently inward. The door swung. + +A moment later he stood in the room. Dimly he could +see two beds--a large one and a smaller. Peter of Blentz +would be alone upon the smaller bed, his henchmen sleep- +ing together in the larger. Barney crept toward the lone +sleeper. At the bedside he fumbled in the dark groping for +the man's clothing--for the coat, in the breastpocket of +which he hoped to find the military pass that might carry +him safely out of Austria-Hungary and into Lutha. On the +foot of the bed he found some garments. Gingerly he felt +them over, seeking the coat. + +At last he found it. His fingers, steady even under the +nervous tension of this unaccustomed labor, discovered the +inner pocket and the folded paper. There were several of +them; Barney took them all. + +So far he made no noise. None of the sleepers had stirred. +Now he took a step toward the doorway and--kicked a +shoe that lay in his path. The slight noise in that quiet room +sounded to Barney's ears like the fall of a brick wall. Peter +of Blentz stirred, turning in his sleep. Behind him Barney +heard one of the men in the other bed move. He turned his +head in that direction. Either Maenck or Coblich was sitting +up peering through the darkness. + +"Is that you, Prince Peter?" The voice was Maenck's. + +"What's the matter?" persisted Maenck. + +"I'm going for a drink of water," replied the American, +and stepped toward the door. + +Behind him Peter of Blentz sat up in bed. + +"That you, Maenck?" he called. + +Instantly Maenck was out of bed, for the first voice had +come from the vicinity of the doorway; both could not be +Peter's. + +"Quick!" he cried; "there's someone in our room." + +Barney leaped for the doorway, and upon his heels came +the three conspirators. Maenck was closest to him--so close +that Barney was forced to turn at the top of the stairs. In +the darkness he was just conscious of the form of the man +who was almost upon him. Then he swung a vicious blow +for the other's face--a blow that landed, for there was a +cry of pain and anger as Maenck stumbled back into the +arms of the two behind him. From below came the sound +of footsteps hurrying up the stairs to the accompaniment +of a clanking saber. Barney's retreat was cut off. + +Turning, he dodged into his own room before the enemy +could locate him or even extricate themselves from the con- +fusion of Maenck's sudden collision with the other two. But +what could Barney gain by the slight delay that would be +immediately followed by his apprehension? + +He didn't know. All that he was sure of was that there +had been no other place to go than this little room. As he +entered the first thing that his eyes fell upon was the small +square window. Here at least was some slight encourage- +ment. + +He ran toward it. The lower sash was raised. As the +door behind him opened to admit Peter of Blentz and his +companions, Barney slipped through into the night, hanging +by his hands from the sill without. What lay beneath or +how far the drop he could not guess, but that certain death +menaced him from above he knew from the conversation he +had overheard earlier in the evening. + +For an instant he hung suspended. He heard the men +groping about the room. Evidently they were in some fear +of the unknown assailant they sought, for they did not +move about with undue rashness. Presently one of them +struck a light--Barney could see its flare lighten the window +casing for an instant. + +"The room is empty," came a voice from above him. + +"Look to the window!" cried Peter of Blentz, and then +Barney Custer let go his hold upon the sill and dropped +into the blackness below. + +His fall was a short one, for the window had been di- +rectly over a low shed at the side of the inn. Upon the +roof of this the American landed, and from there he dropped +to the courtyard without mishap. Glancing up, he saw the +heads of three men peering from the window of the room +he had just quitted. + +"There he is!" cried one, and instantly the three turned +back into the room. As Barney fled from the courtyard he +heard the rattle of hasty footsteps upon the rickety stairway +of the inn. + +Choosing an alley rather than a street in which he might +run upon soldiers at any moment, he moved quickly yet +cautiously away from the inn. Behind him he could hear +the voices of many men. They were raised to a high pitch +by excitement. It was clear to Barney that there were many +more than the original three--Prince Peter had, in all proba- +bility, enlisted the aid of the military. + +Could he but reach the frontier with his stolen passes he +would be comparatively safe, for the rugged mountains of +Lutha offered many places of concealment, and, too, there +were few Luthanians who did not hate Peter of Blentz +most cordially--among the men of the mountains at least. +Once there he could defy a dozen Blentz princes for the little +time that would be required to carry him into Serbia and +comparative safety. + +As he approached a cross street a couple of squares from +the inn he found it necessary to pass beneath a street lamp. +For a moment he paused in the shadows of the alley listen- +ing. Hearing nothing moving in the street, Barney was about +to make a swift spring for the shadows upon the opposite +side when it occurred to him that it might be safer to make +assurance doubly sure by having a look up and down the +street before emerging into the light. + +It was just as well that he did, for as he thrust his head +around the corner of the building the first thing that his eyes +fell upon was the figure of an Austrian sentry, scarcely three +paces from him. The soldier was standing in a listening +attitude, his head half turned away from the American. The +sounds coming from the direction of the inn were apparently +what had attracted his attention. + +Behind him, Barney was sure he heard evidences of pur- +suit. Before him was certain detection should he attempt to +cross the street. On either hand rose the walls of buildings. +That he was trapped there seemed little doubt. + +He continued to stand motionless, watching the Austrian +soldier. Should the fellow turn toward him, he had but to +withdraw his head within the shadow of the building that +hid his body. Possibly the man might turn and take his beat +in the opposite direction. In which case Barney was sure +he could dodge across the street, undetected. + +Already the vague threat of pursuit from the direction of +the inn had developed into a certainty--he could hear men +moving toward him through the alley from the rear. Would +the sentry never move! Evidently not, until he heard the +others coming through the alley. Then he would turn, and +the devil would be to pay for the American. + +Barney was about hopeless. He had been in the war zone +long enough to know that it might prove a very disagreeable +matter to be caught sneaking through back alleys at night. +There was a single chance--a sort of forlorn hope--and that +was to risk fate and make a dash beneath the sentry's nose +for the opposite alley mouth. + +"Well, here goes," thought Barney. He had heard that +many of the Austrians were excellent shots. Visions of Bea- +trice, Nebraska, swarmed his memory. They were pleasant +visions, made doubly alluring by the thought that the reali- +ties of them might never again be for him. + +He turned once more toward the sounds of pursuit--the +men upon his track could not be over a square away--there +was not an instant to be lost. And then from above him, +upon the opposite side of the alley, came a low: "S-s-t!" + +Barney looked up. Very dimly he could see the dark out- +line of a window some dozen feet from the pavement, and +framed within it the lighter blotch that might have been a +human face. Again came the challenging: "S-s-t!" Yes, there +was someone above, signaling to him. + +"S-s-t!" replied Barney. He knew that he had been dis- +covered, and could think of no better plan for throwing the +discoverer off his guard than to reply. + +Then a soft voice floated down to him--a woman's voice! + +"Is that you?" The tongue was Serbian. Barney could +understand it, though he spoke it but indifferently. + +"Yes," he replied truthfully. + +"Thank Heaven!" came the voice from above. "I have +been watching you, and thought you one of the Austrian +pigs. Quick! They are coming--I can hear them;" and at +the same instant Barney saw something drop from the win- +dow to the ground. He crossed the alley quickly, and could +have shouted in relief for what he found there--the end of +a knotted rope dangling from above. + +His pursuers were almost upon him when he seized the +rude ladder to clamber upward. At the window's ledge a +firm, young hand reached out and, seizing his own, almost +dragged him through the window. He turned to look back +into the alley. He had been just in time; the Austrian sentry, +alarmed by the sound of approaching footsteps down the +alley, had stepped into view. He stood there now with +leveled rifle, a challenge upon his lips. From the advancing +party came a satisfactory reply. + +At the same instant the girl beside him in the Stygian +blackness of the room threw her arms about Barney's neck +and drew his face down to hers. + +"Oh, Stefan," she whispered, "what a narrow escape! It +makes me tremble to think of it. They would have shot you, +my Stefan!" + +The American put an arm about the girl's shoulders, and +raised one hand to her cheek--it might have been in caress, +but it wasn't. It was to smother the cry of alarm he antici- +pated would follow the discovery that he was not "Stefan." +He bent his lips close to her ear. + +"Do not make an outcry," he whispered in very poor +Serbian. "I am not Stefan; but I am a friend." + +The exclamation of surprise or fright that he had expected +was not forthcoming. The girl lowered her arms from about +his neck. + +"Who are you?" she asked in a low whisper. + +"I am an American war correspondent," replied Barney, +"but if the Austrians get hold of me now it will be mighty +difficult to convince them that I am not a spy." And then a +sudden determination came to him to trust his fate to this +unknown girl, whose face, even, he had never seen. "I am +entirely at your mercy," he said. "There are Austrian soldiers +in the street below. You have but to call to them to send +me before the firing squad--or, you can let me remain here +until I can find an opportunity to get away in safety. I am +trying to reach Serbia." + +"Why do you wish to reach Serbia?" asked the girl sus- +piciously. + +"I have discovered too many enemies in Austria tonight +to make it safe for me to remain," he replied, "and, further, +my original intention was to report the war from the Serbian +side." + +The girl hesitated for a while, evidently in thought. + +"They are moving on," suggested Barney. "If you are +going to give me up you'd better do it at once." + +"I'm not going to give you up," replied the girl. "I'm going +to keep you prisoner until Stefan returns--he will know best +what to do with you. Now you must come with me and be +locked up. Do not try to escape--I have a revolver in my +hand," and to give her prisoner physical proof of the weapon +he could not see she thrust the muzzle against his side. + +"I'll take your word for the gun," said Barney, "if you'll +just turn it in the other direction. Go ahead--I'll follow you." + +"No, you won't," replied the girl. "You'll go first; but +before that you'll raise your hands above your head. I want +to search you." + +Barney did as he was bid and a moment later felt deft +fingers running over his clothing in search of concealed +weapons. Satisfied at last that he was unarmed, the girl +directed him to precede her, guiding his steps from behind +with a hand upon his arm. Occasionally he felt the muzzle +of her revolver touch his body. It was a most unpleasant +sensation. + +They crossed the room to a door which his captor directed +him to open, and after they had passed through and she had +closed it behind them the girl struck a match and lit a candle +which stood upon a little bracket on the partition wall. The +dim light of the tallow dip showed Barney that he was in a +narrow hall from which several doors opened into different +rooms. At one end of the hall a stairway led to the floor +below, while at the opposite end another flight disappeared +into the darkness above. + +"This way," said the girl, motioning toward the stairs +that led upward. + +Barney had turned toward her as she struck the match, +obtaining an excellent view of her features. They were clear- +cut and regular. Her eyes were large and very dark. Dark +also was her hair, which was piled in great heaps upon her +finely shaped head. Altogether the face was one not easily +to be forgotten. Barney could scarce have told whether the +girl was beautiful or not, but that she was striking there +could be no doubt. + +He preceded her up the stairway to a door at the top. At +her direction he turned the knob and entered a small room +in which was a cot, an ancient dresser and a single chair. + +"You will remain here," she said, "until Stefan returns. +Stefan will know what to do with you." Then she left him, +taking the light with her, and Barney heard a key turn in +the lock of the door after she had closed it. Presently her +footfalls died out as she descended to the lower floors. + +"Anyhow," thought the American, "this is better than the +Austrians. I don't know what Stefan will do with me, but I +have a rather vivid idea of what the Austrians would have +done to me if they'd caught me sneaking through the alleys +of Burgova at midnight." + +Throwing himself on the cot Barney was soon asleep, for +though his predicament was one that, under ordinary cir- +cumstances might have made sleep impossible, yet he had +so long been without the boon of slumber that tired nature +would no longer be denied. + +When he awoke it was broad daylight. The sun was +pouring in through a skylight in the ceiling of his tiny +chamber. Aside from this there were no windows in the +room. The sound of voices came to him with an uncanny +distinctness that made it seem that the speakers must be in +this very chamber, but a glance about the blank walls con- +vinced him that he was alone. + +Presently he espied a small opening in the wall at the +head of his cot. He rose and examined it. The voices ap- +peared to be coming from it. In fact, they were. The opening +was at the top of a narrow shaft that seemed to lead to +the basement of the structure--apparently once the shaft of +a dumb-waiter or a chute for refuse or soiled clothes. + +Barney put his ear close to it. The voices that came from +below were those of a man and a woman. He heard every +word distinctly. + +"We must search the house, fraulein," came in the deep +voice of a man. + +"Whom do you seek?" inquired a woman's voice. Barney +recognized it as the voice of his captor. + +"A Serbian spy, Stefan Drontoff," replied the man. "Do +you know him?" + +There was a considerable pause on the girl's part before +she answered, and then her reply was in such a low voice +that Barney could barely hear it. + +"I do not know him," she said. "There are several men +who lodge here. What may this Stefan Drontoff look like?" + +"I have never seen him," replied the officer; "but by ar- +resting all the men in the house we must get this Stefan +also, if he is here." + +"Oh!" cried the girl, a new note in her voice, "I guess I +know now whom you mean. There is one man here I have +heard them call Stefan, though for the moment I had for- +gotten it. He is in the small attic-room at the head of the +stairs. Here is a key that will fit the lock. Yes, I am sure +that he is Stefan. You will find him there, and it should be +easy to take him, for I know that he is unarmed. He told +me so last night when he came in." + +"The devil!" muttered Barney Custer; but whether he +referred to his predicament or to the girl it would be im- +possible to tell. Already the sound of heavy boots on the +stairs announced the coming of men--several of them. Bar- +ney heard the rattle of accouterments--the clank of a scab- +bard--the scraping of gun butts against the walls. The +Austrians were coming! + +He looked about. There was no way of escape except the +door and the skylight, and the door was impossible. + +Quickly he tilted the cot against the door, wedging its +legs against a crack in the floor--that would stop them for a +minute or two. then he wheeled the dresser beneath the sky- +light and, placing the chair on top of it, scrambled to the +seat of the latter. His head was at the height of the sky- +light. to force the skylight from its frame required but a +moment. A key entered the lock of the door from the op- +posite side and turned. He knew that someone without was +pushing. Then he heard an oath and heavy battering upon +the panels. A moment later he had drawn himself through +the skylight and stood upon the roof of the building. Be- +fore him stretched a series of uneven roofs to the end of +the street. Barney did not hesitate. He started on a rapid trot +toward the adjoining roof. From that he clambered to a +higher one beyond. + +On he went, now leaping narrow courts, now dropping +to low sheds and again clambering to the heights of the +higher buildings, until he had come almost to the end of the +row. Suddenly, behind him he heard a hoarse shout, fol- +lowed by the report of a rifle. With a whir, a bullet flew +a few inches above his head. He had gained the last roof-- +a large, level roof--and at the shot he turned to see how +near to him were his pursuers. + +Fatal turn! + +Scarce had he taken his eyes from the path ahead than +his foot fell upon a glass skylight, and with a loud crash he +plunged through amid a shower of broken glass. + +His fall was a short one. Directly beneath the skylight +was a bed, and on the bed a fat Austrian infantry captain. +Barney lit upon the pit of the captain's stomach. With a +howl of pain the officer catapulted Barney to the floor. There +were three other beds in the room, and in each bed one or +two other officers. Before the American could regain his +feet they were all sitting on him--all except the infantry +captain. He lay shrieking and cursing in a painful attempt +to regain his breath, every atom of which Barney had +knocked out of him. + +The officers sitting on Barney alternately beat him and +questioned him, interspersing their interrogations with lurid +profanity. + +"If you will get off of me," at last shouted the American, +"I shall be glad to explain--and apologize." + +They let him up, scowling ferociously. He had promised +to explain, but now that he was confronted by the immedi- +ate necessity of an explanation that would prove at all satis- +factory as to how he happened to be wandering around the +rooftops of Burgova, he discovered that his powers of in- +vention were entirely inadequate. The need for explaining, +however, was suddenly removed. A shadow fell upon them +from above, and as they glanced up Barney saw the figure +of an officer surrounded by several soldiers looking down +upon him. + +"Ah, you have him!" cried the new-comer in evident satis- +faction. "It is well. Hold him until we descend." + +A moment later he and his escort had dropped through +the broken skylight to the floor beside them. + +"Who is the mad man?" cried the captain who had broken +Barney's fall. "The assassin! He tried to murder me." + +"I cannot doubt it," replied the officer who had just de- +scended, "for the fellow is no other than Stefan Drontoff, +the famous Serbian spy!" + +"Himmel! ejaculated the officers in chorus. "You have +done a good days' work, lieutenant." + +"The firing squad will do a better work in a few minutes," +replied the lieutenant, with a grim pointedness that took +Barney's breath away. + + + + +III + +BEFORE THE FIRING SQUAD + +THEY MARCHED Barney before the staff where he urged his +American nationality, pointing to his credentials and passes +in support of his contention. + +The general before whom he had been brought shrugged +his shoulders. "They are all Americans as soon as they are +caught," he said; "but why did you not claim to be Prince +Peter of Blentz? You have his passes as well. How can you +expect us to believe your story when you have in your pos- +session passes for different men? + +"We have every respect for our friends the Americans. I +would even stretch a point rather than chance harming an +American; but you will admit that the evidence is all against +you. You were found in the very building where Drontoff +was known to stay while in Burgova. The young woman +whose mother keeps the place directed our officer to your +room, and you tried to escape, which I do not think that +an innocent American would have done. + +"However, as I have said, I will go to almost any length +rather than chance a mistake in the case of one who from +his appearance might pass more readily for an American +than a Serbian. I have sent for Prince Peter of Blentz. If +you can satisfactorily explain to him how you chance to be +in possession of military passes bearing his name I shall be +very glad to give you the benefit of every other doubt." + +Peter of Blentz. Send for Peter of Blentz! Barney won- +dered just what kind of a sensation it was to stand facing a +firing squad. He hoped that his knees wouldn't tremble-- +they felt a trifle weak even now. There was a chance that +the man might not recall his face, but a very slight chance. +It had been his remarkable likeness to Leopold of Lutha +that had resulted in the snatching of a crown from Prince +Peter's head. + +Likely indeed that he would ever forget his, Barney's, +face, though he had seen it but once without the red beard +that had so added to Barney's likeness to the king. But +Maenck would be along, of course, and Maenck would have +no doubts--he had seen Barney too recently in Beatrice to +fail to recognize him now. + +Several men were entering the room where Barney stood +before the general and his staff. A glance revealed to the +prisoner that Peter of Blentz had come, and with him Von +Coblich and Maenck. At the same instant Peter's eyes met +Barney's, and the former, white and wide-eyed came al- +most to a dead halt, grasping hurriedly at the arm of Maenck +who walked beside him. + +"My God!" was all that Barney heard him say, but he +spoke a name that the American did not hear. Maenck also +looked his surprise, but his expression was suddenly changed +to one of malevolent cunning and gratification. He turned +toward Prince Peter with a few low-whispered words. A look +of relief crossed the face of the Blentz prince. + +"You appear to know the gentleman," said the general +who had been conducting Barney's examination. "He has +been arrested as a Serbian spy, and military passes in your +name were found upon his person together with the papers +of an American newspaper correspondent, which he claims +to be. He is charged with being Stefan Drontoff, whom we +long have been anxious to apprehend. Do you chance to +know anything about him, Prince Peter?" + +"Yes," replied Peter of Blentz, "I know him well by sight. +He entered my room last night and stole the military passes +from my coat--we all saw him and pursued him, but he +got away in the dark. There can be no doubt but that he +is the Serbian spy." + +"He insists that he is Bernard Custer, an American," urged +the general, who, it seemed to Barney, was anxious to make +no mistake, and to give the prisoner every reasonable chance +--a state of mind that rather surprised him in a European +military chieftain, all of whom appeared to share the popu- +lar obsession regarding the prevalence of spies. + +"Pardon me, general," interrupted Maenck. "I am well +acquainted with Mr. Custer, who spent some time in Lutha +a couple of years ago. This man is not he." + +"That is sufficient, gentlemen, I thank you," said the gen- +eral. He did not again look at the prisoner, but turned to a +lieutenant who stood near-by. "You may remove the pris- +oner," he directed. "He will be destroyed with the others-- +here is the order," and he handed the subaltern a printed +form upon which many names were filled in and at the bot- +tom of which the general had just signed his own. It had +evidently been waiting the outcome of the examination of +Stefan Drontoff. + +Surrounded by soldiers, Barney Custer walked from the +presence of the military court. It was to him as though he +moved in a strange world of dreams. He saw the look of +satisfaction upon the face of Peter of Blentz as he passed +him, and the open sneer of Maenck. As yet he did not +fully realize what it all meant--that he was marching to +his death! For the last time he was looking upon the faces +of his fellow men; for the last time he had seen the sun +rise, never again to see it set. + +He was to be "destroyed." He had heard that expression +used many times in connection with useless horses, or vicious +dogs. Mechanically he drew a cigarette from his pocket and +lighted it. There was no bravado in the act. On the contrary +it was done almost unconsciously. The soldiers marched him +through the streets of Burgova. The men were entirely im- +passive--even so early in the war they had become accus- +tomed to this grim duty. The young officer who commanded +them was more nervous than the prisoner--it was his first +detail with a firing squad. He looked wonderingly at Bar- +ney, expecting momentarily to see the man collapse, or at +least show some sign of terror at his close impending fate; +but the American walked silently toward his death, puffing +leisurely at his cigarette. + +At last, after what seemed a long time, his guard turned +in at a large gateway in a brick wall surrounding a factory. +As they entered Barney saw twenty or thirty men in civilian +dress, guarded by a dozen infantrymen. They were stand- +ing before the wall of a low brick building. Barney noticed +that there were no windows in the wall. It suddenly oc- +curred to him that there was something peculiarly grim +and sinister in the appearance of the dead, blank surface +of weather-stained brick. For the first time since he had +faced the military court he awakened to a full realization of +what it all meant to him--he was going to be lined up +against that ominous brick wall with these other men-- +they were going to shoot them. + +A momentary madness seized him. He looked about upon +the other prisoners and guards. A sudden break for liberty +might give him temporary respite. He could seize a rifle +from the nearest soldier, and at least have the satisfaction of +selling his life dearly. As he looked he saw more soldiers +entering the factory yard. + +A sudden apathy overwhelmed him. What was the use? +He could not escape. Why should he wish to kill these +soldiers? It was not they who were responsible for his plight +--they were but obeying orders. The close presence of death +made life seem very desirable. These men, too, desired life. +Why should he take it from them uselessly. At best he +might kill one or two, but in the end he would be killed as +surely as though he took his place before the brick wall +with the others. + +He noticed now that these others evinced no inclination +to contest their fates. Why should he, then? Doubtless +many of them were as innocent as he, and all loved life as +well. He saw that several were weeping silently. Others +stood with bowed heads gazing at the hard-packed earth of +the factory yard. Ah, what visions were their eyes beholding +for the last time! What memories of happy firesides! What +dear, loved faces were limned upon that sordid clay! + +His reveries were interrupted by the hoarse voice of a +sergeant, breaking rudely in upon the silence and the dumb +terror. The fellow was herding the prisoners into position. +When he was done Barney found himself in the front rank +of the little, hopeless band. Opposite them, at a few paces, +stood the firing squad, their gun butts resting upon the +ground. + +The young lieutenant stood at one side. He issued some +instructions in a low tone, then he raised his voice. + +"Ready!" he commanded. Fascinated by the horror of it, +Barney watched the rifles raised smartly to the soldiers' +hips--the movement was as precise as though the men were +upon parade. Every bolt clicked in unison with its fellows. + +"Aim!" the pieces leaped to the hollows of the men's +shoulders. The leveled barrels were upon a line with the +breasts of the condemned. A man at Barney's right moaned. +Another sobbed. + +"Fire!" There was the hideous roar of the volley. Barney +Custer crumpled forward to the ground, and three bodies +fell upon his. A moment later there was a second volley-- +all had not fallen at the first. Then the soldiers came among +the bodies, searching for signs of life; but evidently the two +volleys had done their work. The sergeant formed his men +in line. The lieutenant marched them away. Only silence +remained on guard above the pitiful dead in the factory +yard. + +The day wore on and still the stiffening corpses lay where +they had fallen. Twilight came and then darkness. A head +appeared above the top of the wall that had enclosed the +grounds. Eyes peered through the night and keen ears lis- +tened for any sign of life within. At last, evidently satisfied +that the place was deserted, a man crawled over the summit +of the wall and dropped to the ground within. Here again +he paused, peering and listening. + +What strange business had he here among the dead that +demanded such caution in its pursuit? Presently he ad- +vanced toward the pile of corpses. Quickly he tore open +coats and searched pockets. He ran his fingers along the +fingers of the dead. Two rings had rewarded his search +and he was busy with a third that encircled the finger of a +body that lay beneath three others. It would not come off. +He pulled and tugged, and then he drew a knife from his +pocket. + +But he did not sever the digit. Instead he shrank back +with a muffled scream of terror. The corpse that he would +have mutilated had staggered suddenly to its feet, flinging +the dead bodies to one side as it rose. + +"You fiend!" broke from the lips of the dead man, and +the ghoul turned and fled, gibbering in his fright. + +The tramp of soldiers in the street beyond ceased sud- +denly at the sound from within the factory yard. It was a +detail of the guard marching to the relief of sentries. A +moment later the gates swung open and a score of soldiers +entered. They saw a figure dodging toward the wall a +dozen paces from them, but they did not see the other that +ran swiftly around the corner of the factory. + +This other was Barney Custer of Beatrice. When the com- +mand to fire had been given to the squad of riflemen, a +single bullet had creased the top of his head, stunning him. +All day he had lain there unconscious. It had been the +tugging of the ghoul at his ring that had roused him to life +at last. + +Behind him, as he scurried around the end of the factory +building, he heard the scattering fire of half a dozen rifles, +followed by a scream--the fleeing hyena had been hit. Bar- +ney crouched in the shadow of a pile of junk. He heard the +voices of soldiers as they gathered about the wounded +man, questioning him, and a moment later the imperious +tones of an officer issuing instructions to his men to search +the yard. That he must be discovered seemed a certainty +to the American. He crouched further back in the shadows +close to the wall, stepping with the utmost caution. + +Presently to his chagrin his foot touched the metal cover of +a manhole; there was a resultant rattling that smote upon +Barney's ears and nerves with all the hideous clatter of a +boiler shop. He halted, petrified, for an instant. He was no +coward, but after being so near death, life had never looked +more inviting, and he knew that to be discovered meant +certain extinction this time. + +The soldiers were circling the building. Already he could +hear them nearing his position. In another moment they +would round the corner of the building and be upon him. +For an instant he contemplated a bold rush for the fence. In +fact, he had gathered himself for the leaping start and the +quick sprint across the open under the noses of the soldiers +who still remained beside the dying ghoul, when his mind +suddenly reverted to the manhole beneath his feet. Here +lay a hiding place, at least until the soldiers had departed. + +Barney stooped and raised the heavy lid, sliding it to one +side. How deep was the black chasm beneath he could not +even guess. Doubtless it led into a coal bunker, or it might +open over a pit of great depth. There was no way to dis- +cover other than to plumb the abyss with his body. Above +was death--below, a chance of safety. + +The soldiers were quite close when Barney lowered him- +self through the manhole. Clinging with his fingers to the +upper edge his feet still swung in space. How far beneath +was the bottom? He heard the scraping of the heavy shoes +of the searchers close above him, and then he closed his +eyes, released the grasp of his fingers, and dropped. + + + + +IV + +A RACE TO LUTHA + +BARNEY'S FALL was not more than four or five feet. He +found himself upon a slippery floor of masonry over which +two or three inches of water ran sluggishly. Above him he +heard the soldiers pass the open manhole. It was evident +that in the darkness they had missed it. + +For a few minutes the fugitive remained motionless, then, +hearing no sounds from above he started to grope about his +retreat. Upon two sides were blank, circular walls, upon the +other two circular openings about four feet in diameter. It +was through these openings that the tiny stream of water +trickled. + +Barney came to the conclusion that he had dropped into +a sewer. To get out the way he had entered appeared im- +possible. He could not leap upward from the slimy, concave +bottom the distance he had dropped. To follow the sewer +upward would lead him nowhere nearer escape. There +remained no hope but to follow the trickling stream down- +ward toward the river, into which his judgment told him +the entire sewer system of the city must lead. + +Stooping, he entered the ill-smelling circular conduit, grop- +ing his way slowly along. As he went the water deepened. +It was half way to his knees when he plunged unexpectedly +into another tube running at right angles to the first. The +bottom of this tube was lower than that of the one which +emptied into it, so that Barney now found himself in a +swiftly running stream of filth that reached above his knees. +Downward he followed this flood--faster now for the fear +of the deadly gases which might overpower him before he +could reach the river. + +The water deepened gradually as he went on. At last he +reached a point where, with his head scraping against the +roof of the sewer, his chin was just above the surface of +the stream. A few more steps would be all that he could take +in this direction without drowning. Could he retrace his way +against the swift current? He did not know. He was weak- +ened from the effects of his wound, from lack of food and +from the exertions of the past hour. Well, he would go on +as far as he could. The river lay ahead of him somewhere. +Behind was only the hostile city. + +He took another step. His foot found no support. He +surged backward in an attempt to regain his footing, but the +power of the flood was too much for him. He was swept +forward to plunge into water that surged above his head +as he sank. An instant later he had regained the surface +and as his head emerged he opened his eyes. + +He looked up into a starlit heaven! He had reached the +mouth of the sewer and was in the river. For a moment he +lay still, floating upon his back to rest. Above him he heard +the tread of a sentry along the river front, and the sound of +men's voices. + +The sweet, fresh air, the star-shot void above, acted as a +powerful tonic to his shattered hopes and overwrought +nerves. He lay inhaling great lungsful of pure, invigorating +air. He listened to the voices of the Austrian soldiery above +him. All the buoyancy of his inherent Americanism returned +to him. + +"This is no place for a minister's son," he murmured, and +turning over struck out for the opposite shore. The river +was not wide, and Barney was soon nearing the bank along +which he could see occasional camp fires. Here, too, were +Austrians. He dropped down-stream below these, and at last +approached the shore where a wood grew close to the +water's edge. The bank here was steep, and the American +had some difficulty in finding a place where he could clamber +up the precipitous wall of rock. But finally he was success- +ful, finding himself in a little clump of bushes on the +river's brim. Here he lay resting and listening--always lis- +tening. It seemed to Barney that his ears ached with the +constant strain of unflagging duty that his very existence +demanded of them. + +Hearing nothing, he crawled at last from his hiding place +with the purpose of making his way toward the south and +to the frontier as rapidly as possible. He could hope only to +travel by night, and he guessed that this night must be +nearly spent. Stooping, he moved cautiously away from the +river. Through the shadows of the wood he made his way +for perhaps a hundred yards when he was suddenly con- +fronted by a figure that stepped from behind the bole of a +tree. + +"Halt! Who goes there?" came the challenge. + +Barney's heart stood still. With all his care he had run +straight into the arms of an Austrian sentry. To run would +be to be shot. To advance would mean capture, and that +too would mean death. + +For the barest fraction of an instant he hesitated, and +then his quick American wits came to his aid. Feigning +intoxication he answered the challenge in dubious Austrian +that he hoped his maudlin tongue would excuse. + +"Friend," he answered thickly. "Friend with a drink-- +have one?" And he staggered drunkenly forward, banking +all upon the credulity and thirst of the soldier who con- +fronted him with fixed bayonet. + +That the sentry was both credulous and thirsty was evi- +denced by the fact that he let Barney come within reach of +his gun. Instantly the drunken Austrian was transformed into +a very sober and active engine of destruction. Seizing the +barrel of the piece Barney jerked it to one side and toward +him, and at the same instant he leaped for the throat of the +sentry. + +So quickly was this accomplished that the Austrian had +time only for a single cry, and that was choked in his wind- +pipe by the steel fingers of the American. Together both men +fell heavily to the ground, Barney retaining his hold upon +the other's throat. + +Striking and clutching at one another they fought in +silence for a couple of minutes, then the soldier's struggles +began to weaken. He squirmed and gasped for breath. His +mouth opened and his tongue protruded. His eyes started +from their sockets. Barney closed his fingers more tightly +upon the bearded throat. He rained heavy blows upon the +upturned face. The beating fists of his adversary waved +wildly now--the blows that reached Barney were pitifully +weak. Presently they ceased. The man struggled violently +for an instant, twitched spasmodically and lay still. + +Barney clung to him for several minutes longer, until +there was not the slightest indication of remaining life. The +perpetration of the deed sickened him; but he knew that +his act was warranted, for it had been either his life or the +other's. He dragged the body back to the bushes in which +he had been hiding. There he stripped off the Austrian +uniform, put his own clothes upon the corpse and rolled it +into the river. + +Dressed as an Austrian private, Barney Custer shouldered +the dead soldier's gun and walked boldly through the wood +to the south. Momentarily he expected to run upon other +soldiers, but though he kept straight on his way for hours +he encountered none. The thin line of sentries along the +river had been posted only to double the preventive measures +that had been taken to keep Serbian spies either from enter- +ing or leaving the city. + +Toward dawn, at the darkest period of the night, Barney +saw lights ahead of him. Apparently he was approaching a +village. He went more cautiously now, but all his care did +not prevent him from running for the second time that night +almost into the arms of a sentry. This time, however, Barney +saw the soldier before he himself was discovered. It was +upon the edge of the town, in an orchard, that the sentinel +was posted. Barney, approaching through the trees, darting +from one to another, was within a few paces of the man be- +fore he saw him. + +The American remained quietly in the shadow of a tree +waiting for an opportunity to escape, but before it came he +heard the approach of a small body of troops. They were +coming from the village directly toward the orchard. They +passed the sentry and marched within a dozen feet of the +tree behind which Barney was hiding. + +As they came opposite him he slipped around the tree to +the opposite side. The sentry had resumed his pacing, and +was now out of sight momentarily among the trees further +on. He could not see the American, but there were others +who could. They came in the shape of a non-commissioned +officer and a detachment of the guard to relieve the sentry. +Barney almost bumped into them as he rounded the tree. +There was no escape--the non-commissioned officer was +within two feet of him when Barney discovered him. "What +are you doing here?" shouted the sergeant with an oath. +"Your post is there," and he pointed toward the position +where Barney had seen the sentry. + +At first Barney could scarce believe his ears. In the dark- +ness the sergeant had mistaken him for the sentinel! Could +he carry it out? And if so might it not lead him into worse +predicament? No, Barney decided, nothing could be worse. +To be caught masquerading in the uniform of an Austrian +soldier within the Austrian lines was to plumb the utter- +most depth of guilt--nothing that he might do now could +make his position worse. + +He faced the sergeant, snapping his piece to present, hop- +ing that this was the proper thing to do. Then he stumbled +through a brief excuse. The officer in command of the troops +that had just passed had demanded the way of him, and +he had but stepped a few paces from his post to point out +the road to his superior. + +The sergeant grunted and ordered him to fall in. Another +man took his place on duty. They were far from the enemy +and discipline was lax, so the thing was accomplished which +under other circumstances would have been well night im- +possible. A moment later Barney found himself marching +back toward the village, to all intents and purposes an Aus- +trian private. + +Before a low, windowless shed that had been converted +into barracks for the guard, the detail was dismissed. The +men broke ranks and sought their blankets within the shed, +tired from their lonely vigil upon sentry duty. + +Barney loitered until the last. All the others had entered. +He dared not, for he knew that any moment the sentry +upon the post from which he had been taken would appear +upon the scene, after discovering another of his comrades. +He was certain to inquire of the sergeant. They would be +puzzled, of course, and, being soldiers, they would be +suspicious. There would be an investigation, which would +start in the barracks of the guard. That neighborhood would +at once become a most unhealthy spot for Barney Custer, +of Beatrice, Nebraska. + +When the last of the soldiers had entered the shed Bar- +ney glanced quickly about. No one appeared to notice him. +He walked directly past the doorway to the end of the +building. Around this he found a yard, deeply shadowed. +He entered it, crossed it, and passed out into an alley be- +yond. At the first cross-street his way was blocked by the +sight of another sentry--the world seemed composed en- +tirely of Austrian sentries. Barney wondered if the entire +Austrian army was kept perpetually upon sentry duty; he +had scarce been able to turn without bumping into one. + +He turned back into the alley and at last found a crooked +passageway between buildings that he hoped might lead +him to a spot where there was no sentry, and from which he +could find his way out of the village toward the south. The +passage, after devious windings, led into a large, open court, +but when Barney attempted to leave the court upon the +opposite side he found the ubiquitous sentries upon guard +there. + +Evidently there would be no escape while the Austrians +remained in the town. There was nothing to do, therefore, +but hide until the happy moment of their departure arrived. +He returned to the courtyard, and after a short search dis- +covered a shed in one corner that had evidently been used +to stable a horse, for there was straw at one end of it and a +stall in the other. Barney sat down upon the straw to wait +developments. Tired nature would be denied no longer. His +eyes closed, his head drooped upon his breast. In three +minutes from the time he entered the shed he was stretched +full length upon the straw, fast asleep. + +The chugging of a motor awakened him. It was broad +daylight. Many sounds came from the courtyard without. +It did not take Barney long to gather his scattered wits--in +an instant he was wide awake. He glanced about. He was +the only occupant of the shed. Rising, he approached a +small window that looked out upon the court. All was life +and movement. A dozen military cars either stood about or +moved in and out of the wide gates at the opposite end of +the enclosure. Officers and soldiers moved briskly through a +doorway that led into a large building that flanked the court +upon one side. While Barney slept the headquarters of an +Austrian army corps had moved in and taken possession of +the building, the back of which abutted upon the court +where lay his modest little shed. + +Barney took it all in at a single glance, but his eyes hung +long and greedily upon the great, high-powered machines +that chugged or purred about him. + +Gad! If he could but be behind the wheel of such a car +for an hour! The frontier could not be over fifty miles to +the south, of that he was quite positive; and what would +fifty miles be to one of those machines? + +Barney sighed as a great, gray-painted car whizzed into +the courtyard and pulled up before the doorway. Two offi- +cers jumped out and ran up the steps. The driver, a young +man in a uniform not unlike that which Barney wore, drew +the car around to the end of the courtyard close beside +Barney's shed. Here he left it and entered the building into +which his passengers had gone. By reaching through the +window Barney could have touched the fender of the ma- +chine. A few seconds' start in that and it would take more +than an Austrian army corps to stop him this side of the +border. Thus mused Barney, knowing already that the mad +scheme that had been born within his brain would be put +to action before he was many minutes older. + +There were many soldiers on guard about the courtyard. +The greatest danger lay in arousing the suspicions of one +of these should he chance to see Barney emerge from the +shed and enter the car. + +"The proper thing," thought Barney, "is to come from +the building into which everyone seems to pass, and the +only way to be seen coming out of it is to get into it; but +how the devil am I to get into it?" + +The longer he thought the more convinced he became +that utter recklessness and boldness would be his only sal- +vation. Briskly he walked from the shed out into the court- +yard beneath the eyes of the sentries, the officers, the sol- +diers, and the military drivers. He moved straight among +them toward the doorway of the headquarters as though +bent upon important business--which, indeed, he was. At +least it was quite the most important business to Barney +Custer that that young gentleman could recall having ven- +tured upon for some time. + +No one paid the slightest attention to him. He had left +his gun in the shed for he noticed that only the men on +guard carried them. Without an instant's hesitation he ran +briskly up the short flight of steps and entered the head- +quarters building. Inside was another sentry who barred his +way questioningly. Evidently one must state one's business +to this person before going farther. Barney, without any +loss of time or composure, stepped up to the guard. + +"Has General Kampf passed in this morning?" he asked +blithely. Barney had never heard of any "General Kampf," +nor had the sentry, since there was no such person in the +Austrian army. But he did know, however, that there were +altogether too many generals for any one soldier to know +the names of them all. + +"I do not know the general by sight," replied the sentry. + +Here was a pretty mess, indeed. Doubtless the sergeant +would know a great deal more than would be good for +Barney Custer. The young man looked toward the door +through which he had just entered. His sole object in com- +ing into the spider's parlor had been to make it possible for +him to come out again in full view of all the guards and +officers and military chauffeurs, that their suspicions might +not be aroused when he put his contemplated coup to the +test. + +He glanced toward the door. Machines were whizzing in +and out of the courtyard. Officers on foot were passing and +repassing. The sentry in the hallway was on the point of +calling his sergeant. + +"Ah!" cried Barney. "There is the general now," and +without waiting to cast even a parting glance at the guard +he stepped quickly through the doorway and ran down +the steps into the courtyard. Looking neither to right nor to +left, and with a convincing air of self-confidence and im- +portant business, he walked directly to the big, gray ma- +chine that stood beside the little shed at the end of the +courtyard. + +To crank it and leap to the driver's seat required but a +moment. The big car moved smoothly forward. A turn of +the steering wheel brought it around headed toward the +wide gates. Barney shifted to second speed, stepped on +the accelerator and the cut-out simultaneously, and with a +noise like the rattle of a machine gun, shot out of the court- +yard. + +None who saw his departure could have guessed from +the manner of it that the young man at the wheel of the +gray car was stealing the machine or that his life depended +upon escape without detection. It was the very boldness of +his act that crowned it with success. + +Once in the street Barney turned toward the south. Cars +were passing up and down in both directions, usually at +high speed. Their numbers protected the fugitive. Momen- +tarily he expected to be halted; but he passed out of the +village without mishap and reached a country road which, +except for a lane down its center along which automobiles +were moving, was blocked with troops marching southward. +Through this soldier-walled lane Barney drove for half an +hour. + +From a great distance, toward the southeast, he could +hear the boom of cannon and the bursting of shells. Presently +the road forked. The troops were moving along the road on +the left toward the distant battle line. Not a man or ma- +chine was turning into the right fork, the road toward the +south that Barney wished to take. + +Could he successfully pass through the marching soldiers +at his right? Among all those officers there surely would be +one who would question the purpose and destination of this +private soldier who drove alone in the direction of the near- +by frontier. + +The moment had come when he must stake everything on +his ability to gain the open road beyond the plodding mass +of troops. Diminishing the speed of the car Barney turned it +in toward the marching men at the same time sounding his +horn loudly. An infantry captain, marching beside his com- +pany, was directly in front of the car. He looked up at the +American. Barney saluted and pointed toward the right- +hand fork. + +The captain turned and shouted a command to his men. +Those who had not passed in front of the car halted. Barney +shot through the little lane they had opened, which im- +mediately closed up behind him. He was through! He was +upon the open road! Ahead, as far as he could see, there +was no sign of any living creature to bar his way, and the +frontier could not be more than twenty-five miles away. + + + + +V + +THE TRAITOR KING + +IN HIS CASTLE at Lustadt, Leopold of Lutha paced nerv- +ously back and forth between his great desk and the window +that overlooked the royal gardens. Upon the opposite side +of the desk stood an old man--a tall, straight, old man with +the bearing of a soldier and the head of a lion. His keen, +gray eyes were upon the king, and sorrow was written +upon his face. He was Ludwig von der Tann, chancellor +of the kingdom of Lutha. + +At last the king stopped his pacing and faced the old man, +though he could not meet those eagle eyes squarely, try as +he would. It was his inability to do so, possibly, that added +to his anger. Weak himself, he feared this strong man and +envied him his strength, which, in a weak nature, is but +a step from hatred. There evidently had been a long pause +in their conversation, yet the king's next words took up the +thread of their argument where it had broken. + +"You speak as though I had no right to do it," he snapped. +"One might think that you were the king from the manner +with which you upbraid and reproach me. I tell you, Prince +von der Tann, that I shall stand it no longer." + +The king approached the desk and pounded heavily upon +its polished surface with his fist. The physical act of vio- +lence imparted to him a certain substitute for the moral +courage which he lacked. + +"I will tell you, sir, that I am king. It was not necessary +that I consult you or any other man before pardoning Prince +Peter and his associates. I have investigated the matter +thoroughly and I am convinced that they have been taught +a sufficient lesson and that hereafter they will be my most +loyal subjects." + +He hesitated. "Their presence here," he added, "may +prove an antidote to the ambitions of others who lately have +taken it upon themselves to rule Lutha for me." + +There was no mistaking the king's meaning, but Prince +Ludwig did not show by any change of expression that the +shot had struck him in a vulnerable spot; nor, upon the other +hand, did he ignore the insinuation. There was only sorrow +in his voice when he replied. + +"Sire," he said, "for some time I have been aware of the +activity of those who would like to see Peter of Blentz re- +turned to favor with your majesty. I have warned you, only +to see that my motives were always misconstrued. There is a +greater power at work, your majesty, than any of us-- +greater than Lutha itself. One that will stop at nothing in +order to gain its ends. It cares naught for Peter of Blentz, +naught for me, naught for you. It cares only for Lutha. For +strategic purposes it must have Lutha. It will trample you +under foot to gain its end, and then it will cast Peter of +Blentz aside. You have insinuated, sire, that I am ambitious. +I am. I am ambitious to maintain the integrity and freedom +of Lutha. + +"For three hundred years the Von der Tanns have labored +and fought for the welfare of Lutha. It was a Von der Tann +that put the first Rubinroth king upon the throne of Lutha. +To the last they were loyal to the former dynasty while +that dynasty was loyal to Lutha. Only when the king at- +tempted to sell the freedom of his people to a powerful +neighbor did the Von der Tanns rise against him. + +"Sire! the Von der Tanns have always been loyal to the +house of Rubinroth. And but a single thing rises superior +within their breasts to that loyalty, and that is their loyalty +to Lutha." He paused for an instant before concluding. "And +I, sire, am a Von der Tann." + +There could be no mistaking the old man's meaning. So +long as Leopold was loyal to his people and their interests +Ludwig von der Tann would be loyal to Leopold. The king +was cowed. He was very much afraid of this grim old war- +rior. He chafed beneath his censure. + +"You are always scolding me," he cried irritably. "I am +getting tired of it. And now you threaten me. Do you call +that loyalty? Do you call it loyalty to refuse to compel your +daughter to keep her plighted troth? If you wish to prove +your loyalty command the Princess Emma to fulfil the prom- +ise you made my father--command her to wed me at once." + +Von der Tann looked the king straight in the eyes. + +"I cannot do that," he said. "She has told me that she will +kill herself rather than wed with your majesty. She is all I +have left, sire. What good would be accomplished by rob- +bing me of her if you could not gain her by the act? Win +her confidence and love, sire. It may be done. Thus only +may happiness result to you and to her." + +"You see," exclaimed the king, "what your loyalty amounts +to! I believe that you are saving her for the impostor--I +have heard as much hinted at before this. Nor do I doubt +that she would gladly connive with the fellow if she thought +there was a chance of his seizing the throne." + +Von der Tann paled. For the first time righteous indigna- +tion and anger got the better of him. He took a step toward +the king. + +"Stop!" he commanded. "No man, not even my king, may +speak such words to a Von der Tann." + +In an antechamber just outside the room a man sat near +the door that led into the apartment where the king and his +chancellor quarreled. He had been straining his ears to catch +the conversation which he could hear rising and falling in +the adjoining chamber, but till now he had been unsuccess- +ful. Then came Prince Ludwig's last words booming loudly +through the paneled door, and the man smiled. He was +Count Zellerndorf, the Austrian minister to Lutha. + +The king's outraged majesty goaded him to an angry +retort. + +"You forget yourself, Prince von der Tann," he cried. +"Leave our presence. When we again desire to be insulted +we shall send for you." + +As the chancellor passed into the antechamber Count +Zellerndorf rose and greeted him warmly, almost effusively. +Von der Tann returned his salutations with courtesy but +with no answering warmth. Then he passed on out of the +palace. + +"The old fox must have heard," he mused as he mounted +his horse and turned his face toward Tann and the Old +Forest. + +When Count Zellerndorf of Austria entered the presence +of Leopold of Lutha he found that young ruler much dis- +turbed. He had resumed his restless pacing between desk +and window, and as the Austrian entered he scarce paused +to receive his salutation. Count Zellerndorf was a frequent +visitor at the +palace. There were few formalities between +this astute diplomat and the young king; those had passed +gradually away as their acquaintance and friendship ripened. + +"Prince Ludwig appeared angry when he passed through +the antechamber," ventured Zellerndorf. "Evidently your +majesty found cause to rebuke him." + +The king nodded and looked narrowly at the Austrian. +"The Prince von der Tann insinuated that Austria's only +wish in connection with Lutha is to seize her," he said. + +Zellerndorf raised his hands in well-simulated horror. + +"Your majesty!" he exclaimed. "It cannot be that the prince +has gone to such lengths to turn you against your best +friend, my emperor. If he has I can only attribute it to his +own ambitions. I have hesitated to speak to you of this +matter, your majesty, but now that the honor of my own +ruler is questioned I must defend him. + +"Bear with me then, should what I have to say wound +you. I well know the confidence which the house of Von der +Tann has enjoyed for centuries in Lutha; but I must brave +your wrath in the interest of right. I must tell you that it is +common gossip in Vienna that Von der Tann aspires to the +throne of Lutha either for himself or for his daughter +through the American impostor who once sat upon your +throne for a few days. And let me tell you more. + +"The American will never again menace you--he was +arrested in Burgova as a spy and executed. He is dead; but +not so are Von der Tann's ambitions. When he learns that he +no longer may rely upon the strain of the Rubinroth blood +that flowed in the veins of the American from his royal +mother, the runaway Princess Victoria, there will remain to +him only the other alternative of seizing the throne for him- +self. He is a very ambitious man, your majesty. Already he +has caused it to become current gossip that he is the real +power behind the throne of Lutha--that your majesty is +but a figure-head, the puppet of Von der Tann." + +Zellerndorf paused. He saw the flush of shame and anger +that suffused the king's face, and then he shot the bolt that +he had come to fire, but which he had not dared to hope +would find its target so denuded of defense. + +"Your majesty," he whispered, coming quite close to the +king, "all Lutha is inclined to believe that you fear Prince +von der Tann. Only a few of us know the truth to be the +contrary. For the sake of your prestige you must take some +step to counteract this belief and stamp it out for good and +all. I have planned a way--hear it. + +"Von der Tann's hatred of Peter of Blentz is well known. +No man in Lutha believes that he would permit you to have +any intercourse with Peter. I have brought from Blentz +an invitation to your majesty to honor the Blentz prince +with your presence as a guest for the ensuing week. Accept +it, your majesty. + +"Nothing could more conclusively prove to the most skep- +tical that you are still the king, and that Von der Tann, nor +any other, may not dare to dictate to you. It will be the +most splendid stroke of statesmanship that you could achieve +at the present moment." + +For an instant the king stood in thought. He still feared +Peter of Blentz as the devil is reputed to fear holy water, +though for converse reasons. Yet he was very angry with +Von der Tann. It would indeed be an excellent way to +teach the presumptuous chancellor his place. + +Leopold almost smiled as he thought of the chagrin with +which Prince Ludwig would receive the news that he had +gone to Blentz as the guest of Peter. It was the last impetus +that was required by his weak, vindictive nature to press +it to a decision. + +"Very well," he said, "I will go tomorrow." + +It was late the following day that Prince von der Tann +received in his castle in the Old Forest word that an Austrian +army had crossed the Luthanian frontier--the neutrality of +Lutha had been violated. The old chancellor set out im- +mediately for Lustadt. At the palace he sought an interview +with the king only to learn that Leopold had departed +earlier in the day to visit Peter of Blentz. + +There was but one thing to do and that was to follow the +king to Blentz. Some action must be taken immediately--it +would never do to let this breach of treaty pass unnoticed. + +The Serbian minister who had sent word to the chancellor +of the invasion by the Austrian troops was closeted with +him for an hour after his arrival at the palace. It was clear +to both these men that the hand of Zellerndorf was plainly in +evidence in both the important moves that had occurred in +Lutha within the past twenty-four hours--the luring of the +king to Blentz and the entrance of Austrian soldiery into +Lutha. + +Following his interview with the Serbian minister Von der +Tann rode toward Blentz with only his staff in attendance. +It was long past midnight when the lights of the town ap- +peared directly ahead of the little party. They rode at a +trot along the road which passes through the village to wind +upward again toward the ancient feudal castle that looks +down from its hilltop upon the town. + +At the edge of the village Von der Tann was thunder- +struck by a challenge from a sentry posted in the road, nor +was his dismay lessened when he discovered that the man +was an Austrian. + +"What is the meaning of this?" he cried angrily. "What +are Austrian soldiers doing barring the roads of Lutha to the +chancellor of Lutha?" + +The sentry called an officer. The latter was extremely +suave. He regretted the incident, but his orders were most +positive--no one could be permitted to pass through the +lines without an order from the general commanding. He +would go at once to the general and see if he could procure +the necessary order. Would the prince be so good as to await +his return? Von der Tann turned on the young officer, his +face purpling with rage. + +"I will pass nowhere within the boundaries of Lutha," he +said, "upon the order of an Austrian. You may tell your +general that my only regret is that I have not with me to- +night the necessary force to pass through his lines to my +king--another time I shall not be so handicapped," and Lud- +wig, Prince von der Tann, wheeled his mount and spurred +away in the direction of Lustadt, at his heels an extremely +angry and revengeful staff. + + + + +VI + +A TRAP IS SPRUNG + +LONG BEFORE Prince von der Tann reached Lustadt he had +come to the conclusion that Leopold was in virtue a prisoner +in Blentz. To prove his conclusion he directed one of his +staff to return to Blentz and attempt to have audience with +the king. + +"Risk anything," he instructed the officer to whom he had +entrusted the mission. "Submit, if necessary, to the humilia- +tion of seeking an Austrian pass through the lines to the +castle. See the king at any cost and deliver this message +to him and to him alone and secretly. Tell him my fears, +and that if I do not have word from him within twenty- +four hours I shall assume that he is indeed a prisoner. + +"I shall then direct the mobilization of the army and +take such steps as seem fit to rescue him and drive the in- +vaders from the soil of Lutha. If you do not return I shall +understand that you are held prisoner by the Austrians and +that my worst fears have been realized." + +But Prince Ludwig was one who believed in being fore- +handed and so it happened that the orders for the mobiliza- +tion of the army of Lutha were issued within fifteen minutes +of his return to Lustadt. It would do no harm, thought the +old man, with a grim smile, to get things well under way a +day ahead of time. This accomplished, he summoned the +Serbian minister, with what purpose and to what effect be- +came historically evident several days later. When, after +twenty-four hours' absence, his aide had not returned from +Blentz, the chancellor had no regrets for his forehanded- +ness. + +In the castle of Peter of Blentz the king of Lutha was be- +ing entertained royally. He was told nothing of the attempt +of his chancellor to see him, nor did he know that a messen- +ger from Prince von der Tann was being held a prisoner +in the camp of the Austrians in the village. He was sur- +rounded by the creatures of Prince Peter and by Peter's +staunch allies, the Austrian minister and the Austrian officers +attached to the expeditionary force occupying the town. +They told him that they had positive information that the +Serbians already had crossed the frontier into Lutha, and +that the presence of the Austrian troops was purely for the +protection of Lutha. + +It was not until the morning following the rebuff of +Prince von der Tann that Peter of Blentz, Count Zellern- +dorf and Maenck heard of the occurrence. They were cha- +grined by the accident, for they were not ready to deliver +their final stroke. The young officer of the guard had, of +course, but followed his instructions--who would have thought +that old Von der Tann would come to Blentz! That he +suspected their motives seemed apparent, and now that +his rebuff at the gates had aroused his ire and, doubtless, +crystallized his suspicions, they might find in him a very +ugly obstacle to the fruition of their plans. + +With Von der Tann actively opposed to them, the value +of having the king upon their side would be greatly mini- +mized. The people and the army had every confidence in +the old chancellor. Even if he opposed the king there was +reason to believe that they might still side with him. + +"What is to be done?" asked Zellerndorf. "Is there no +way either to win or force Von der Tann to acquiescence?" + +"I think we can accomplish it," said Prince Peter, after a +moment of thought. "Let us see Leopold. His mind has +been prepared to receive almost gratefully any insinuations +against the loyalty of Von der Tann. With proper evidence +the king may easily be persuaded to order the chancellor's +arrest--possibly his execution as well." + +So they saw the king, only to meet a stubborn refusal +upon the part of Leopold to accede to their suggestions. He +still was madly in love with Von der Tann's daughter, and +he knew that a blow delivered at her father would only +tend to increase her bitterness toward him. The conspirators +were nonplussed. + +They had looked for a comparatively easy road to the +consummation of their desires. What in the world could be +the cause of the king's stubborn desire to protect the man +they knew he feared, hated, and mistrusted with all the +energy of his suspicious nature? It was the king himself +who answered their unspoken question. + +"I cannot believe in the disloyalty of Prince Ludwig," he +said, "nor could I, even if I desired it, take such drastic +steps as you suggest. Some day the Princess Emma, his +daughter, will be my queen." + +Count Zellerndorf was the first to grasp the possibilities +that lay in the suggestion the king's words carried. + +"Your majesty," he cried, "there is a way to unite all +factions in Lutha. It would be better to insure the loyalty +of Von der Tann through bonds of kinship than to an- +tagonize him. Marry the Princess Emma at once. + +"Wait, your majesty," he added, as Leopold raised an ob- +jecting hand. "I am well informed as to the strange obsti- +nacy of the princess, but for the welfare of the state--yes, +for the sake of your very throne, sire--you should exert +your royal prerogatives and command the Princess Emma to +carry out the terms of your betrothal." + +"What do you mean, Zellerndorf?" asked the king. + +"I mean, sire, that we should bring the princess here and +compel her to marry you." + +Leopold shook his head. "You do not know her," he said. +"You do not know the Von der Tann nature--one cannot +force a Von der Tann." + +"Pardon, sire," urged Zellerndorf, "but I think it can be +accomplished. If the Princess Emma knew that your majesty +believed her father to be a traitor--that the order for his +arrest and execution but awaited your signature--I doubt +not that she would gladly become queen of Lutha, with +her father's life and liberty as a wedding gift." + +For several minutes no one spoke after Count Zellerndorf +had ceased. Leopold sat looking at the toe of his boot. +Peter of Blentz, Maenck, and the Austrian watched him in- +tently. The possibilities of the plan were sinking deep into +the minds of all four. At last the king rose. He was mum- +bling to himself as though unconscious of the presence of +the others. + +"She is a stubborn jade," he mumbled. "It would be an +excellent lesson for her. She needs to be taught that I am +her king," and then as though his conscience required a +sop, "I shall be very good to her. Afterward she will be +happy." He turned toward Zellerndorf. "You think it can +be done?" + +"Most assuredly, your majesty. We shall take immediate +steps to fetch the Princess Emma to Blentz," and the Aus- +trian rose and backed from the apartment lest the king +change his mind. Prince Peter and Maenck followed him. + + +Princess Emma von der Tann sat in her boudoir in her +father's castle in the Old Forest. Except for servants, she +was alone in the fortress, for Prince von der Tann was in +Lustadt. Her mind was occupied with memories of the +young American who had entered her life under such strange +circumstances two years before--memories that had been +awakened by the return of Lieutenant Otto Butzow to Lutha. +He had come directly to her father and had been attached +to the prince's personal staff. + +From him she had heard a great deal about Barney +Custer, and the old interest, never a moment forgotten dur- +ing these two years, was reawakened to all its former in- +tensity. + +Butzow had accompanied Prince Ludwig to Lustadt, but +Princess Emma would not go with them. For two years she +had not entered the capital, and much of that period had +been spent in Paris. Only within the past fortnight had she +returned to Lutha. + +In the middle of the morning her reveries were inter- +rupted by the entrance of a servant bearing a message. She +had to read it twice before she could realize its purport; +though it was plainly worded--the shock of it had stunned +her. It was dated at Lustadt and signed by one of the +palace functionaries: + + +Prince von der Tann has suffered a slight stroke. Do +not be alarmed, but come at once. The two troopers +who bear this message will act as your escort. + + +It required but a few minutes for the girl to change to +her riding clothes, and when she ran down into the court she +found her horse awaiting her in the hands of her groom, +while close by two mounted troopers raised their hands to +their helmets in salute. + +A moment later the three clattered over the drawbridge +and along the road that leads toward Lustadt. The escort +rode a short distance behind the girl, and they were hard +put to it to hold the mad pace which she set them. + +A few miles from Tann the road forks. One branch leads +toward the capital and the other winds over the hills in the +direction of Blentz. The fork occurs within the boundaries +of the Old Forest. Great trees overhang the winding road, +casting a twilight shade even at high noon. It is a lonely +spot, far from any habitation. + +As the Princess Emma approached the fork she reined in +her mount, for across the road to Lustadt a dozen horse- +men barred her way. At first she thought nothing of it, +turning her horse's head to the righthand side of the road +to pass the party, all of whom were in uniform; but as she +did so one of the men reined directly in her path. The act +was obviously intentional. + +The girl looked quickly up into the man's face, and her +own went white. He who stopped her way was Captain +Ernst Maenck. She had not seen the man for two years, but +she had good cause to remember him as the governor of the +castle of Blentz and the man who had attempted to take +advantage of her helplessness when she had been a prisoner +in Prince Peter's fortress. Now she looked straight into the +fellow's eyes. + +"Let me pass, please," she said coldly. + +"I am sorry," replied Maenck with an evil smile; "but the +king's orders are that you accompany me to Blentz--the +king is there." + +For answer the girl drove her spur into her mount's side. +The animal leaped forward, striking Maenck's horse on the +shoulder and half turning him aside, but the man clutched +at the girl's bridle-rein, and, seizing it, brought her to a stop. + +"You may as well come voluntarily, for come you must," +he said. "It will be easier for you." + +"I shall not come voluntarily," she replied. "If you take +me to Blentz you will have to take me by force, and if my +king is not sufficiently a gentleman to demand an account- +ing of you, I am at least more fortunate in the possession +of a father who will." + +"Your father will scarce wish to question the acts of his +king," said Maenck--"his king and the husband of his +daughter." + +"What do you mean?" she cried. + +"That before you are many hours older, your highness, +you will be queen of Lutha." + +The Princess Emma turned toward her tardy escort that +had just arrived upon the scene. + +"This person has stopped me," she said, "and will not +permit me to continue toward Lustadt. Make a way for me; +you are armed!" + +Maenck smiled. "Both of them are my men," he explained. + +The girl saw it all now--the whole scheme to lure her +to Blentz. Even then, though, she could not believe the king +had been one of the conspirators of the plot. + +Weak as he was he was still a Rubinroth, and it was +difficult for a Von der Tann to believe in the duplicity of a +member of the house they had served so loyally for cen- +turies. With bowed head the princess turned her horse into +the road that led toward Blentz. Half the troopers pre- +ceded her, the balance following behind. + +Maenck wondered at the promptness of her surrender. + +"To be a queen--ah! that was the great temptation," he +thought but he did not know what was passing in the girl's +mind. She had seen that escape for the moment was im- +possible, and so had decided to bide her time until a more +propitious chance should come. In silence she rode among +her captors. The thought of being brought to Blentz alive +was unbearable. + +Somewhere along the road there would be an opportunity +to escape. Her horse was fleet; with a short start he could +easily outdistance these heavier cavalry animals and as a +last resort she could--she must--find some way to end her +life, rather than to be dragged to the altar beside Leopold +of Lutha. + +Since childhood Emma von der Tann had ridden these +hilly roads. She knew every lane and bypath for miles +around. She knew the short cuts, the gullies and ravines. +She knew where one might, with a good jumper, save a +wide detour, and as she rode toward Blentz she passed in +review through her mind each of the many spots where a +sudden break for liberty might have the best chance to +succeed. + +And at last she hit upon the place where a quick turn +would take her from the main road into the roughest sort of +going for one not familiar with the trail. Maenck and his +soldiers had already partially relaxed their vigilance. The +officer had come to the conclusion that his prisoner was +resigned to her fate and that, after all, the fate of being +forced to be queen did not appear so dark to her. + +They had wound up a wooded hill and were half way +up to the summit. The princess was riding close to the right- +hand side of the road. Quite suddenly, and before a hand +could be raised to stay her, she wheeled her mount between +two trees, struck home her spur, and was gone into the +wood upon the steep hillside. + +With an oath, Maenck cried to his men to be after her. +He himself spurred into the forest at the point where the +girl had disappeared. So sudden had been her break for +liberty and so quickly had the foliage swallowed her that +there was something almost uncanny in it. + +A hundred yards from the road the trees were further +apart, and through them the pursuers caught a glimpse of +their quarry. The girl was riding like mad along the rough, +uneven hillside. Her mount, surefooted as a chamois, seemed +in his element. But two of the horses of her pursuers were +as swift, and under the cruel spurs of their riders were clos- +ing up on their fugitive. The girl urged her horse to greater +speed, yet still the two behind closed in. + +A hundred yards ahead lay a deep and narrow gully, +hid by bushes that grew rankly along its verge. Straight +toward this the Princess Emma von der Tann rode. Behind +her came her pursuers--two quite close and the others trail- +ing farther in the rear. The girl reined in a trifle, letting the +troopers that were closest to her gain until they were but a +few strides behind, then she put spur to her horse and drove +him at topmost speed straight toward the gully. At the +bushes she spoke a low word in his backlaid ears, raised +him quickly with the bit, leaning forward as he rose in air. +Like a bird that animal took the bushes and the gully be- +yond, while close behind him crashed the two luckless +troopers. + +Emma von der Tann cast a single backward glance over +her shoulder, as her horse regained his stride upon the op- +posite side of the gully, to see her two foremost pursuers +plunging headlong into it. Then she shook free her reins +and gave her mount his head along a narrow trail that both +had followed many times before. + +Behind her, Maenck and the balance of his men came to a +sudden stop at the edge of the gully. Below them one of the +troopers was struggling to his feet. The other lay very still +beneath his motionless horse. With an angry oath Maenck +directed one of his men to remain and help the two who +had plunged over the brink, then with the others he rode +along the gully searching for a crossing. + +Before they found one their captive was a mile ahead of +them, and, barring accident, quite beyond recapture. She +was making for a highway that would lead her to Lustadt. +Ordinarily she had been wont to bear a little to the north- +east at this point and strike back into the road that she had +just left; but today she feared to do so lest she be cut off +before she gained the north and south highroad which the +other road crossed a little farther on. + +To her right was a small farm across which she had never +ridden, for she always had made it a point never to trespass +upon fenced grounds. On the opposite side of the farm was +a wood, and somewhere beyond that a small stream which +the highroad crossed upon a little bridge. It was all new +country to her, but it must be ventured. + +She took the fence at the edge of the clearing and then +reined in a moment to look behind her. A mile away she +saw the head and shoulders of a horseman above some low +bushes--the pursuers had found a way through the gully. + +Turning once more to her flight the girl rode rapidly +across the fields toward the wood. Here she found a high +wire fence so close to thickly growing trees upon the opposite +side that she dared not attempt to jump it--there was no +point at which she would not have been raked from the +saddle by overhanging boughs. Slipping to the ground she +attacked the barrier with her bare hands, attempting to +tear away the staples that held the wire in place. For several +minutes she surged and tugged upon the unyielding metal +strand. An occasional backward glance revealed to her hor- +rified eyes the rapid approach of her enemies. One of them +was far in advance of the others--in another moment he +would be upon her. + +With redoubled fury she turned again to the fence. A +superhuman effort brought away a staple. One wire was +down and an instant later two more. Standing with one foot +upon the wires to keep them from tangling about her +horse's legs, she pulled her mount across into the wood. The +foremost horseman was close upon her as she finally suc- +ceeded in urging the animal across the fallen wires. + +The girl sprang to her horse's side just as the man reached +the fence. The wires, released from her weight, sprang up +breast high against his horse. He leaped from the saddle +the instant that the girl was swinging into her own. Then +the fellow jumped the fence and caught her bridle. + +She struck at him with her whip, lashing him across the +head and face, but he clung tightly, dragged hither and +thither by the frightened horse, until at last he managed to +reach the girl's arm and drag her to the ground. + +Almost at the same instant a man, unkempt and dis- +heveled, sprang from behind a tree and with a single blow +stretched the trooper unconscious upon the ground. + + + + +VII + +BARNEY TO THE RESCUE + +AS BARNEY CUSTER raced along the Austrian highroad to- +ward the frontier and Lutha, his spirits rose to a pitch of +buoyancy to which they had been strangers for the past +several days. For the first time in many hours it seemed +possible to Barney to entertain reasonable hopes of escape +from the extremely dangerous predicament into which he +had gotten himself. + +He was even humming a gay little tune as he drove into +a tiny hamlet through which the road wound. No sign of +military appeared to fill him with apprehension. He was +very hungry and the odor of cooking fell gratefully upon his +nostrils. He drew up before the single inn, and presently, +washed and brushed, was sitting before the first meal he +had seen for two days. In the enjoyment of the food he +almost forgot the dangers he had passed through, or that +other dangers might be lying in wait for him at his elbow. + +From the landlord he learned that the frontier lay but +three miles to the south of the hamlet. Three miles! Three +miles to Lutha! What if there was a price upon his head in +that kingdom? It was HER home. It had been his mother's +birthplace. He loved it. + +Further, he must enter there and reach the ear of old +Prince von der Tann. Once more he must save the king who +had shown such scant gratitude upon another occasion. + +For Leopold, Barney Custer did not give the snap of his +fingers; but what Leopold, the king, stood for in the lives +and sentiments of the Luthanians--of the Von der Tanns-- +was very dear to the American because it was dear to a +trim, young girl and to a rugged, leonine, old man, of both +of whom Barney was inordinately fond. And possibly, too, it +was dear to him because of the royal blood his mother +had bequeathed him. + +His meal disposed of to the last morsel, and paid for, +Barney entered the stolen car and resumed his journey +toward Lutha. That he could remain there he knew to be +impossible, but in delivering his news to Prince Ludwig he +might have an opportunity to see the Princess Emma once +again--it would be worth risking his life for, of that he was +perfectly satisfied. And then he could go across into Serbia +with the new credentials that he had no doubt Prince von +der Tann would furnish him for the asking to replace those +the Austrians had confiscated. + +At the frontier Barney was halted by an Austrian customs +officer; but when the latter recognized the military car and +the Austrian uniform of the driver he waved him through +without comment. Upon the other side the American ex- +pected possible difficulty with the Luthanian customs offi- +cer, but to his surprise he found the little building deserted, +and none to bar his way. At last he was in Lutha--by noon +on the following day he should be at Tann. + +To reach the Old Forest by the best roads it was neces- +sary to bear a little to the southeast, passing through Tafel- +berg and striking the north and south highway between that +point and Lustadt, to which he could hold until reaching +the east and west road that runs through both Tann and +Blentz on its way across the kingdom. + +The temptation to stop for a few minutes in Tafelberg for +a visit with his old friend Herr Kramer was strong, but fear +that he might be recognized by others, who would not +guard his secret so well as the shopkeeper of Tafelberg +would, decided him to keep on his way. So he flew through +the familiar main street of the quaint old village at a speed +that was little, if any less, than fifty miles an hour. + +On he raced toward the south, his speed often necessarily +diminished upon the winding mountain roads, but for the +most part clinging to a reckless mileage that caused the +few natives he encountered to flee to the safety of the +bordering fields, there to stand in open-mouthed awe. + +Halfway between Tafelberg and the crossroad into which +he purposed turning to the west toward Tann there is an +S-curve where the bases of two small hills meet. The road +here is narrow and treacherous--fifteen miles an hour is al- +most a reckless speed at which to travel around the curves +of the S. Beyond are open fields upon either side of the +road. + +Barney took the turns carefully and had just emerged into +the last leg of the S when he saw, to his consternation, a +half-dozen Austrian infantrymen lolling beside the road. An +officer stood near them talking with a sergeant. To turn back +in that narrow road was impossible. He could only go ahead +and trust to his uniform and the military car to carry him +safely through. Before he reached the group of soldiers the +fields upon either hand came into view. They were dotted +with tents, wagons, motor-vans and artillery. What did it +mean? What was this Austrian army doing in Lutha? + +Already the officer had seen him. This was doubtless an +outpost, however clumsily placed it might be for strategic +purposes. To pass it was Barney's only hope. He had passed +through one Austrian army--why not another? He approached +the outpost at a moderate rate of speed--to tear toward it +at the rate his heart desired would be to awaken not sus- +picion only but positive conviction that his purposes and mo- +tives were ulterior. + +The officer stepped toward the road as though to halt +him. Barney pretended to be fussing with some refractory +piece of controlling mechanism beneath the cowl--appar- +ently he did not see the officer. He was just opposite him +when the latter shouted to him. Barney straightened up +quickly and saluted, but did not stop. + +"Halt!" cried the officer. + +Barney pointed down the road in the direction in which +he was headed. + +"Halt!" repeated the officer, running to the car. + +Barney glanced ahead. Two hundred yards farther on +was another post--beyond that he saw no soldiers. He +turned and shouted a volley of intentionally unintelligible +jargon at the officer, continuing to point ahead of him. + +He hoped to confuse the man for the few seconds neces- +sary for him to reach the last post. If the soldiers there saw +that he had been permitted to pass through the first they +doubtless would not hinder his further passage. That they +were watching him Barney could see. + +He had passed the officer now. There was no necessity for +dalliance. He pressed the accelerator down a trifle. The car +moved forward at increased speed. a final angry shout +broke from the officer behind him, followed by a quick +command. Barney did not have to wait long to learn the +tenor of the order, for almost immediately a shot sounded +from behind and a bullet whirred above his head. Another +shot and another followed. + +Barney was pressing the accelerator downward to the +limit. The car responded nobly--there was no sputtering, +no choking. Just a rapid rush of increasing momentum as +the machine gained headway by leaps and bounds. + +The bullets were ripping the air all about him. Just ahead +the second outpost stood directly in the center of the road. +There were three soldiers and they were taking deliberate +aim, as carefully as though upon the rifle range. It seemed +to Barney that they couldn't miss him. He swerved the car +suddenly from one side of the road to the other. At the +rate that it was going the move was fraught with but little +less danger than the supine facing of the leveled guns ahead. + +The three rifles spoke almost simultaneously. The glass of +the windshield shattered in Barney's face. There was a hole +in the left-hand front fender that had not been there before. + +"Rotten shooting," commented Barney Custer, of Beatrice. + +The soldiers still stood in the center of the road firing at +the swaying car as, lurching from side to side, it bore down +upon them. Barney sounded the raucous military horn; but +the soldiers seemed unconscious of their danger--they still +stood there pumping lead toward the onrushing Juggernaut. +At the last instant they attempted to rush from its path; but +they were too late. + +At over sixty miles an hour the huge, gray monster bore +down upon them. One of them fell beneath the wheels--the +two others were thrown high in air as the bumper struck +them. The body of the man who had fallen beneath the +wheels threw the car half way across the road--only iron +nerve and strong arms held it from the ditch upon the op- +posite side. + +Barney Custer had never been nearer death than at that +moment--not even when he faced the firing squad before +the factory wall in Burgova. He had done that without a +tremor--he had heard the bullets of the outpost whistling +about his head a moment before, with a smile upon his lips-- +he had faced the leveled rifles of the three he had ridden +down and he had not quailed. But now, his machine in the +center of the road again, he shook like a leaf, still in the +grip of the sickening nausea of that awful moment when +the mighty, insensate monster beneath him had reeled +drunkenly in its mad flight, swerving toward the ditch and +destruction. + +For a few minutes he held to his rapid pace before he +looked around, and then it was to see two cars climbing into +the road from the encampment in the field and heading to- +ward him in pursuit. Barney grinned. Once more he was +master of his nerves. They'd have a merry chase, he thought, +and again he accelerated the speed of the car. Once before +he had had it up to seventy-five miles, and for a moment, +when he had had no opportunity to even glance at the +speedometer, much higher. Now he was to find the maxi- +mum limit of the possibilities of the brave car he had come +to look upon with real affection. + +The road ahead was comparatively straight and level. Be- +hind him came the enemy. Barney watched the road rushing +rapidly out of sight beneath the gray fenders. He glanced +occasionally at the speedometer. Seventy-five miles an hour. +Seventy-seven! "Going some," murmured Barney as he saw +the needle vibrate up to eighty. Gradually he nursed her up +and up to greater speed. + +Eighty-five! The trees were racing by him in an indis- +tinct blur of green. The fences were thin, wavering lines-- +the road a white-gray ribbon, ironed by the terrific speed +to smooth unwrinkledness. He could not take his eyes from +the business of steering to glance behind; but presently there +broke faintly through the whir of the wind beating against +his ears the faint report of a gun. He was being fired upon +again. He pressed down still further upon the accelerator. +The car answered to the pressure. The needle rose steadily +until it reached ninety miles an hour--and topped it. + +Then from somewhere in the radiator hose a hissing and a +spurt of steam. Barney was dumbfounded. He had filled the +cooling system at the inn where he had eaten. It had been +working perfectly before and since. What could have hap- +pened? There could be but a single explanation. A bullet +from the gun of one of the three men who had attempted +to stop him at the second outpost had penetrated the radia- +tor, and had slowly drained it. + +Barney knew that the end was near, since the usefulness +of the car in furthering his escape was over. At the speed +he was going it would be but a short time before the super- +heated pistons expanding in their cylinders would tear the +motor to pieces. Barney felt that he would be lucky if he +himself were not killed when it happened. + +He reduced his speed and glanced behind. His pursuers +had not gained upon him, but they still were coming. A +bend in the road shut them from his view. A little way +ahead the road crossed over a river upon a wooden bridge. +On the opposite side and to the right of the road was a +wood. It seemed to offer the most likely possibilities of con- +cealment in the vicinity. If he could but throw his pursuers +off the trail for a while he might succeed in escaping +through the wood, eventually reaching Tann on foot. He +had a rather hazy idea of the exact direction of the town +and castle, but that he could find them eventually he was +sure. + +The sight of the river and the bridge he was nearing sug- +gested a plan, and the ominous grating of the overheated +motor warned him that whatever he was to do he must do +at once. As he neared the bridge he reduced the speed of +the car to fifteen miles an hour, and set the hand throttle to +hold it there. Still gripping the steering wheel with one +hand, he climbed over the left-hand door to the running +board. As the front wheels of the car ran up onto the bridge +Barney gave the steering wheel a sudden turn to the right, +and jumped. + +The car veered toward the wooden handrail, there was a +splintering of stanchions, as, with a crash, the big machine +plunged through them headforemost into the river. Without +waiting to give even a glance at his handiwork Barney Cus- +ter ran across the bridge, leaped the fence upon the right- +hand side and plunged into the shelter of the wood. + +Then he turned to look back up the road in the direction +from which his pursuers were coming. They were not in +sight--they had not seen his ruse. The water in the river +was of sufficient depth to completely cover the car--no sign +of it appeared above the surface. + +Barney turned into the wood smiling. His scheme had +worked well. The occupants of the two cars following him +might not note the broken handrail, or, if they did, might +not connect it with Barney in any way. In this event they +would continue in the direction of Lustadt, wondering what +in the world had become of their quarry. Or, if they guessed +that his car had gone over into the river, they would doubt- +less believe that its driver had gone with it. In either event +Barney would be given ample time to find his way to Tann. + +He wished that he might find other clothes, since if he +were dressed otherwise there would be no reason to imagine +that his pursuers would recognize him should they come +upon him. None of them could possibly have gained a suf- +ficiently good look at his features to recognize them again. + +The Austrian uniform, however, would convict him, or at +least lay him under suspicion, and in Barney's present case, +suspicion was as good as conviction were he to fall into the +hands of the Austrians. The garb had served its purpose +well in aiding in his escape from Austria, but now it was +more of a menace than an asset. + +For a week Barney Custer wandered through the woods +and mountains of Lutha. He did not dare approach or +question any human being. Several times he had seen Aus- +trian cavalry that seemed to be scouring the country for +some purpose that the American could easily believe was +closely connected with himself. At least he did not feel dis- +posed to stop them, as they cantered past his hiding place, +to inquire the nature of their business. + +Such farmhouses as he came upon he gave a wide berth +except at night, and then he only approached them stealthily +for such provender as he might filch. Before the week was +up he had become an expert chicken thief, being able to rob +a roost as quietly as the most finished carpetbagger on the +sunny side of Mason and Dixon's line. + +A careless housewife, leaving her lord and master's rough +shirt and trousers hanging upon the line overnight, had +made possible for Barney the coveted change in raiment. +Now he was barged as a Luthanian peasant. He was hat- +less, since the lady had failed to hang out her mate's +woolen cap, and Barney had not dared retain a single ves- +tige of the damning Austrian uniform. + +What the peasant woman thought when she discovered +the empty line the following morning Barney could only +guess, but he was morally certain that her grief was more +than tempered by the gold piece he had wrapped in a bit +of cloth torn from the soldier's coat he had worn, which he +pinned on the line where the shirt and pants had been. + +It was somewhere near noon upon the seventh day that +Barney skirting a little stream, followed through the con- +cealing shade of a forest toward the west. In his peasant +dress he now felt safer to approach a farmhouse and in- +quire his way to Tann, for he had come a sufficient distance +from the spot where he had stolen his new clothes to hope +that they would not be recognized or that the news of their +theft had not preceded him. + +As he walked he heard the sound of the feet of a horse +galloping over a dry field--muffled, rapid thud approach- +ing closer upon his right hand. Barney remained motionless. +He was sure that the rider would not enter the wood which, +with its low-hanging boughs and thick underbrush, was ill +adapted to equestrianism. + +Closer and closer came the sound until it ceased suddenly +scarce a hundred yards from where the American hid. He +waited in silence to discover what would happen next. +Would the rider enter the wood on foot? What was his pur- +pose? Was it another Austrian who had by some miracle +discovered the whereabouts of the fugitive? Barney could +scarce believe it possible. + +Presently he heard another horse approaching at the same +mad gallop. He heard the sound of rapid, almost frantic +efforts of some nature where the first horse had come to a +stop. He heard a voice urging the animal forward--plead- +ing, threatening. A woman's voice. Barney's excitement be- +came intense in sympathy with the subdued excitement of +the woman whom he could not as yet see. + +A moment later the second rider came to a stop at the +same point at which the first had reined in. A man's voice +rose roughly. "Halt!" it cried. "In the name of the king, +halt!" The American could no longer resist the temptation to +see what was going on so close to him "in the name of the +king." + +He advanced from behind his tree until he saw the two +figures--a man's and a woman's. Some bushes intervened-- +he could not get a clear view of them, yet there was some- +thing about the figure of the woman, whose back was to- +ward him as she struggled to mount her frightened horse, +that caused him to leap rapidly toward her. He rounded a +tree a few paces from her just as the man--a trooper in the +uniform of the house of Blentz--caught her arm and dragged +her from the saddle. At the same instant Barney recognized +the girl--it was Princess Emma. + +Before either the trooper or the princess were aware of +his presence he had leaped to the man's side and dealt him +a blow that stretched him at full length upon the ground-- +stunned. + + + + +VIII + +AN ADVENTUROUS DAY + +FOR AN INSTANT the two stood looking at one another. The +girl's eyes were wide with incredulity, with hope, with fear. +She was the first to break the silence. + +"Who are you?" she breathed in a half whisper. + +"I don't wonder that you ask," returned the man. "I must +look like a scarecrow. I'm Barney Custer. Don't you re- +member me now? Who did you think I was?" + +The girl took a step toward him. Her eyes lighted with +relief. + +"Captain Maenck told me that you were dead," she said, +"that you had been shot as a spy in Austria, and then there +is that uncanny resemblance to the king--since he has shaved +his beard it is infinitely more remarkable. I thought you +might be he. He has been at Blentz and I knew that it was +quite possible that he had discovered treachery upon the +part of Prince Peter. In which case he might have escaped +in disguise. I really wasn't sure that you were not he until +you spoke." + +Barney stooped and removed the bandoleer of cartridges +from the fallen trooper, as well as his revolver and carbine. +Then he took the girl's hand and together they turned into +the wood. Behind them came the sound of pursuit. They +heard the loud words of Maenck as he ordered his three +remaining men into the wood on foot. As he advanced, +Barney looked to the magazine of his carbine and the cylin- +der of his revolver. + +"Why were they pursuing you?" he asked. + +"They were taking me to Blentz to force me to wed +Leopold," she replied. "They told me that my father's life +depended upon my consenting; but I should not have done +so. The honor of my house is more precious than the life of +any of its members. I escaped them a few miles back, and +they were following to overtake me." + +A noise behind them caused Barney to turn. One of the +troopers had come into view. He carried his carbine in his +hands and at sight of the man with the fugitive girl he +raised it to his shoulder; but as the American turned toward +him his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. + +Instantly Barney knew that the fellow had noted his re- +semblance to the king. Barney's body was concealed from +the view of the other by a bush which grew between them, +so the man saw only the face of the American. The fellow +turned and shouted to Maenck: "The king is with her." + +"Nonsense," came the reply from farther back in the wood. +"If there is a man with her and he will not surrender, shoot +him." At the words Barney and the girl turned once more +to their flight. From behind came the command to halt-- +"Halt! or I fire." Just ahead Barney saw the river. + +They were sure to be taken there if he was unable to gain +the time necessary to make good a crossing. Upon the op- +posite side was a continuation of the wood. Behind them +the leading trooper was crashing through the underbrush +in renewed pursuit. He came in sight of them again, just as +they reached the river bank. Once more his carbine was +leveled. Barney pushed the girl to her knees behind a bush. +Then he wheeled and fired, so quickly that the man with +the already leveled gun had no time to anticipate his act. + +With a cry the fellow threw his hands above his head, +staggered forward and plunged full length upon his face. +Barney gathered the princess in his arms and plunged into +the shallow stream. The girl held his carbine as he stumbled +over the rocky bottom. The water deepened rapidly--the +opposite shore seemed a long way off and behind there were +three more enemies in hot pursuit. + +Under ordinary circumstances Barney could have found it +in his heart to wish the little Luthanian river as broad as the +Mississippi, for only under such circumstances as these could +he ever hope to hold the Princess Emma in his arms. Two +years before she had told him that she loved him; but at +the same time she had given him to understand that their +love was hopeless. She might refuse to wed the king; but +that she should ever wed another while the king lived was +impossible, unless Leopold saw fit to release her from her +betrothal to him and sanction her marriage to another. That +he ever would do this was to those who knew him not even +remotely possible. + +He loved Emma von der Tann and he hated Barney +Custer--hated him with a jealous hatred that was almost +fanatic in its intensity. And even that the Princess Emma +von der Tann would wed him were she free to wed was a +question that was not at all clear in the mind of Barney +Custer. He knew something of the traditions of this noble +family--of the pride of caste, of the fetish of blood that +inexorably dictated the ordering of their lives. + +The girl had just said that the honor of her house was +more precious than the life of any of its members. How much +more precious would it be to her than her own material +happiness! Barney Custer sighed and struggled through the +swirling waters that were now above his hips. If he pressed +the lithe form closer to him than necessity demanded, who +may blame him? + +The girl, whose face was toward the bank they had just +quitted, gave no evidence of displeasure if she noted the +fierce pressure of his muscles. Her eyes were riveted upon +the wood behind. Presently a man emerged. He called to +them in a loud and threatening tone. + +Barney redoubled his Herculean efforts to gain the oppo- +site bank. He was in midstream now and the water had +risen to his waist. The girl saw Maenck and the other +trooper emerge from the underbrush beside the first. Maenck +was crazed with anger. He shook his fist and screamed aloud +his threatening commands to halt, and then, of a sudden, +gave an order to one of the men at his side. Immediately +the fellow raised his carbine and fired at the escaping couple. + +The bullet struck the water behind them. At the sound of +the report the girl raised the gun she held and leveled it at +the group behind her. She pulled the trigger. There was a +sharp report, and one of the troopers fell. Then she fired +again, quickly, and again and again. She did not score an- +other hit, but she had the satisfaction of seeing Maenck and +the last of his troopers dodge back to the safety of protecting +trees. + +"The cowards!" muttered Barney as the enemy's shot an- +nounced his sinister intention; "they might have hit your +highness." + +The girl did not reply until she had ceased firing. + +"Captain Maenck is notoriously a coward," she said. "He +is hiding behind a tree now with one of his men--I hit the +other." + +"You hit one of them!" exclaimed Barney enthusiastically. + +"Yes," said the girl. "I have shot a man. I often wondered +what the sensation must be to have done such a thing. I +should feel terribly, but I don't. They were firing at you, +trying to shoot you in the back while you were defenseless. +I am not sorry--I cannot be; but I only wish that it had +been Captain Maenck." + +In a short time Barney reached the bank and, helping the +girl up, climbed to her side. A couple of shots followed +them as they left the river, but did not fall dangerously +near. Barney took the carbine and replied, then both of +them disappeared into the wood. + +For the balance of the day they tramped on in the +direction of Lustadt, making but little progress owing to the +fear of apprehension. They did not dare utilize the high +road, for they were still too close to Blentz. Their only hope +lay in reaching the protection of Prince von der Tann before +they should be recaptured by the king's emissaries. At +dusk they came to the outskirts of a town. Here they hid +until darkness settled, for Barney had determined to enter +the place after dark and hire horses. + +The American marveled at the bravery and endurance of +the girl. He had always supposed that a princess was so +carefully guarded from fatigue and privation all her life that +the least exertion would prove her undoing; but no hardy +peasant girl could have endured more bravely the hardships +and dangers through which the Princess Emma had passed +since the sun rose that morning. + +At last darkness came, and with it they approached and +entered the village. They kept to unlighted side streets until +they met a villager, of whom they inquired their way to +some private house where they might obtain refreshments. +The fellow scrutinized them with evident suspicion. + +"There is an inn yonder," he said, pointing toward the +main street. "You can obtain food there. Why should re- +spectable folk want to go elsewhere than to the public inn? +And if you are afraid to go there you must have very good +reasons for not wanting to be seen, and--" he stopped short +as though assailed by an idea. "Wait," he cried, excitedly, +"I will go and see if I can find a place for you. Wait right +here," and off he ran toward the inn. + +"I don't like the looks of that," said Barney, after the +man had left them. "He's gone to report us to someone. +Come, we'd better get out of here before he comes back." + +The two turned up a side street away from the inn. They +had gone but a short distance when they heard the sound +of voices and the thud of horses' feet behind them. The +horses were coming at a walk and with them were several +men on foot. Barney took the princess' hand and drew her up +a hedge bordered driveway that led into private grounds. In +the shadows of the hedge they waited for the party behind +them to pass. It might be no one searching for them, but it +was just as well to be on the safe side--they were still near +Blentz. Before the men reached their hiding place a motor +car followed and caught up with them, and as the party +came opposite the driveway Barney and the princess over- +heard a portion of their conversation. + +"Some of you go back and search the street behind the +inn--they may not have come this way." The speaker was +in the motor car. "We will follow along this road for a bit +and then turn into the Lustadt highway. If you don't find +them go back along the road toward Tann." + +In her excitement the Princess Emma had not noticed that +Barney Custer still held her hand in his. Now he pressed it. +"It is Maenck's voice," he whispered. "Every road will be +guarded." + +For a moment he was silent, thinking. The searching party +had passed on. They could still hear the purring of the +motor as Maenck's car moved slowly up the street. + +"This is a driveway," murmured Barney. "People who +build driveways into their grounds usually have something +to drive. Whatever it is it should be at the other end of the +driveway. Let's see if it will carry two." + +Still in the shadow of the hedge they moved cautiously +toward the upper end of the private road until presently +they saw a building looming in their path. + +"A garage?" whispered Barney. + +"Or a barn," suggested the princess. + +"In either event it should contain something that can go," +returned the American. "Let us hope that it can go like-- +like--ah--the wind." + +"And carry two," supplemented the princess. + +"Wait here," said Barney. "If I get caught, run. What- +ever happens you mustn't be caught." + +Princess Emma dropped back close to the hedge and +Barney approached the building, which proved to be a +private garage. The doors were locked, as also were the +three windows. Barney passed entirely around the structure +halting at last upon the darkest side. Here was a window. +Barney tried to loosen the catch with the blade of his pocket +knife, but it wouldn't unfasten. His endeavors resulted only +in snapping short the blade of his knife. For a moment he +stood contemplating the baffling window. He dared not break +the glass for fear of arousing the inmates of the house +which, though he could not see it, might be close at hand. + +Presently he recalled a scene he had witnessed on State +Street in Chicago several years before--a crowd standing +before the window of a jeweler's shop inspecting a neat little +hole that a thief had cut in the glass with a diamond and +through which he had inserted his hand and brought forth +several hundred dollars worth of loot. But Barney Custer +wore no diamond--he would as soon have worn a celluloid +collar. But women wore diamonds. Doubtless the Princess +Emma had one. He ran quickly to her side. + +"Have you a diamond ring?" he whispered. + +"Gracious!" she exclaimed, "you are progressing rapidly," +and slipped a solitaire from her finger to his hand. + +"Thanks," said Barney. "I need the practice; but wait and +you'll see that a diamond may be infinitely more valuable +than even the broker claims," and he was gone again into +the shadows of the garage. Here upon the window pane he +scratched a rough deep circle, close to the catch. A quick +blow sent the glass clattering to the floor within. For a +minute Barney stood listening for any sign that the noise +had attracted attention, but hearing nothing he ran his hand +through the hole that he had made and unlatched the +frame. A moment later he had crawled within. + +Before him, in the darkness, stood a roadster. He ran his +hand over the pedals and levers, breathing a sigh of relief +as his touch revealed the familiar control of a standard +make. Then he went to the double doors. They opened +easily and silently. + +Once outside he hastened to the side of the waiting girl. + +"It's a machine," he whispered. "We must both be in it +when it leaves the garage--it's the through express for Lus- +tadt and makes no stops for passengers or freight." + +He led her back to the garage and helped her into the +seat beside him. As silently as possible he ran the machine +into the driveway. A hundred yards to the left, half hidden +by intervening trees and shrubbery, rose the dark bulk of a +house. A subdued light shone through the drawn blinds of +several windows--the only sign of life about the premises +until the car had cleared the garage and was moving slowly +down the driveway. Then a door opened in the house let- +ting out a flood of light in which the figure of a man was +silhouetted. A voice broke the silence. + +"Who are you? What are you doing there? Come back!" + +The man in the doorway called excitedly, "Friedrich! Come! +Come quickly! Someone is stealing the automobile," and the +speaker came running toward the driveway at top speed. +Behind him came Friedrich. Both were shouting, waving +their arms and threatening. Their combined din might have +aroused the dead. + +Barney sought speed--silence now was useless. He turned +to the left into the street away from the center of the town. +In this direction had gone the automobile with Maenck, but +by taking the first righthand turn Barney hoped to elude +the captain. In a moment Friedrich and the other were +hopelessly distanced. It was with a sigh of relief that the +American turned the car into the dark shadows beneath the +overarching trees of the first cross street. + +He was running without lights along an unknown way; +and beside him was the most precious burden that Barney +Custer might ever expect to carry. Under these circumstances +his speed was greatly reduced from what he would have +wished, but at that he was forced to accept grave risks. The +road might end abruptly at the brink of a ravine--it might +swerve perilously close to a stone quarry--or plunge head- +long into a pond or river. Barney shuddered at the possibili- +ties; but nothing of the sort happened. The street ran straight +out of the town into a country road, rather heavy with +sand. In the open the possibilities of speed were increased, +for the night, though moonless, was clear, and the road +visible for some distance ahead. + +The fugitives were congratulating themselves upon the ex- +cellent chance they now had to reach Lustadt. There was +only Maenck and his companion ahead of them in the other +car, and as there were several roads by which one might +reach the main highway the chances were fair that Prince +Peter's aide would miss them completely. + +Already escape seemed assured when the pounding of +horses' hoofs upon the roadway behind them arose to blast +their new found hope. Barney increased the speed of the +car. It leaped ahead in response to his foot; but the road +was heavy, and the sides of the ruts gripping the tires re- +tarded the speed. For a mile they held the lead of the +galloping horsemen. The shouts of their pursuers fell clearly +upon their ears, and the Princess Emma, turning in her seat, +could easily see the four who followed. At last the car be- +gan to draw away--the distance between it and the riders +grew gradually greater. + +"I believe we are going to make it," whispered the girl, +her voice tense with excitement. "If you could only go a +little faster, Mr. Custer, I'm sure that we will." + +"She's reached her limit in this sand," replied the man, +"and there's a grade just ahead--we may find better going +beyond, but they're bound to gain on us before we reach +the top." + +The girl strained her eyes into the night before them. On +the right of the road stood an ancient ruin--grim and for- +bidding. As her eyes rested upon it she gave a little ex- +clamation of relief. + +"I know where we are now," she cried. "The hill ahead is +sandy, and there is a quarter of a mile of sand beyond, but +then we strike the Lustadt highway, and if we can reach it +ahead of them their horses will have to go ninety miles an +hour to catch us--provided this car possesses any such +speed possibilities." + +"If it can go forty we are safe enough," replied Barney; +"but we'll give it a chance to go as fast as it can--the +farther we are from the vicinity of Blentz the safer I shall +feel for the welfare of your highness." + +A shot rang behind them, and a bullet whistled high +above their heads. The princess seized the carbine that +rested on the seat between them. + +"Shall I?" she asked, turning its muzzle back over the low- +ered top. + +"Better not," answered the man. "They are only trying +to frighten us into surrendering--that shot was much too +high to have been aimed at us--they are shooting over our +heads purposely. If they deliberately attempt to pot us later, +then go for them, but to do it now would only draw their +fire upon us. I doubt if they wish to harm your highness, +but they certainly would fire to hit in self-defense." + +The girl lowered the firearm. "I am becoming perfectly +bloodthirsty," she said, "but it makes me furious to be +hunted like a wild animal in my native land, and by the +command of my king, at that. And to think that you who +placed him upon his throne, you who have risked your life +many times for him, will find no protection at his hands +should you be captured is maddening. Ach, Gott, if I +were a man!" + +"I thank God that you are not, your highness," returned +Barney fervently. + +Gently she laid her hand upon his where it gripped the +steering wheel. + +"No," she said, "I was wrong--I do not need to be a man +while there still be such men as you, my friend; but I would +that I were not the unhappy woman whom Fate had bound +to an ingrate king--to a miserable coward!" + +They had reached the grade at last, and the motor was +straining to the Herculean task imposed upon it. + +Grinding and grating in second speed the car toiled up- +ward through the clinging sand. The pace was snail-like. Be- +hind, the horsemen were gaining rapidly. The labored +breathing of their mounts was audible even above the noise +of the motor, so close were they. The top of the ascent lay +but a few yards ahead, and the pursuers were but a few +yards behind. + +"Halt!" came from behind, and then a shot. The ping of +the bullet and the scream of the ricochet warned the man +and the girl that those behind them were becoming desper- +ate--the bullet had struck one of the rear fenders. Without +again asking assent the princess turned and, kneeling upon +the cushion of the seat, fired at the nearest horseman. The +horse stumbled and plunged to his knees. Another, just be- +hind, ran upon him, and the two rolled over together with +their riders. Two more shots were fired by the remaining +horsemen and answered by the girl in the automobile, and +then the car topped the hill, shot into high, and with re- +newed speed forged into the last quarter-mile of heavy +going toward the good road ahead; but now the grade +was slightly downward and all the advantage was upon the +side of the fugitives. + +However, their margin would be but scant when they +reached the highway, for behind them the remaining troop- +ers were spurring their jaded horses to a final spurt of +speed. At last the white ribbon of the main road became +visible. To the right they saw the headlights of a machine. +It was Maenck probably, doubtless attracted their way by +the shooting. + +But the machine was a mile away and could not possibly +reach the intersection of the two roads before they had +turned to the left toward Lustadt. Then the incident would +resolve itself into a simple test of speed between the two +cars--and the ability and nerve of the drivers. Barney hadn't +the slightest doubt now as to the outcome. His borrowed +car was a good one, in good condition. And in the matter +of driving he rather prided himself that he needn't take his +hat off to anyone when it came to ability and nerve. + +They were only about fifty feet from the highway. The +girl touched his hand again. "We're safe," she cried, her +voice vibrant with excitement, "we're safe at last." From be- +neath the bonnet, as though in answer to her statement, +came a sickly, sucking sputter. The momentum of the car +diminished. The throbbing of the engine ceased. They sat +in silence as the machine coasted toward the highway and +came to a dead stop, with its front wheels upon the road +to safety. The girl turned toward Barney with an exclama- +tion of surprise and interrogation. + +"The jig's up," he groaned.; "we're out of gasoline!" + + + + +IX + +THE CAPTURE + +THE CAPTURE of Princess Emma von der Tann and Barney +Custer was a relatively simple matter. Open fields spread in +all directions about the crossroads at which their car had +come to its humiliating stop. There was no cover. To have +sought escape by flight, thus in the open, would have been +to expose the princess to the fire of the troopers. Barney +could not do this. He preferred to surrender and trust to +chance to open the way to escape later. + +When Captain Ernst Maenck drove up he found the pris- +oners disarmed, standing beside the now-useless car. He +alighted from his own machine and with a low bow saluted +the princess, an ironical smile upon his thin lips. Then he +turned his attention toward her companion. + +"Who are you?" he demanded gruffly. In the darkness +he failed to recognize the American whom he thought dead +in Austria. + +"A servant of the house of Von der Tann," replied Barney. + +"You deserve shooting," growled the officer, "but we'll +leave that to Prince Peter and the king. When I tell them +the trouble you have caused us--well, God help you." + +The journey to Blentz was a short one. They had been +much nearer that grim fortress than either had guessed. At +the outskirts of the town they were challenged by Austrian +sentries, through which Maenck passed with ease after the +sentinel had summoned an officer. From this man Maenck +received the password that would carry them through the +line of outposts between the town and the castle--"Slanka- +men." Barney, who overheard the word, made a mental note +of it. + +At last they reached the dreary castle of Peter of Blentz. +In the courtyard Austrian soldiers mingled with the men of +the bodyguard of the king of Lutha. Within, the king's offi- +cers fraternized with the officers of the emperor. Maenck +led his prisoners to the great hall which was filled with +officers and officials of both Austria and Lutha. + +The king was not there. Maenck learned that he had re- +tired to his apartments a few minutes earlier in company +with Prince Peter of Blentz and Von Coblich. He sent a +servant to announce his return with the Princess von der +Tann and a man who had attempted to prevent her being +brought to Blentz. + +Barney had, as far as possible, kept his face averted from +Maenck since they had entered the lighted castle. He hoped +to escape recognition, for he knew that if his identity were +guessed it might go hard with the princess. As for himself, +it might go even harder, but of that he gave scarcely a +thought--the safety of the princess was paramount. + +After a few minutes of waiting the servant returned with +the king's command to fetch the prisoners to his apartments. +The face of the Princess Emma was haggard. For the first +time Barney saw signs of fear upon her countenance. With +leaden steps they accompanied their guard up the winding +stairway to the tower rooms that had been furnished for +the king. They were the same in which Emma von der Tann +had been imprisoned two years before. + +On either side of the doorway stood a soldier of the king's +bodyguard. As Captain Maenck approached they saluted. +A servant opened the door and they passed into the room. +Before them were Peter of Blentz and Von Coblich standing +beside a table at which Leopold of Lutha was sitting. The +eyes of the three men were upon the doorway as the little +party entered. The king's face was flushed with wine. He +rose as his eyes rested upon the face of the princess. + +"Greetings, your highness," he cried with an attempt at +cordiality. + +The girl looked straight into his eyes, coldly, and then +bent her knee in formal curtsy. The king was about to speak +again when his eyes wandered to the face of the American. +Instantly his own went white and then scarlet. The eyes of +Peter of Blentz followed those of the king, widening in as- +tonishment as they rested upon the features of Barney Cus- +ter. + +"You told me he was dead," shouted the king. "What is +the meaning of this, Captain Maenck?" + +Maenck looked at his male prisoner and staggered back +as though struck between the eyes. + +"Mein Gott," he exclaimed, "the impostor!" + +"You told me he was dead," repeated the king accusingly. + +"As God is my judge, your majesty," cried Peter of Blentz, +"this man was shot by an Austrian firing squad in Burgova +over a week ago." + +"Sire," exclaimed Maenck, "this is the first sight I have +had of the prisoners except in the darkness of the night; +until this instant I had not the remotest suspicion of his +identity. He told me that he was a servant of the house of +Von der Tann." + +"I told you the truth, then," interjected Barney. + +"Silence, you ingrate!" cried the king. + +"Ingrate?" repeated Barney. "You have the effrontery to +call me an ingrate? You miserable puppy." + +A silence, menacing in its intensity, fell upon the little +assemblage. The king trembled. His rage choked him. The +others looked as though they scarce could believe the testi- +mony of their own ears. All there, with the possible excep- +tion of the king, knew that he deserved even more degrad- +ing appellations; but they were Europeans, and to Euro- +peans a king is a king--that they can never forget. It had +been the inherent suggestion of kingship that had bent the +knee of the Princess Emma before the man she despised. + +But to the American a king was only what he made him- +self. In this instance he was not even a man in the estimation +of Barney Custer. Maenck took a step toward the prisoner +--a menacing step, for his hand had gone to his sword. +Barney met him with a level look from between narrowed +lids. Maenck hesitated, for he was a great coward. Peter +of Blentz spoke: + +"Sire," he said, "the fellow knows that he is already as +good as dead, and so in his bravado he dares affront you. +He has been convicted of spying by the Austrians. He is +still a spy. It is unnecessary to repeat the formality of a +trial." + +Leopold at last found his voice, though it trembled and +broke as he spoke. + +"Carry out the sentence of the Austrian court in the +morning," he said. "A volley now might arouse the garrison +in the town and be misconstrued." + +Maenck ordered Barney escorted from the apartment, then +he turned toward the king. + +"And the other prisoner, sire?" he inquired. + +"There is no other prisoner," he said. "Her highness, the +Princess von der Tann, is a guest of Prince Peter. She will +be escorted to her apartment at once." + +"Her highness, the Princess von der Tann, is not a guest +of Prince Peter." The girl's voice was low and cold. "If Mr. +Custer is a prisoner, her highness, too, is a prisoner. If he is +to be shot, she demands a like fate. To die by the side of a +MAN would be infinitely preferable to living by the side of +your majesty." + +Once again Leopold of Lutha reddened. For a moment +he paced the room angrily to hide his emotion. Then he +turned once to Maenck. + +"Escort the prisoner to the north tower," he commanded, +"and this insolent girl to the chambers next to ours. To- +morrow we shall talk with her again." + +Outside the room Barney turned for a last look at the +princess as he was being led in one direction and she in +another. A smile of encouragement was on his lips and cold +hopelessness in his heart. She answered the smile and her +lips formed a silent "good-bye." They formed something +else, too--three words which he was sure he could not have +mistaken, and then they parted, he for the death chamber +and she for what fate she could but guess. + +As his guard halted before a door at the far end of a long +corridor Barney Custer sensed a sudden familiarity in his +surroundings. He was conscious of that sensation which is +common to all of us--of having lived through a scene at +some former time, to each minutest detail. + +As the door opened and he was pushed into the room he +realized that there was excellent foundation for the impres- +sion--he immediately recognized the apartment as the same +in which he had once before been imprisoned. At that time +he had been mistaken for the mad king who had escaped +from the clutches of Peter of Blentz. The same king was +now visiting as a guest the fortress in which he had spent +ten bitter years as a prisoner. + +"Say your prayers, my friend," admonished Maenck, as +he was about to leave him alone, "for at dawn you die-- +and this time the firing squad will make a better job of it." + +Barney did not answer him, and the captain departed, +locking the door after him and leaving two men on guard +in the corridor. Alone, Barney looked about the room. It was +in no wise changed since his former visit to it. He recalled +the incidents of the hour of his imprisonment here, thought +of old Joseph who had aided his escape, looked at the +paneled fireplace, whose secret, it was evident, not even the +master of Blentz was familiar with--and grinned. + +"'For at dawn you die!'" he repeated to himself, still +smiling broadly. Then he crossed quickly to the fireplace, +running his fingers along the edge of one of the large tiled +panels that hid the entrance to the well-like shaft that rose +from the cellars beneath to the towers above and which +opened through similar concealed exits upon each floor. If +the floor above should be untenanted he might be able to +reach it as he and Joseph had done two years ago when they +opened the secret panel in the fireplace and climbed a hid- +den ladder to the room overhead; and then by vacant cor- +ridors reached the far end of the castle above the suite in +which the princess had been confined and near which Bar- +ney had every reason to believe she was now imprisoned. + +Carefully Barney's fingers traversed the edges of the panel. +No hidden latch rewarded his search. Again and again he +examined the perfectly fitted joints until he was convinced +either that there was no latch there or that it was hid be- +yond possibility of discovery. With each succeeding minute +the American's heart and hopes sank lower and lower. Two +years had elapsed since he had seen the secret portal swing +to the touch of Joseph's fingers. One may forget much in +two years; but that he was at work upon the right panel +Barney was positive. However, it would do no harm to ex- +amine its mate which resembled it in minutest detail. + +Almost indifferently Barney turned his attention to the +other panel. He ran his fingers over it, his eyes following +them. What was that? A finger-print? Upon the left side half +way up a tiny smudge was visible. Barney examined it +more carefully. A round, white figure of the conventional +design that was burned into the tile bore the telltale smudge. + +Otherwise it differed apparently in no way from the +numerous other round, white figures that were repeated +many times in the scheme of decoration. Barney placed his +thumb exactly over the mark that another thumb had left +there and pushed. The figure sank into the panel beneath +the pressure. Barney pushed harder, breathless with sus- +pense. The panel swung in at his effort. The American could +have whooped with delight. + +A moment more and he stood upon the opposite side of +the secret door in utter darkness, for he had quickly closed +it after him. To strike a match was but the matter of a mo- +ment. The wavering light revealed the top of the ladder that +led downward and the foot of another leading aloft. He +struck still more matches in search of the rope. It was not +there, but his quest revealed the fact that the well at this +point was much larger than he had imagined--it broadened +into a small chamber. + +The light of many matches finally led him to the discovery +of a passageway directly behind the fireplace. It was nar- +row, and after spanning the chimney descended by a few +rough steps to a slightly lower level. It led toward the +opposite end of the castle. Could it be possible that it con- +nected directly with the apartments in the farther tower-- +in the tower where the king was and the Princess Emma? +Barney could scarce hope for any such good luck, but at +least it was worth investigating--it must lead somewhere. + +He followed it warily, feeling his way with hands and +feet and occasionally striking a match. It was evident that +the corridor lay in the thick wall of the castle, midway be- +tween the bottoms of the windows of the second floor and the +tops of those upon the first--this would account for the +slightly lower level of the passage from the floor of the +second story. + +Barney had traversed some distance in the darkness along +the forgotten corridor when the sound of voices came to +him from beyond the wall at his right. He stopped, motion- +less, pressing his ear against the side wall. As he did so he +became aware of the fact that at this point the wall was of +wood--a large panel of hardwood. Now he could hear even +the words of the speaker upon the opposite side. + +"Fetch her here, captain, and I will talk with her alone." +The voice was the king's. "And, captain, you might remove +the guard from before the door temporarily. I shall not re- +quire them, nor do I wish them to overhear my conversa- +tion with the princess." + +Barney could hear the officer acknowledge the commands +of the king, and then he heard a door close. The man had +gone to fetch the princess. The American struck a match +and examined the panel before him. It reached to the top +of the passageway and was some three feet in width. + +At one side were three hinges, and at the other an ancient +spring lock. For an instant Barney stood in indecision. What +should he do? His entry into the apartments of the king +would result in alarming the entire fortress. Were he sure +the king was alone it might be accomplished. Should he +enter now or wait until the Princess Emma had been brought +to the king? + +With the question came the answer--a bold and daring +scheme. His fingers sought the lock. Very gently, he un- +latched it and pushed outward upon the panel. Suddenly +the great doorway gave beneath his touch. It opened a +crack letting a flood of light into his dark cell that almost +blinded him. + +For a moment he could see nothing, and then out of the +glaring blur grew the figure of a man sitting at a table-- +with his back toward the panel. + +It was the king, and he was alone. Noiselessly Barney +Custer entered the apartment, closing the panel after him. +At his back now was the great oil painting of the Blentz +princess that had hid the secret entrance to the room. He +crossed the thick rugs until he stood behind the king. Then +he clapped one hand over the mouth of the monarch of +Lutha and threw the other arm about his neck. + +"Make the slightest outcry and I shall kill you," he whis- +pered in the ear of the terrified man. + +Across the room Barney saw a revolver lying upon a small +table. He raised the king to his feet and, turning his back +toward the weapon dragged him across the apartment until +the table was within easy reach. Then he snatched up the +revolver and swung the king around into a chair facing him, +the muzzle of the gun pressed against his face. + +"Silence," he whispered. + +The king, white and trembling, gasped as his eyes fell +upon the face of the American. + +"You?" His voice was barely audible. + +"Take off your clothes--every stitch of them--and if any +one asks for admittance, deny them. Quick, now," as the +king hesitated. "My life is forfeited unless I can escape. If I +am apprehended +I shall see that you pay for my recapture +with your life--if any one enters this room without my +sanction they will enter it to find a dead king upon the +floor; do you understand?" + +The king made no reply other than to commence divesting +himself of his clothing. Barney followed his example, but +not before he had crossed to the door that opened into the +main corridor and shot the bolt upon the inside. When both +men had removed their clothing Barney pointed to the little +pile of soiled peasant garb that he had worn. + +"Put those on," he commanded. + +The king hesitated, drawing back in disgust. Barney +paused, half-way into the royal union suit, and leveled the +revolver at Leopold. The king picked up one of the gar- +ments gingerly between the tips of his thumb and finger. + +"Hurry!" admonished the American, drawing the silk half- +hose of the ruler of Lutha over his foot. "If you don't hurry," +he added, "someone may interrupt us, and you know what +the result would be--to you." + +Scowling, Leopold donned the rough garments. Barney, +fully clothed in the uniform the king had been wearing, +stepped across the apartment to where the king's sword and +helmet lay upon the side table that had also borne the re- +volver. He placed the helmet upon his head and buckled the +sword-belt about his waist, then he faced the king, behind +whom was a cheval glass. In it Barney saw his image. The +king was looking at the American, his eyes wide and his jaw +dropped. Barney did not wonder at his consternation. He +himself was dumbfounded by the likeness which he bore +to the king. It was positively uncanny. He approached Leo- +pold. + +"Remove your rings," he said, holding out his hand. The +king did as he was bid, and Barney slipped the two baubles +upon his fingers. One of them was the royal ring of the kings +of Lutha. + +The American now blindfolded the king and led him to- +ward the panel which had given him ingress to the room. +Through it the two men passed, Barney closing the panel +after them. then he conducted the king back along the +dark passageway to the room which the American had but +recently quitted. At the back of the panel which led into his +former prison Barney halted and listened. No sound came +from beyond the partition. Gently Barney opened the secret +door a trifle--just enough to permit him a quick survey of +the interior of the apartment. It was empty. A smile crossed +his face as he thought of the difficulty Leopold might en- +counter the following morning in convincing his jailers that +he was not the American. + +Then he recalled his reflection in the cheval glass and +frowned. Could Leopold convince them? He doubted it-- +and what then? The American was sentenced to be shot at +dawn. They would shoot the king instead. Then there would +be none to whom to return the kingship. What would he do +with it? The temptation was great. Again a throne lay within +his grasp--a throne and the woman he loved. None might +ever know unless he chose to tell--his resemblance to Leo- +pold was too perfect. It defied detection. + +With an exclamation of impatience he wheeled about +and dragged the frightened monarch back to the room from +which he had stolen him. As he entered he heard a knock +at the door. + +"Do not disturb me now," he called. "Come again in +half an hour." + +"But it is Her Highness, Princess Emma, sire," came a +voice from beyond the door. "You summoned her." + +"She may return to her apartments," replied Barney. + +All the time he kept his revolver leveled at the king, +from his eyes he had removed the blind after they had +entered the apartment. He crossed to the table where the +king had been sitting when he surprised him, motioning +the ragged ruler to follow and be seated. + +"Take that pen," he said, "and write a full pardon for +Mr. Bernard Custer, and an order requiring that he be fur- +nished with money and set at liberty at dawn." + +The king did as he was bid. For a moment the American +stood looking at him before he spoke again. + +"You do not deserve what I am going to do for you," he +said. "And Lutha deserves a better king than the one my +act will give her; but I am neither a thief nor a murderer, +and so I must forbear leaving you to your just deserts and +return your throne to you. I shall do so after I have insured +my own safety and done what I can for Lutha--what you +are too little a man and king to do yourself. + +"So soon as they liberate you in the morning, make the +best of your way to Brosnov, on the Serbian frontier. Await +me there. When I can, I shall come. Again we may ex- +change clothing and you can return to Lustadt. I shall cross +over into Siberia out of your reach, for I know you too +well to believe that any sense of honor or gratitude would +prevent you signing my death-warrant at the first opportunity. +Now, come!" + +Once again Barney led the blindfolded king through the +dark corridor to the room in the opposite tower--to the +prison of the American. At the open panel he shoved him +into the apartment. Then he drew the door quietly to, +leaving the king upon the inside, and retraced his steps to +the royal apartments. Crossing to the center table, he touched +an electric button. A moment later an officer knocked at the +door, which, in the meantime, Barney had unbolted. + +"Enter!" said the American. He stood with his back to- +ward the door until he heard it close behind the officer. +When he turned he was apparently examining his revolver. +If the officer suspected his identity, it was just as well to +be prepared. Slowly he raised his eyes to the newcomer, who +stood stiffly at salute. The officer looked him full in the face. + +"I answered your majesty's summons," said the man. + +"Oh, yes!" returned the American. "You may fetch the +Princess Emma." + +The officer saluted once more and backed out of the +apartment. Barney walked to the table and sat down. A +tin box of cigarettes lay beside the lamp. Barney lighted one +of them. The king had good taste in the selection of tobacco, +he thought. Well, a man must need have some redeeming +characteristics. + +Outside, in the corridor, he heard voices, and again the +knock at the door. He bade them enter. As the door opened +Emma von der Tann, her head thrown back and a flush of +anger on her face, entered the room. Behind her was the +officer who had been despatched to bring her. Barney +nodded to the latter. + +"You may go," he said. He drew a chair from the table +and asked the princess to be seated. She ignored his re- +quest. + +"What do you wish of me?" she asked. She was looking +straight into his eyes. The officer had withdrawn and closed +the door after him. They were alone, with nothing to fear; +yet she did not recognize him. + +"You are the king," she continued in cold, level tones, +"but if you are also a gentleman, you will at once order +me returned to my father at Lustadt, and with me the man +to whom you owe so much. I do not expect it of you, but I +wish to give you the chance. + +"I shall not go without him. I am betrothed to you; but +until tonight I should rather have died than wed you. Now +I am ready to compromise. If you will set Mr. Custer at +liberty in Serbia and return me unharmed to my father, +I will fulfill my part of our betrothal." + +Barney Custer looked straight into the girl's face for a +long moment. A half smile played upon his lips at the +thought of her surprise when she learned the truth, when +suddenly it dawned upon him that she and he were both +much safer if no one, not even her loyal self, guessed that +he was other than the king. It is not difficult to live a part, +but often it is difficult to act one. Some little word or look, +were she to know that he was Barney Custer, might betray +them; no, it was better to leave her in ignorance, though +his conscience pricked him for the disloyalty that his act +implied. + +It seemed a poor return for her courage and loyalty to +him that her statement to the man she thought king had +revealed. He marveled that a Von der Tann could have +spoken those words--a Von der Tann who but the day be- +fore had refused to save her father's life at the loss of the +family honor. It seemed incredible to the American that he +had won such love from such a woman. Again came the +mighty temptation to keep the crown and the girl both; +but with a straightening of his broad shoulders he threw it +from him. + +She was promised to the king, and while he masqueraded +in the king's clothes, he at least would act the part that a +king should. He drew a folded paper from his inside pocket +and handed it to the girl. + +"Here is the American's pardon," he said, "drawn up and +signed by the king's own hand." + +She opened it and, glancing through it hurriedly, looked +up at the man before her with a questioning expression in +her eyes. + +"You came, then," she said, "to a realization of the enor- +mity of your ingratitude?" + +The man shrugged. + +"He will never die at my command," he said. + +"I thank your majesty," she said simply. "As a Von der +Tann, I have tried to believe that a Rubinroth could not be +guilty of such baseness. And now, tell me what your an- +swer is to my proposition." + +"We shall return to Lustadt tonight," he replied. "I fear +the purpose of Prince Peter. In fact, it may be difficult--even +impossible--for us to leave Blentz; but we can at least +make the attempt." + +"Can we not take Mr. Custer with us?" she asked. "Prince +Peter may disregard your majesty's commands and, after +you are gone, have him shot. Do not forget that he kept +the crown from Peter of Blentz--it is certain that Prince +Peter will never forget it." + +"I give you my word, your highness, that I know posi- +tively that if I leave Blentz tonight Prince Peter will not +have Mr. Custer shot in the morning, and it will so greatly +jeopardize his own plans if we attempt to release the prisoner +that in all probability we ourselves will be unable to es- +cape." + +She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. + +"You give me your word that he will be safe?" she asked. + +"My royal word," he replied. + +"Very well, let us leave at once." + +Barney touched the bell once more, and presently an +officer of the Blentz faction answered the summons. As the +man closed the door and approached, saluting, Barney +stepped close to him. + +"We are leaving for Tann tonight," he said, "at once. You +will conduct us from the castle and procure horses for us. +All the time I shall walk at your elbow, and in my hand I +shall carry this," and he displayed the king's revolver. "At +the first indication of defection upon your part I shall kill +you. Do you perfectly understand me?" + +"But, your majesty," exclaimed the officer, "why is it +necessary that you leave thus surreptitiously? May not the +king go and come in his own kingdom as he desires? Let +me announce your wishes to Prince Peter that he may fur- +nish you with a proper escort. Doubtless he will wish to +accompany you himself, sire." + +"You will do precisely what I say without further com- +ment," snapped Barney. "Now get a--" He had been about +to say: "Now get a move on you," when it occurred to him +that this was not precisely the sort of language that kings +were supposed to use to their inferiors. So he changed it. +"Now get a couple of horses for her highness and myself, +as well as your own, for you will accompany us to Tann." + +The officer looked at the weapon in the king's hand. He +measured the distance between himself and the king. He +well knew the reputed cowardice of Leopold. Could he make +the leap and strike up the king's hand before the timorous +monarch found even the courage of the cornered rat to fire +at him? Then his eyes sought the face of the king, searching +for the signs of nervous terror that would make his con- +quest an easy one; but what he saw in the eyes that bored +straight into his brought his own to the floor at the king's +feet. + +What new force animated Leopold of Lutha? Those were +not the eyes of a coward. No fear was reflected in their +steely glitter. The officer mumbled an apology, saluted, and +turned toward the door. At his elbow walked the impostor; +a cavalry cape that had belonged to the king now covered +his shoulders and hid the weapon that pressed its hard +warning now and again into the short-ribs of the Blentz +officer. Just behind the American came the Princess Emma +von der Tann. + +The three passed through the deserted corridors of the +sleeping castle, taking a route at Barney's suggestion that led +them to the stable courtyard without necessitating traversing +the main corridors or the great hall or the guardroom, in all +of which there still were Austrian and Blentz soldiers, whose +duties or pleasures had kept them from their blankets. + +At the stables a sleepy groom answered the summons of +the officer, whom Barney had warned not to divulge the +identity of himself or the princess. He left the princess in +the shadows outside the building. After what seemed an +eternity to the American, three horses were led into the +courtyard, saddled, and bridled. The party mounted and +approached the gates. Here, Barney knew, might be en- +countered the most serious obstacle in their path. He rode +close to the side of their unwilling conductor. Leaning for- +ward in his saddle, he whispered in the man's ear. + +"Failure to pass us through the gates," he said, "will be +the signal for your death." + +The man reined in his mount and turned toward the +American. + +"I doubt if they will pass even me without a written +order from Prince Peter," he said. "If they refuse, you must +reveal your identity. The guard is composed of Luthanians +--I doubt if they will dare refuse your majesty." + +Then they rode on up to the gates. A soldier stepped +from the sentry box and challenged them. + +"Lower the drawbridge," ordered the officer. "It is +Captain Krantzwort on a mission for the king." + +The soldier approached, raising a lantern, which he had +brought from the sentry box, and inspected the captain's +face. He seemed ill at ease. In the light of the lantern, the +American saw that he was scarce more than a boy--doubt- +less a recruit. He saw the expression of fear and awe with +which he regarded the officer, and it occurred to him that +the effect of the king's presence upon him would be abso- +lutely overpowering. Still the soldier hesitated. + +"My orders are very strict, sir," he said. "I am to let no +one leave without a written order from Prince Peter. If the +sergeant or the lieutenant were here they would know what +to do; but they are both at the castle--only two other +soldiers are at the gates with me. Wait, and I will send one +of them for the lieutenant." + +"No," interposed the American. "You will send for no +one, my man. Come closer--look at my face." + +The soldier approached, holding his lantern above his +head. As its feeble rays fell upon the face and uniform of +the man on horseback, the sentry gave a little gasp of as- +tonishment. + +"Now, lower the drawbridge," said Barney Custer, "it is +your king's command." + +Quickly the fellow hastened to obey the order. The chains +creaked and the windlass groaned as the heavy planking +sank to place across the moat. + +As Barney passed the soldier he handed him the pardon +Leopold had written for the American. + +"Give this to your lieutenant," he said, "and tell him to +hand it to Prince Peter before dawn tomorrow. Do not fail." + +A moment later the three were riding down the winding +road toward Blentz. Barney had no further need of the +officer who rode with them. He would be glad to be rid of +him, for he anticipated that the fellow might find ample +opportunity to betray them as they passed through the +Austrian lines, which they must do to reach Lustadt. + +He had told the captain that they were going to Tann in +order that, should the man find opportunity to institute pur- +suit, he might be thrown off the track. The Austrian sentries +were no great distance ahead when Barney ordered a halt. + +"Dismount," he directed the captain, leaping to the ground +himself at the same time. "Put your hands behind your +back." + +The officer did as he was bid, and Barney bound his +wrists securely with a strap and buckle that he had re- +moved from the cantle of his saddle as he rode. Then he +led him off the road among some weeds and compelled him +to lie down, after which he bound his ankles together and +stuffed a gag in his mouth, securing it in place with a bit +of stick and the chinstrap from the man's helmet. The threat +of the revolver kept Captain Krantzwort silent and obedient +throughout the hasty operations. + +"Good-bye, captain," whispered Barney, "and let me sug- +gest that you devote the time until your discovery and re- +lease in pondering the value of winning your king's confi- +dence in the future. Had you chosen your associates more +carefully in the past, this need not have occurred." + +Barney unsaddled the captain's horse and turned him +loose, then he remounted and, with the princess at his side, +rode down toward Blentz. + + + +X + +A NEW KING IN LUTHA + +AS THE TWO riders approached the edge of the village of +Blentz a sentry barred their way. To his challenge the +American replied that they were "friends from the castle." + +"Advance," directed the sentry, "and give the counter- +sign." + +Barney rode to the fellow's side, and leaning from the +saddle whispered in his ear the word "Slankamen." + +Would it pass them out as it had passed Maenck in? +Barney scarcely breathed as he awaited the result of his +experiment. The soldier brought his rifle to present and +directed them to pass. With a sigh of relief that was almost +audible the two rode into the village and the Austrian lines. + +Once within they met with no further obstacle until they +reached the last line of sentries upon the far side of the +town. It was with more confidence that Barney gave the +countersign here, nor was he surprised that the soldier +passed them readily; and now they were upon the high- +road to Lustadt, with nothing more to bar their way. + +For hours they rode on in silence. Barney wanted to talk +with his companion, but as king he found nothing to say to +her. The girl's mind was filled with morbid reflections of the +past few hours and dumb terror for the future. She would +keep her promise to the king; but after--life would not be +worth the living; why should she live? She glanced at the +man beside her in the light of the coming dawn. Ah, why +was he so like her American in outward appearances only? +Their own mothers could scarce have distinguished them, +and yet in character no two men could have differed more +widely. The man turned to her. + +"We are almost there," he said. "You must be very tired." + +The words reflected a consideration that had never been +a characteristic of Leopold. The girl began to wonder if +there might not possibly be a vein of nobility in the man, +after all, that she had never discovered. Since she had en- +tered his apartments at Blentz he had been in every way a +different man from the Leopold she had known of old. The +boldness of his escape from Blentz supposed a courage that +the king had never given the slightest indication of in the +past. Could it be that he was making a genuine effort to +become a man--to win her respect? + +They were approaching Lustadt as the sun rose. A troop +of horse was just emerging from the north gate. As it neared +them they saw that the cavalrymen wore the uniforms of +the Royal Horse Guard. At their head rode a lieutenant. As +his eyes fell upon the face of the princess and her com- +panion, he brought his troopers to a halt, and, with in- +credulity plain upon his countenance, advanced to meet +them, his hand raised in salute to the king. It was Butzow. + +Now Barney was sure that he would be recognized. For +two years he and the Luthanian officer had been inseparable. +Surely Butzow would penetrate his disguise. He returned +his friend's salute, looked him full in the eyes, and asked +where he was riding. + +"To Blentz, your majesty," replied Butzow, "to demand +an audience. I bear important word from Prince von der +Tann. He has learned the Austrians are moving an entire +army corps into Lutha, together with siege howitzers. Serbia +has demanded that all Austrian troops be withdrawn from +Luthanian territory at once, and has offered to assist your +majesty in maintaining your neutrality by force, if neces- +sary." + +As Butzow spoke his eyes were often upon the Princess +Emma, and it was quite evident that he was much puzzled +to account for her presence with the king. She was sup- +posed to be at Tann, and Butzow knew well enough her +estimate of Leopold to know that she would not be in his +company of her own volition. His expression as he addressed +the man he supposed to be his king was far from deferen- +tial. Barney could scarce repress a smile. + +"We will ride at once to the palace," he said. "At the +gate you may instruct one of your sergeants to telephone to +will act as our escort." + +Butzow saluted and turned to his troopers, giving the +necessary commands that brought them about in the wake +of the pseudo-king. Once again Barney Custer, of Beatrice, +rode into Lustadt as king of Lutha. The few people upon +the streets turned to look at him as he passed, but there +was little demonstration of love or enthusiasm. + +Leopold had awakened no emotions of this sort in the +hearts of his subjects. Some there were who still remembered +the gallant actions of their ruler on the field of battle when +his forces had defeated those of the regent, upon that other +occasion when this same American had sat upon the +throne of Lutha for two days and had led the little army +to victory; but since then the true king had been with them +daily in his true colors. Arrogance, haughtiness, and petty +tyranny had marked his reign. Taxes had gone even higher +than under the corrupt influence of the Blentz regime. +The king's days were spent in bed; his nights in dissipation. +Old Ludwig von der Tann seemed Lutha's only friend at +court. Him the people loved and trusted. + +It was the old chancellor who met them as they entered +the palace--the Princess Emma, Lieutenant Butzow, and +the false king. As the old man's eyes fell upon his daughter, +he gave an exclamation of surprise and of incredulity. He +looked from her to the American. + +"What is the meaning of this, your majesty?" he cried in +a voice hoarse with emotion. "What does her highness in +your company?" + +There was neither fear nor respect in Prince Ludwig's +tone--only anger. He was demanding an accounting from +Leopold, the man; not from Leopold, the king. Barney +raised his hand. + +"Wait," he said, "before you judge. The princess was +brought to Blentz by Prince Peter. She will tell you that I +have aided her to escape and that I have accorded her only +such treatment as a woman has a right to expect from a +king." + +The girl inclined her head. + +"His majesty has been most kind," she said. "He has +treated me with every consideration and respect, and I am +convinced that he was not a willing party to my arrest and +forcible detention at Blentz; or," she added, "if he was, he +regretted his action later and has made full reparation by +bringing me to Lustadt." + +Prince von der Tann found difficulty in hiding his surprise +at this evidence of chivalry in the cowardly king. But for +his daughter's testimony he could not have believed it pos- +sible that it lay within the nature of Leopold of Lutha to +have done what he had done within the past few hours. + +He bowed low before the man who wore the king's uni- +form. The American extended his hand, and Von der Tann, +taking it in his own, raised it to his lips. + +"And now," said Barney briskly, "let us go to my apart- +ments and get to work. Your highness"--and he turned to- +ward the Princess Emma--"must be greatly fatigued. Lieu- +tenant Butzow, you will see that a suite is prepared for her +highness. Afterward you may call upon Count Zellerndorf, +whom I understand returned to Lustadt yesterday, and noti- +fy him that I will receive him in an hour. Inform the Serbian +minister that I desire his presence at the palace immediately. +Lose no time, lieutenant, and be sure to impress upon the +Serbian minister that immediately means immediately." + +Butzow saluted and the Princess Emma curtsied, as the +king turned and, slipping his arm through that of Prince +Ludwig, walked away in the direction of the royal apart- +ments. Once at the king's desk Barney turned toward the +chancellor. In his mind was the determination to save Lutha +if Lutha could be saved. He had been forced to place the +king in a position where he would be helpless, though that +he would have been equally as helpless upon his throne the +American did not doubt for an instant. However, the course +of events had placed within his hands the power to serve +not only Lutha but the house of Von der Tann as well. He +would do in the king's place what the king should have +done if the king had been a man. + +"Now, Prince Ludwig," he said, "tell me just what con- +ditions we must face. Remember that I have been at Blentz +and that there the King of Lutha is not apt to learn all +that transpires in Lustadt." + +"Sire," replied the chancellor, "we face a grave crisis. Not +only is there within Lutha the small force of Austrian troops +that surround Blentz, but now an entire army corps has +crossed the border. Unquestionably they are marching on +Lustadt. The emperor is going to take no chances. He sent +the first force into Lutha to compel Serbian intervention and +draw Serbian troops from the Austro-Serbian battle line. +Serbia has withheld her forces at my request, but she will +not withhold them for long. We must make a declaration +at once. If we declare against Austria we are faced by the +menace of the Austrian troops already within our bound- +aries, but we shall have Serbia to help us. + +"A Serbian army corps is on the frontier at this moment +awaiting word from Lutha. If it is adverse to Austria that +army corps will cross the border and march to our assist- +ance. If it is favorable to Austria it will none the less cross +into Lutha, but as enemies instead of allies. Serbia has +acted honorably toward Lutha. She has not violated our +neutrality. She has no desire to increase her possessions in +this direction. + +"On the other hand, Austria has violated her treaty with +us. She has marched troops into our country and occupied +the town of Blentz. Constantly in the past she has incited +internal discord. She is openly championing the Blentz +cause, which at last I trust your majesty has discovered is +inimical to your interests. + +"If Austria is victorious in her war with Serbia, she will +find some pretext to hold Lutha whether Lutha takes her +stand either for or against her. And most certainly is this +true if it occurs that Austrian troops are still within the +boundaries of Lutha when peace is negotiated. Not only our +honor but our very existence demands that there be no +Austrian troops in Lutha at the close of this war. If we +cannot force them across the border we can at least make +such an effort as will win us the respect of the world and +a voice in the peace negotiations. + +"If we must bow to the surrender of our national integrity, +let us do so only after we have exhausted every resource of +the country in our country's defense. In the past your majesty +has not appeared to realize the menace of your most power- +ful neighbor. I beg of you, sire, to trust me. Believe that I +have only the interests of Lutha at heart, and let us work +together for the salvation of our country and your majesty's +throne." + +Barney laid his hand upon the old man's shoulder. It +seemed a shame to carry the deception further, but the +American well knew that only so could he accomplish aught +for Lutha or the Von der Tanns. Once the old chancellor +suspected the truth as to his identity he would be the first +to denounce him. + +"I think that you and I can work together, Prince Lud- +wig," he said. "I have sent for the Serbian and Austrian +ministers. The former should be here immediately." + +Nor did they have long to wait before the tall Slav was +announced. Barney lost no time in getting down to business. +He asked no questions. What Von der Tann had told him, +what he had seen with his own eyes since he had entered +Lutha, and what he had overheard in the inn at Burgova +was sufficient evidence that the fate of Lutha hung upon +the prompt and energetic decisions of the man who sat +upon Lutha's throne for the next few days. + +Had Leopold been the present incumbent Lutha would +have been lost, for that he would play directly into the +hands of Austria was not to be questioned. Were Von der +Tann to seize the reins of government a state of revolution +would exist that would divide the state into two bitter +factions, weaken its defense, and give Austria what she most +desired--a plausible pretext for intervention. + +Lutha's only hope lay in united defense of her liberties +under the leadership of the one man whom all acknowledged +king--Leopold. Very well, Barney Custer, of Beatrice, would +be Leopold for a few days, since the real Leopold had +proven himself incompetent to meet the emergency. + +General Petko, the Serbian minister to Lutha, brought to +the audience the memory of a series of unpleasant encounters +with the king. Leopold had never exerted himself to hide +his pro-Austrian sentiments. Austria was a powerful country +--Serbia, a relatively weak neighbor. Leopold, being a royal +snob, had courted the favor of the emperor and turned up +his nose at Serbia. The general was prepared for a repetition +of the veiled affronts that Leopold delighted in according +him; but this time he brought with him a reply that for +two years he had been living in the hope of some day being +able to deliver to the young monarch he so cordially de- +spised. + +It was an ultimatum from his government--an ultimatum +couched in terms from which all diplomatic suavity had +been stripped. If Barney Custer, of Beatrice, could have +read it he would have smiled, for in plain American it might +have been described as announcing to Leopold precisely +"where he got off." But Barney did not have the opportunity +to read it, since that ultimatum was never delivered. + +Barney took the wind all out of it by his first words. "Your +excellency may wonder why it is that we have summoned +you at such an early hour," he said. + +General Petko inclined his head in deferential acknowl- +edgment of the truth of the inference. + +"It is because we have learned from our chancellor," +continued the American, "that Serbia has mobilized an en- +tire army corps upon the Luthanian frontier. Am I correctly +informed?" + +General Petko squared his shoulders and bowed in assent. +At the same time he reached into his breast-pocket for the +ultimatum. + +"Good!" exclaimed Barney, and then he leaned close to +the ear of the Serbian. "How long will it take to move that +army corps to Lustadt?" + +General Petko gasped and returned the ultimatum to his +pocket. + +"Sire!" he cried, his face lighting with incredulity. "You +mean--" + +"I mean," said the American, "that if Serbia will loan +Lutha an army corps until the Austrians have evacuated +Luthanian territory, Lutha will loan Serbia an army corps +until such time as peace is declared between Serbia and +Austria. Other than this neither government will incur any +obligations to the other. + +"We may not need your help, but it will do us no harm +to have them well on the way toward Lustadt as quickly as +possible. Count Zellerndorf will be here in a few minutes. +We shall, through him, give Austria twenty-four hours to +withdraw all her troops beyond our frontiers. The army of +Lutha is mobilized before Lustadt. It is not a large army, +but with the help of Serbia it should be able to drive the +Austrians from the country, provided they do not leave of +their own accord." + +General Petko smiled. So did the American and the chan- +cellor. Each knew that Austria would not withdraw her +army from Lutha. + +"With your majesty's permission I will withdraw," said +the Serbian, "and transmit Lutha's proposition to my gov- +ernment; but I may say that your majesty need have no +apprehension but that a Serbian army corps will be crossing +into Lutha before noon today." + +"And now, Prince Ludwig," said the American after the +Serbian had bowed himself out of the apartment, "I sug- +gest that you take immediate steps to entrench a strong +force north of Lustadt along the road to Blentz." + +Von der Tann smiled as he replied. "It is already done, +sire," he said. + +"But I passed in along the road this morning," said Bar- +ney, "and saw nothing of such preparations." + +"The trenches and the soldiers were there, nevertheless, +sire," replied the old man, "only a little gap was left on +either side of the highway that those who came and went +might not suspect our plans and carry word of them to +the Austrians. A few hours will complete the link across +the road." + +"Good! Let it be completed at once. Here is Count Zel- +lerndorf now," as the minister was announced. + +Von der Tann bowed himself out as the Austrian entered +the king's presence. For the first time in two years the +chancellor felt that the destiny of Lutha was safe in the +hands of her king. What had caused the metamorphosis +in Leopold he could not guess. He did not seem to be the +same man that had whined and growled at their last audi- +ence a week before. + +The Austrian minister entered the king's presence with an +expression of ill-concealed surprise upon his face. Two days +before he had left Leopold safely ensconced at Blentz, +where he was to have remained indefinitely. He glanced +hurriedly about the room in search of Prince Peter or an- +other of the conspirators who should have been with the +king. He saw no one. The king was speaking. The Austrian's +eyes went wider, not only at the words, but at the tone of +voice. + +"Count Zellerndorf," said the American, "you were doubt- +less aware of the embarrassment under which the king of +Lutha was compelled at Blentz to witness the entry of a +foreign army within his domain. But we are not now at +Blentz. We have summoned you that you may receive from +us, and transmit to your emperor, the expression of our +surprise and dismay at the unwarranted violation of Luth- +anian neutrality." + +"But, your majesty--" interrupted the Austrian. + +"But nothing, your excellency," snapped the American. +"The moment for diplomacy is passed; the time for action +has come. You will oblige us by transmitting to your govern- +ment at once a request that every Austrian soldier now in +Lutha be withdrawn by noon tomorrow." + +Zellerndorf looked his astonishment. + +"Are you mad, sire?" he cried. "It will mean war!" + +"It is what Austria has been looking for," snapped the +American, "and what people look for they usually get, es- +pecially if they chance to be looking for trouble. When can +you expect a reply from Vienna?" + +"By noon, your majesty," replied the Austrian, "but are +you irretrievably bound to your present policy? Remember +the power of Austria, sire. Think of your throne. Think--" + +"We have thought of everything," interrupted Barney. +"A throne means less to us than you may imagine, count; +but the honor of Lutha means a great deal." + + + +XI + +THE BATTLE + +AT FIVE o'clock that afternoon the sidewalks bordering Mar- +garetha Street were crowded with promenaders. The little +tables before the cafes were filled. Nearly everyone spoke +of the great war and of the peril which menaced Lutha. +Upon many a lip was open disgust at the supine attitude +of Leopold of Lutha in the face of an Austrian invasion of +his country. Discontent was open. It was ripening to some- +thing worse for Leopold than an Austrian invasion. + +Presently a sergeant of the Royal Horse Guards cantered +down the street from the palace. He stopped here and there, +and, dismounting, tacked placards in conspicuous places. At +the notice, and in each instance cheers and shouting fol- +lowed the sergeant as he rode on to the next stop. + +Now, at each point men and women were gathered, +eagerly awaiting an explanation of the jubilation farther up +the street. Those whom the sergeant passed called to him +for an explanation, and not receiving it, followed in a quickly +growing mob that filled Margaretha Street from wall to +wall. When he dismounted he had almost to fight his way +to the post or door upon which he was to tack the next +placard. The crowd surged about him in its anxiety to +read what the placard bore, and then, between the cheering +and yelling, those in the front passed back to the crowd the +tidings that filled them with so great rejoicing. + +"Leopold has declared war on Austria!" "The king calls +for volunteers!" "Long live the king!" + + +The battle of Lustadt has passed into history. Outside of +the little kingdom of Lutha it received but passing notice +by the world at large, whose attention was riveted upon the +great conflicts along the banks of the Meuse, the Marne, +and the Aisne. But in Lutha! Ah, it will be told and re- +told, handed down from mouth to mouth and from genera- +tion to generation to the end of time. + +How the cavalry that the king sent north toward Blentz +met the advancing Austrian army. How, fighting, they fell +back upon the infantry which lay, a thin line that stretched +east and west across the north of Lustadt, in its first line of +trenches. A pitifully weak line it was, numerically, in com- +parison with the forces of the invaders; but it stood its +ground heroically, and from the heights to the north of +the city the fire from the forts helped to hold the enemy +in check for many hours. + +And then the enemy succeeded in bringing up their +heavy artillery to the ridge that lies three miles north of +the forts. Shells were bursting in the trenches, the forts, and +the city. To the south a stream of terror-stricken refugees +was pouring out of Lustadt along the King's Road. Rich +and poor, animated by a common impulse, filled the narrow +street that led to the city's southern gate. Carts drawn by +dogs, laden donkeys, French limousines, victorias, wheel- +barrows--every conceivable wheeled vehicle and beast of +burden--were jammed in a seemingly inextricable tangle in +the mad rush for safety. + +Rumor passed back and forth through the fleeing thou- +sands. Now came word that Fort No. 2 had been silenced +by the Austrian guns. Immediately followed news that the +Luthanian line was falling back upon the city. Fear turned +to panic. Men fought to outdistance their neighbors. + +A shell burst upon a roof-top in an adjoining square. + +Women fainted and were trampled. Hoarse shouts of +anger mingled with screams of terror, and then into the +midst of it from Margaretha Street rode a man on horse- +back. Behind him were a score of officers. A trumpeter +raised his instrument to his lips, and above the din of +the fleeing multitude rose the sharp, triple call that an- +nounces the coming of the king. The mob halted and turned. + +Looking down upon them from his saddle was Leopold +of Lutha. His palm was raised for silence and there was a +smile upon his lips. Quite suddenly, and as by a miracle, +fear left them. They made a line for him and his staff to +ride through. One of the officers turned in his saddle to +address a civilian friend in an automobile. + +"His majesty is riding to the firing line," he said and he +raised his voice that many might hear. Quickly the word +passed from mouth to mouth, and as Barney Custer, of +Beatrice, passed along Margaretha Street he was followed +by a mad din of cheering that drowned the booming of the +distant cannon and the bursting of the shells above the +city. + +The balance of the day the pseudo-king rode back and +forth along his lines. Three of his staff were killed and two +horses were shot from beneath him, but from the moment +that he appeared the Luthanian line ceased to waver or +fall back. The advanced trenches that they had abandoned +to the Austrians they took again at the point of the bayonet. +Charge after charge they repulsed, and all the time there +hovered above the enemy Lutha's sole aeroplane, watching, +watching, ever watching for the coming of the allies. Some- +where to the northeast the Serbians were advancing toward +Lustadt. Would they come in time? + +It was five o'clock in the morning of the second day, and +though the Luthanian line still held, Barney Custer knew +that it could not hold for long. The Austrian artillery fire, +which had been rather wild the preceding day, had now +become of deadly accuracy. Each bursting shell filled some +part of the trenches with dead and wounded, and though +their places were taken by fresh men from the reserve, +there would soon be no reserve left to call upon. + +At his left, in the rear, the American had massed the +bulk of his reserves, and at the foot of the heights north of +the city and just below the forts the major portion of the +cavalry was drawn up in the shelter of a little ravine. Bar- +ney's eyes were fixed upon the soaring aeroplane. + +In his hand was his watch. He would wait another fifteen +minutes, and if by then the signal had not come that the +Serbians were approaching, he would strike the blow that +he had decided upon. From time to time he glanced at his +watch. + +The fifteen minutes had almost elapsed when there flut- +tered from the tiny monoplane a paper parachute. It dropped +for several hundred feet before it spread to the air pressure +and floated more gently toward the earth and a moment +later there burst from its basket a puff of white smoke. Two +more parachutes followed the first and two more puffs of +smoke. Then the machine darted rapidly off toward the +northeast. + +Barney turned to Prince von der Tann with a smile. "They +are none too soon," he said. + +The old prince bowed in acquiescence. He had been very +happy for two days. Lutha might be defeated now, but she +could never be subdued. She had a king at last--a real +king. Gott! How he had changed. It reminded Prince von +der Tann of the day he had ridden beside the imposter two +years before in the battle with the forces of Peter of Blentz. +Many times he had caught himself scrutinizing the face of +the monarch, searching for some proof that after all he +was not Leopold. + +"Direct the commanders of forts three and four to con- +centrate their fire on the enemy's guns directly north of Fort +No. 3," Barney directed an aide. "Simultaneously let the +cavalry and Colonel Kazov's infantry make a determined as- +sault on the Austrian trenches." + +Then he turned his horse toward the left of his line, where, +a little to the rear, lay the fresh troops that he had been +holding in readiness against this very moment. As he gal- +loped across the plain, his staff at his heels, shrapnel burst +about them. Von der Tann spurred to his side. + +"Sire," he cried, "it is unnecessary that you take such +grave risks. Your staff is ready and willing to perform such +service that you may be preserved to your people and your +throne." + +"I believe the men fight better when they think their king +is watching them," said the American simply. + +"I know it, sire," replied Von der Tann, "but even so, +Lutha could ill afford to lose you now. I thank God, your +majesty, that I have lived to see this day--to see the last of +the Rubinroths upholding the glorious traditions of the +Rubinroth blood." + +Barney led the reserves slowly through the wood to the +rear of the extreme left of his line. The attack upon the +Austrian right center appeared to be meeting with much +greater success than the American dared to hope for. Al- +ready, through his glasses, he could see indications that +the enemy was concentrating a larger force at this point to +repulse the vicious assaults of the Luthanians. To do this +they must be drawing from their reserves back of other por- +tions of their line. + +It was what Barney had desired. The three bombs from +the aeroplane had told him that the Serbians had been +sighted three miles away. Already they were engaging the +Austrians. He could hear the rattle of rifles and quick-firers +and the roar of cannon far to the northeast. And now he +gave the word to the commander of the reserve. + +At a rapid trot the men moved forward behind the ex- +treme left end of the Luthanian left wing. They were almost +upon the Austrians before they emerged from the shelter of +the wood, and then with hoarse shouts and leveled bayonets +they charged the enemy's position. The fight there was the +bloodiest of the two long days. Back and forth the tide of +battle surged. In the thick of it rode the false king en- +couraging his men to greater effort. Slowly at last they bore +the Austrians from their trenches. Back and back they bore +them until retreat became a rout. The Austrian right was +crumpled back upon its center! + +Here the enemy made a determined stand; but just be- +fore dark a great shouting arose from the heights to their +left, where the bulk of their artillery was stationed. Both the +Luthanian and Austrian troops engaged in the plain saw +Austrian infantry and artillery running down the slopes in +disorderly rout. Upon their heads came a cheering line of +soldiers firing as they ran, and above them waved the battle- +flag of Serbia. + +A mighty shout rose from the Luthanian ranks--an an- +swering groan from the throats of the Austrians. Hemmed +in between the two lines of allies, the Austrians were help- +less. Their artillery was captured, retreat cut off. There was +but a single alternative to massacre--the white flag. + +A few regiments between Lustadt and Blentz, but nearer +the latter town, escaped back into Austria, the balance Bar- +ney arranged with the Serbian minister to have taken back +to Serbia as prisoners of war. The Luthanian army corps that +the American had promised the Serbs was to be utilized +along the Austrian frontier to prevent the passage of Austrian +troops into Serbia through Lutha. + +The return to Lustadt after the battle was made through +cheering troops and along streets choked with joy-mad +citizenry. The name of the soldier-king was upon every +tongue. Men went wild with enthusiasm as the tall figure +rode slowly through the crowd toward the palace. + +Von der Tann, grim and martial, found his lids damp with +the moisture of a great happiness. Even now with all the +proofs of reality about him, it seemed impossible that this +scene could be aught but the ephemeral vapors of a dream +--that Leopold of Lutha, the coward, the craven, could +have become in a single day the heroic figure that had +loomed so large upon the battlefield of Lustadt--the simple, +modest gentleman who received the plaudits of his subjects +with bowed head and humble mien. + +As Barney Custer rode up Margaretha Street toward the +royal palace of the kings of Lutha, a dust-covered horseman +in the uniform of an officer of the Horse Guards entered +Lustadt from the south. It was the young aide of Prince +von der Tann's staff, who had been sent to Blentz nearly a +week earlier with a message for the king, and who had +been captured and held by the Austrians. + +During the battle before Lustadt all the Austrian troops +had been withdrawn from Blentz and hurried to the front. +It was then that the aide had been transferred to the castle, +from which he had escaped early that morning. To reach +Lustadt he had been compelled to circle the Austrian posi- +tion, coming to Lustadt from the south. + +Once within the city he rode straight to the palace, flung +himself from his jaded mount, and entered the left wing of +the building--the wing in which the private apartments of +the chancellor were located. + +Here he inquired for the Princess Emma, learning with +evident relief that she was there. A moment later, white +with dust, his face streamed with sweat, he was ushered +into her presence. + +"Your highness," he blurted, "the king's commands have +been disregarded--the American is to be shot tomorrow. I +have just escaped from Blentz. Peter is furious. He realizes +that whether the Austrians win or lose, his standing with +the king is gone forever. + +"In a fit of rage he has ordered that Mr. Custer be sacri- +ficed to his desire for revenge, in the hope that it will in- +sure for him the favor of the Austrians. Something must be +done at once if he is to be saved." + +For a moment the girl swayed as though about to fall. +The young officer stepped quickly to support her, but be- +fore he reached her side she had regained complete mastery +of herself. From the street without there rose the blare of +trumpets and the cheering of the populace. + +Through senses numb with the cold of anguish the mean- +ing of the tumult slowly filtered to her brain--the king had +come. He was returning from the battlefield, covered with +honors and flushed with glory--the man who was to be +her husband; but there was no rejoicing in the heart of the +Princess Emma. + +Instead, there was a dull ache and impotent rebellion +at the injustice of the thing--that Leopold should be reap- +ing these great rewards, while he who had made it possible +for him to be a king at all was to die on the morrow be- +cause of what he had done to place the Rubinroth upon +his throne. + +"Perhaps Lieutenant Butzow might find a way," suggested +the officer. "He or your father; they are both fond of Mr. +Custer." + +"Yes," said the girl dully, "see Lieutenant Butzow--he +would do the most." + +The officer bowed and hastened from the apartment in +search of Butzow. The girl approached the window and +stood there for a long time, looking out at the surging multi- +tude that pressed around the palace gates, filling Margaretha +Street with a solid mass of happy faces. + +They cheered the king, the chancellor, the army; but most +often they cheered the king. From a despised monarch Leo- +pold had risen in a single bound to the position of a national +idol. + +Repeatedly he was called to the balcony over the grand +entrance that the people might feast their eyes on him. The +princess wondered how long it was before she herself would +be forced to offer her congratulations and, perchance, suffer +his caresses. She shivered and cringed at the thought, and +then there came a knock upon the door, and in answer to +her permission it opened, and the king stood upon the +threshold alone. + +At a glance the man took in the pain and sorrow mir- +rored upon the girl's face. He stepped quickly across the +room toward her. + +"What is it?" he asked. "What is the matter?" + +For a moment he had forgotten the part that he had +been playing--forgot that the Princess Emma was ignorant +of his identity. He had come to her to share with her the +happiness of the hour--the glory of the victorious arms of +Lutha. For a time he had almost forgotten that he was not +the king, and now he was forgetting that he was not Barney +Custer to the girl who stood before him with misery and +hopelessness writ so large upon her countenance. + +For a brief instant the girl did not reply. She was weigh- +ing the problematical value of an attempt to enlist the king +in the cause of the American. Leopold had shown a spark of +magnanimity when he had written a pardon for Mr. Custer; +might he not rise again above his petty jealousy and save +the American's life? It was a forlorn hope to the woman +who knew the true Leopold so well; but it was a hope. + +"What is the matter?" the king repeated. + +"I have just received word that Prince Peter has ignored +your commands, sire," replied the girl, "and that Mr. Custer +is to be shot tomorrow." + +Barney's eyes went wide with incredulity. Here was a +pretty pass, indeed! The princess came close to him and +seized his arm. + +"You promised, sire," she said, "that he would not be +harmed--you gave your royal word. You can save him. You +have an army at your command. Do not forget that he +once saved you." + +The note of appeal in her voice and the sorrow in her +eyes gave Barney Custer a twinge of compunction. The +necessity for longer concealing his identity in so far as the +salvation of Lutha was concerned seemed past; but the +American had intended to carry the deception to the end. + +He had given the matter much thought, but he could find +no grounds for belief that Emma von der Tann would be +any happier in the knowledge that her future husband had +had nothing to do with the victory of his army. If she was +doomed to a life at his side, why not permit her the grain +of comfort that she might derive from the memory of her +husband's achievements upon the battlefield of Lustadt? Why +rob her of that little? + +But now, face to face with her, and with the evidence of +her suffering so plain before him, Barney's intentions wa- +vered. Like most fighting men, he was tender in his dealings +with women. And now the last straw came in the form of a +single tiny tear that trickled down the girl's cheek. He +seized the hand that lay upon his arm. + +"Your highness," he said, "do not grieve for the American. +He is not worth it. He has deceived you. He is not at +Blentz." + +The girl drew her hand from his and straightened to her +full height. + +"What do you mean, sire?" she exclaimed. "Mr. Custer +would not deceive me even if he had an opportunity--which +he has not had. But if he is not at Blentz, where is he?" + +Barney bowed his head and looked at the floor. + +"He is here, your highness, asking your forgiveness," he +said. + +There was a puzzled expression upon the girl's face as +she looked at the man before her. She did not understand. +Why should she? Barney drew a diamond ring from his +little finger and held it out to her. + +"You gave it to me to cut a hole in the window of the +garage where I stole the automobile," he said. "I forgot to +return it. Now do you know who I am?" + +Emma von der Tann's eyes showed her incredulity; then, +act by act, she recalled all that this man had said and +done since they had escaped from Blentz that had been +so unlike the king she knew. + +"When did you assume the king's identity?" she asked. + +Barney told her all that had transpired in the king's apart- +ments at Blentz before she had been conducted to the +king's presence. + +"And Leopold is there now?" she asked. + +"He is there," replied Barney, "and he is to be shot in +the morning." + +"Gott!" exclaimed the girl. "What are we to do?" + +"There is but one thing to do," replied the American, +"and that is for Butzow and me to ride to Blentz as fast as +horses will carry us and rescue the king." + +"And then?" asked the girl, a shadow crossing her face. + +"And then Barney Custer will have to beat it for the +boundary," he replied with a sorry smile. + +She came quite close to him, laying her hands upon his +shoulders. + +"I cannot give you up now," she said simply. "I have +tried to be loyal to Leopold and the promise that my father +made his king when I was only a little girl; but since I +thought that you were to be shot, I have wished a thousand +times that I had gone with you to America two years ago. +Take me with you now, Barney. We can send Lieutenant +Butzow to rescue the king, and before he has returned we +can be safe across the Serbian frontier." + +The American shook his head. + +"I got the king into this mess and I must get him out," +he said. "He may deserve to be shot, but it is up to me +to prevent it, if I can. And there is your father to consider. +If Butzow rides to Blentz and rescues the king, it may be +difficult to get him back to Lustadt without the truth of +his identity and mine becoming known. With me there, the +change can be effected easily, and not even Butzow need +know what has happened. + +"If the people should guess that it was not Leopold who +won the battle of Lustadt there might be the devil to pay, +and your father would go down along with the throne. No, +I must stay until Leopold is safe in Lustadt. But there is a +hope for us. I may be able to wrest from Leopold his +sanction of our marriage. I shall not hesitate to use threats +to get it, and I rather imagine that he will be in such a +terror-stricken condition that he will assent to any terms for +his release from Blentz. If he gives me such a paper, Emma, +will you marry me?" + +Perhaps there never had been a stranger proposal than +this; but to neither did it seem strange. For two years each +had known the love of the other. The girl's betrothal to +the king had prevented an avowal of their love while Barney +posed in his own identity. Now they merely accepted the +conditions that had existed for two years as though a mat- +ter of fact which had been often discussed between them. + +"Of course I'll marry you," said the princess. "Why in the +world would I want you to take me to America otherwise?" + +As Barney Custer took her in his arms he was happier +than he had ever before been in all his life, and so, too, +was the Princess Emma von der Tann. + + + + +XII + +LEOPOLD WAITS FOR DAWN + +AFTER THE American had shoved him through the secret +doorway into the tower room of the castle of Blentz, Leopold +had stood for several minutes waiting for the next command +from his captor. Presently, hearing no sound other than that +of his own breathing, the king ventured to speak. He asked +the American what he purposed doing with him next. + +There was no reply. For another minute the king listened +intently; then he raised his hands and removed the bandage +from his eyes. He looked about him. The room was vacant +except for himself. He recognized it as the one in which he +had spent ten years of his life as a prisoner. He shuddered. +What had become of the American? He approached the +door and listened. Beyond the panels he could hear the two +soldiers on guard there conversing. He called to them. + +"What do you want?" shouted one of the men through +the closed door. + +"I want Prince Peter!" yelled the king. "Send him at +once!" + +The soldiers laughed. + +"He wants Prince Peter," they mocked. "Wouldn't you +rather have us send the king to you?" they asked. + +"I am the king!" yelled Leopold. "I am the king! Open +the door, pigs, or it will go hard with you! I shall have you +both shot in the morning if you do not open the door and +fetch Prince Peter." + +"Ah!" exclaimed one of the soldiers. "Then there will be +three of us shot together." + +Leopold went white. He had not connected the sentence +of the American with himself; but now, quite vividly, he +realized what it might mean to him if he failed before dawn +to convince someone that he was not the American. Peter +would not be awake at so early an hour, and if he had no +better success with others than he was having with these +soldiers, it was possible that he might be led out and shot +before his identity was discovered. The thing was prepos- +terous. The king's knees became suddenly quite weak. They +shook, and his legs gave beneath his weight so that he had +to lean against the back of a chair to keep from falling. + +Once more he turned to the soldiers. This time he pleaded +with them, begging them to carry word to Prince Peter that +a terrible mistake had been made, and that it was the king +and not the American who was confined in the death cham- +ber. But the soldiers only laughed at him, and finally threat- +ened to come in and beat him if he again interrupted their +conversation. + +It was a white and shaken prisoner that the officer of the +guard found when he entered the room at dawn. The man +before him, his face streaked with tears of terror and self- +pity, fell upon his knees before him, beseeching him to carry +word to Peter of Blentz, that he was the king. The officer +drew away with a gesture of disgust. + +"I might well believe from your actions that you are Leo- +pold," he said; "for, by Heaven, you do not act as I have +always imagined the American would act in the face of +danger. He has a reputation for bravery that would suffer +could his admirers see him now." + +"But I am not the American," pleaded the king. "I tell +you that the American came to my apartments last night, +overpowered me, forced me to change clothing with him, +and then led me back here." + +A sudden inspiration came to the king with the memory +of all that had transpired during that humiliating encounter +with the American. + +"I signed a pardon for him!" he cried. "He forced me to +do so. If you think I am the American, you cannot kill me +now, for there is a pardon signed by the king, and an order +for the American's immediate release. Where is it? Do not +tell me that Prince Peter did not receive it." + +"He received it," replied the officer, "and I am here to +acquaint you with the fact, but Prince Peter said nothing +about your release. All he told me was that you were not to +be shot this morning," and the man emphasized the last two +words. + +Leopold of Lutha spent two awful days a prisoner at +Blentz, not knowing at what moment Prince Peter might +see fit to carry out the verdict of the Austrian court martial. +He could convince no one that he was the king. Peter would +not even grant him an audience. Upon the evening of the +third day, word came that the Austrians had been defeated +before Lustadt, and those that were not prisoners were re- +treating through Blentz toward the Austrian frontier. + +The news filtered to Leopold's prison room through the +servant who brought him his scant and rough fare. The king +was utterly disheartened before this word reached him. For +the moment he seemed to see a ray of hope, for, since the +impostor had been victorious, he would be in a position to +force Peter of Blentz to give up the true king. + +There was the chance that the American, flushed with +success and power, might elect to hold the crown he had +seized. Who would guess the transfer that had been ef- +fected, or, guessing, would dare voice his suspicions in the +face of the power and popularity that Leopold knew such a +victory as the impostor had won must have given him in +the hearts and minds of the people of Lutha? Still, there +was a bare possibility that the American would be as good +as his word, and return the crown as he had promised. +Though he hated to admit it, the king had every reason to +believe that the impostor was a man of honor, whose bare +word was as good as another's bond. + +He was commencing, under this line of reasoning, to +achieve a certain hopeful content when the door to his prison +opened and Peter of Blentz, black and scowling, entered. +At his elbow was Captain Ernst Maenck. + +"Leopold has defeated the Austrians," announced the +former. "Until you returned to Lutha he considered the Aus- +trians his best friends. I do not know how you could have +reached or influenced him. It is to learn how you accom- +plished it that I am here. The fact that he signed your +pardon indicates that his attitude toward you changed sud- +denly--almost within an hour. There is something at the +bottom of it all, and that something I must know." + +"I am Leopold!" cried the king. "Don't you recognize me, +Prince Peter? Look at me! Maenck must know me. It was I +who wrote and signed the American's pardon--at the point +of the American's revolver. He forced me to exchange cloth- +ing with him, and then he brought me here to this room +and left me." + +The two men looked at the speaker and smiled. + +"You bank too strongly, my friend," said Peter of Blentz, +"upon your resemblance to the king of Lutha. I will admit +that it is strong, but not so strong as to convince me of the +truth of so improbable a story. How in the world could the +American have brought you through the castle, from one +end to the other, unseen? There was a guard before the +king's door and another before this. No, Herr Custer, you +will have to concoct a more plausible tale. + +"No," and Peter of Blentz scowled savagely, as though to +impress upon his listener the importance of his next utterance, +"there were more than you and the king involved in his +sudden departure from Blentz and in his hasty change of +policy toward Austria. To be quite candid, it seems to me +that it may be necessary to my future welfare--vitally neces- +sary, I may say--to know precisely how all this occurred, +and just what influence you have over Leopold of Lutha. +Who was it that acted as the go-between in the king's nego- +tiations with you, or rather, yours with the king? And what +argument did you bring to bear to force Leopold to the +action he took?" + +"I have told you all that I know about the matter," +whined the king. "The American appeared suddenly in my +apartment. When he brought me here he first blindfolded +me. I have no idea by what route we traveled through the +castle, and unless your guards outside this door were bribed +they can tell you more about how we got in here than I +can--provided we entered through that doorway," and the +king pointed to the door which had just opened to admit +his two visitors. + +"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed Maenck. "There is but one door +to this room--if the king came in here at all, he came +through that door." + +"Enough!" cried Peter of Blentz. "I shall not be trifled +with longer. I shall give you until tomorrow morning to make +a full explanation of the truth and to form some plan whereby +you may utilize once more whatever influence you had +over Leopold to the end that he grant to myself and my +associates his royal assurance that our lives and property +will be safe in Lutha." + +"But I tell you it is impossible," wailed the king. + +"I think not," sneered Prince Peter, "especially when I tell +you that if you do not accede to my wishes the order of the +Austrian military court that sentenced you to death at Bur- +gova will be carried out in the morning." + +With his final words the two men turned and left the +room. Behind them, upon the floor, inarticulate with terror, +knelt Leopold of Lutha, his hands outstretched in supplica- +tion. + +The long night wore its weary way to dawn at last. The +sleepless man, alternately tossing upon his bed and pacing +the floor, looked fearfully from time to time at the window +through which the lightening of the sky would proclaim the +coming day and his last hour on earth. His windows faced +the west. At the foot of the hill beneath the castle nestled +the village of Blentz, once more enveloped in peaceful si- +lence since the Austrians were gone. + +An unmistakable lessening of the darkness in the east +had just announced the proximity of day, when the king +heard a clatter of horses' hoofs upon the road before the +castle. The sound ceased at the gates and a loud voice broke +out upon the stillness of the dying night demanding en- +trance "in the name of the king." + +New hope burst aflame in the breast of the condemned +man. The impostor had not forsaken him. Leopold ran to +the window, leaning far out. He heard the voices of the +sentries in the barbican as they conversed with the new- +comers. Then silence came, broken only by the rapid foot- +steps of a soldier hastening from the gate to the castle. His +hobnail shoes pounding upon the cobbles of the courtyard +echoed among the angles of the lofty walls. When he had +entered the castle the silence became oppressive. For five +minutes there was no sound other than the pawing of the +horses outside the barbican and the subdued conversation +of their riders. + +Presently the soldier emerged from the castle. With him +was an officer. The two went to the barbican. Again there +was a parley between the horsemen and the guard. Leo- +pold could hear the officer demanding terms. He would +lower the drawbridge and admit them upon conditions. + +One of these the king overheard--it concerned an assur- +ance of full pardon for Peter of Blentz and the garrison; and +again Leopold heard the officer addressing someone as "your +majesty." + +Ah, the impostor was there in person. Ach, Gott! How +Leopold of Lutha hated him, and yet, in the hands of this +American lay not only his throne but his very life as well. + +Evidently the negotiations proved unsuccessful for after a +time the party wheeled their horses from the gate and rode +back toward Blentz. As the sound of the iron-shod hoofs +diminished in the distance, with them diminished the hopes +of the king. + +When they ceased entirely his hopes were at an end, +to be supplanted by renewed terror at the turning of the +knob of his prison door as it swung open to admit Maenck +and a squad of soldiers. + +"Come!" ordered the captain. "The king has refused to +intercede in your behalf. When he returns with his army he +will find your body at the foot of the west wall in the court- +yard." + +With an ear-piercing shriek that rang through the grim +old castle, Leopold of Lutha flung his arms above his head +and lunged forward upon his face. Roughly the soldiers +seized the unconscious man and dragged him from the room. + +Along the corridor they hauled him and down the wind- +ing stairs within the north tower to the narrow slit of a +door that opened upon the courtyard. To the foot of the +west wall they brought him, tossing him brutally to the stone +flagging. Here one of the soldiers brought a flagon of water +and dashed it in the face of the king. The cold douche re- +turned Leopold to a consciousness of the nearness of his +impending fate. + +He saw the little squad of soldiers before him. He saw +the cold, gray wall behind, and, above, the cold, gray sky +of early dawn. The dismal men leaning upon their shadowy +guns seemed unearthly specters in the weird light of the +hour that is neither God's day nor devil's night. With diffi- +culty two of them dragged Leopold to his feet. + +Then the dismal men formed in line before him at the +opposite side of the courtyard. Maenck stood to the left of +them. He was giving commands. They fell upon the doomed +man's ears with all the cruelty of physical blows. Tears +coursed down his white cheeks. With incoherent mumblings +he begged for his life. Leopold, King of Lutha, trembling +in the face of death! + + + + +XIII + +THE TWO KINGS + +TWENTY TROOPERS had ridden with Lieutenant Butzow and +the false king from Lustadt to Blentz. During the long, hard +ride there had been little or no conversation between the +American and his friend, for Butzow was still unsuspicious +of the true identity of the man who posed as the ruler of +Lutha. The lieutenant was all anxiety to reach Blentz and +rescue the American he thought imprisoned there and in +danger of being shot. + +At the gate they were refused admittance unless the king +would accept conditions. Barney refused--there was another +way to gain entrance to Blentz that not even the master of +Blentz knew. Butzow urged him to accede to anything to +save the life of the American. He recalled all that the latter +had done in the service of Lutha and Leopold. Barney leaned +close to the other's ear. + +"If they have not already shot him," he whispered, "we +shall save the prisoner yet. Let them think that we give up +and are returning to Lustadt. Then follow me." + +Slowly the little cavalcade rode down from the castle of +Blentz toward the village. Just out of sight of the grim pile +where the road wound down into a ravine Barney turned +his horse's head up the narrow defile. In single file Butzow +and the troopers followed until the rank undergrowth pre- +cluded farther advance. Here the American directed that +they dismount, and, leaving the horses in charge of three +troopers, set out once more with the balance of the com- +pany on foot. + +It was with difficulty that the men forced their way +through the bushes, but they had not gone far when their +leader stopped before a sheer wall of earth and stone, cov- +ered with densely growing shrubbery. Here he groped in +the dim light, feeling his way with his hands before him, +while at his heels came his followers. At last he separated +a wall of bushes and disappeared within the aperture his +hands had made. One by one his men followed, finding +themselves in inky darkness, but upon a smooth stone floor +and with stone walls close upon either hand. Those who +lifted their hands above their heads discovered an arched +stone ceiling close above them. + +Along this buried corridor the "king" led them, for though +he had never traversed it himself the Princess Emma had, +and from her he had received minute directions. Occasionally +he struck a match, and presently in the fitful glare of one of +these he and those directly behind him saw the foot of a +ladder that disappeared in the Stygian darkness above. + +"Follow me up this, very quietly," he said to those behind +him. "Up to the third landing." + +They did as he bid them. At the third landing Barney +felt for the latch he knew was there--he was on familiar +ground now. Finding it he pushed open the door it held in +place, and through a tiny crack surveyed the room beyond. +It was vacant. The American threw the door wide and +stepped within. Directly behind him was Butzow, his eyes +wide in wonderment. After him filed the troopers until +seventeen of them stood behind their lieutenant and the +"king." + +Through the window overlooking the courtyard came a +piteous wailing. Barney ran to the casement and looked out. +Butzow was at his side. + +"Himmel!" ejaculated the Luthanian. "They are about to +shoot him. Quick, your majesty," and without waiting to see +if he were followed the lieutenant raced for the door of the +apartment. Close behind him came the American and the +seventeen. + +It took but a moment to reach the stairway down which +the rescuers tumbled pell-mell. + +Maenck was giving his commands to the firing squad +with fiendish deliberation and delay. He seemed to enjoy +dragging out the agony that the condemned man suffered. +But it was this very cruelty that caused Maenck's undoing +and saved the life of Leopold of Lutha. Just before he gave +the word to fire Maenck paused and laughed aloud at the +pitiable figure trembling and whining against the stone wall +before him, and during that pause a commotion arose at +the tower doorway behind the firing squad. + +Maenck turned to discover the cause of the interruption, +and as he turned he saw the figure of the king leaping to- +ward him with leveled revolver. At the king's back a com- +pany of troopers of the Royal Horse Guard was pouring +into the courtyard. + +Maenck snatched his own revolver from his hip and fired +point-blank at the "king." The firing squad had turned at the +sound of assault from the rear. Some of them discharged +their pieces at the advancing troopers. Butzow gave a com- +mand and seventeen carbines poured their deadly hail into +the ranks of the Blentz retainers. At Maenck's shot the "king" +staggered and fell to the pavement. + +Maenck leaped across his prostrate form, yelling to his +men "Shoot the American." Then he was lost to Barney's +sight in the hand-to-hand scrimmage that was taking place. +The American tried to regain his feet, but the shock of the +wound in his breast had apparently paralyzed him for the +moment. A Blentz soldier was running toward the prisoner +standing open-mouthed against the wall. The fellow's rifle +was raised to his hip--his intention was only too obvious. + +Barney drew himself painfully and slowly to one elbow. +The man was rapidly nearing the true Leopold. In another +moment he would shoot. The American raised his revolver +and, taking careful aim, fired. The soldier shrieked, covered +his face with his hands, spun around once, and dropped at +the king's feet. + +The troopers under Butzow were forcing the men of Blentz +toward the far end of the courtyard. Two of the Blentz fac- +tion were standing a little apart, backing slowly away and at +the same time deliberately firing at the king. Barney seemed +the only one who noticed them. Once again he raised his +revolver and fired. One of the men sat down suddenly, looked +vacantly about him, and then rolled over upon his side. The +other fired once more at the king and the same instant +Barney fired at the soldier. Soldier and king--would-be +assassin and his victim--fell simultaneously. Barney gri- +maced. The wound in his breast was painful. He had done +his best to save the king. It was no fault of his that he had +failed. It was a long way to Beatrice. He wondered if Emma +von der Tann would be on the station platform, awaiting +him--then he swooned. + +Butzow and his seventeen had it all their own way in the +courtyard and castle of Blentz. After the first resistance the +soldiery of Peter fled to the guardroom. Butzow followed +them, and there they laid down their arms. Then the lieu- +tenant returned to the courtyard to look for the king and +Barney Custer. He found them both, and both were +wounded. He had them carried to the royal apartments in +the north tower. When Barney regained consciousness he +found the scowling portrait of the Blentz princess frowning +down upon him. He lay upon a great bed where the soldiers, +thinking him king, had placed him. Opposite him, against +the farther wall, the real king lay upon a cot. Butzow was +working over him. + +"Not so bad, after all, Barney," the lieutenant was saying. +"Only a flesh wound in the calf of the leg." + +The king made no reply. He was afraid to declare his +identity. First he must learn the intentions of the impostor. +He only closed his eyes wearily. Presently he asked a ques- +tion. + +"Is he badly wounded?" and he indicated the figure upon +the great bed. + +Butzow turned and crossed to where the American lay. +He saw that the latter's eyes were open and that he was +conscious. + +"How does your majesty feel?" he asked. There was more +respect in his tone than ever before. One of the Blentz sol- +diers had told him how the "king," after being wounded by +Maenck, had raised himself upon his elbow and saved the +prisoner's life by shooting three of his assailants. + +"I thought I was done for," answered Barney Custer, "but +I rather guess the bullet struck only a glancing blow. It +couldn't have entered my lungs, for I neither cough nor +spit blood. To tell you the truth, I feel surprisingly fit. +How's the prisoner?" + +"Only a flesh wound in the calf of his left leg, sire," re- +plied Butzow. + +"I am glad," was Barney's only comment. He didn't want +to be king of Lutha; but he had foreseen that with the death +of the king his imposture might be forced upon him for life. + +After Butzow and one of the troopers had washed and +dressed the wounds of both men Barney asked them to leave +the room. + +"I wish to sleep," he said. "If I require you I will ring." + +Saluting, the two backed from the apartment. Just as +they were passing through the doorway the American called +out to Butzow. + +"You have Peter of Blentz and Maenck in custody?" he +asked. + +"I regret having to report to your majesty," replied the +officer, "that both must have escaped. A thorough search of +the entire castle has failed to reveal them." + +Barney scowled. He had hoped to place these two con- +spirators once and for all where they would never again +threaten the peace of the throne of Lutha--in hell. For a +moment he lay in thought. Then he addressed the officer +again. + +"Leave your force here," he said, "to guard us. Ride, your- +self, to Lustadt and inform Prince von der Tann that it is the +king's desire that every effort be made to capture these two +men. Have them brought to Lustadt immediately they are +apprehended. Bring them dead or alive." + +Again Butzow saluted and prepared to leave the room. + +"Wait," said Barney. "Convey our greetings to the Prin- +cess von der Tann, and inform her that my wound is of +small importance, as is also that of the--Mr. Custer. You +may go, lieutenant." + +When they were alone Barney turned toward the king. +The other lay upon his side glaring at the American. When +he caught the latter's eyes upon him he spoke. + +"What do you intend doing with me?" he said. "Are you +going to keep your word and return my identity?" + +"I have promised," replied Barney, "and what I promise +I always perform." + +"Then exchange clothing with me at once," cried the +king, half rising from his cot. + +"Not so fast, my friend," rejoined the American. "There +are a few trifling details to be arranged before we resume +our proper personalities." + +"Do you realize that you should be hanged for what you +have done?" snarled the king. "You assaulted me, stole my +clothing, left me here to be shot by Peter, and sat upon my +throne in Lustadt while I lay a prisoner condemned to +death." + +"And do you realize," replied Barney, "that by so doing +I saved your foolish little throne for you; that I drove the +invaders from your dominions; that I have unmasked your +enemies, and that I have once again proven to you that the +Prince von der Tann is your best friend and most loyal +supporter?" + +"You laid your plebeian hands upon me," cried the king, +raising his voice. "You humiliated me, and you shall suffer +for it." + +Barney Custer eyed the king for a long moment before he +spoke again. It was difficult to believe that the man was so +devoid of gratitude, and so blind as not to see that even +the rough treatment that he had received at the American's +hands was as nothing by comparison with the service that +the American had done him. Apparently Leopold had al- +ready forgotten that three times Barney Custer had saved +his life in the courtyard below. From the man's demeanor, +now that his life was no longer at stake, Barney caught an +inkling of what his attitude might be when once again he +was returned to the despotic power of his kingship. + +"It is futile to reason with you," he said. "There is only +one way to handle such as you. At present I hold the power +to coerce you, and I shall continue to hold that power until +I am safely out of your two-by-four kingdom. If you do as +I say you shall have your throne back again. If you refuse, +why by Heaven you shall never have it. I'll stay king of +Lutha myself." + +"What are your terms?" asked the king. + +"That Prince Peter of Blentz, Captain Ernst Maenck, and +old Von Coblich be tried, convicted, and hanged for high +treason," replied the American. + +"That is easy," said the king. "I should do so anyway +immediately I resumed my throne. Now get up and give +me my clothes. Take this cot and I will take the bed. +None will know of the exchange." + +"Again you are too fast," answered Barney. "There is an- +other condition." + +"Well?" + +"You must promise upon your royal honor that Ludwig, +Prince von der Tann, remain chancellor of Lutha during +your life or his." + +"Very well," assented the king. "I promise," and again he +half rose from his cot. + +"Hold on a minute," admonished the American; "there +is yet one more condition of which I have not made mention." + +"What, another?" exclaimed Leopold testily. "How much +do you want for returning to me what you have stolen?" + +"So far I have asked for nothing for myself," replied Bar- +ney. "Now I am coming to that part of the agreement. +The Princess Emma von der Tann is betrothed to you. She +does not love you. She has honored me with her affection, +but she will not wed until she has been formally released +from her promise to wed Leopold of Lutha. The king must +sign such a release and also a sanction of her marriage to +Barney Custer, of Beatrice. Do you understand what I +want?" + +The king went livid. He came to his feet beside the cot. +For the moment, his wound was forgotten. He tottered to- +ward the impostor. + +"You scoundrel!" he screamed. "You scoundrel! You have +stolen my identity and my throne and now you wish to steal +the woman who loves me." + +"Don't get excited, Leo," warned the American, "and +don't talk so loud. The Princess doesn't love you, and you +know it as well as I. She will never marry you. If you want +your dinky throne back you'll have to do as I desire; that +is, sign the release and the sanction. + +"Now let's don't have any heroics about it. You have +the proposition. Now I am going to sleep. In the meantime +you may think it over. If the papers are not ready when it +comes time for us to leave, and from the way I feel now I +rather think I shall be ready to mount a horse by morning, +I shall ride back to Lustadt as king of Lutha, and I shall +marry her highness into the bargain, and you may go hang! + +"How the devil you will earn a living with that king job +taken away from you I don't know. You're a long way from +New York, and in the present state of carnage in Europe +I rather doubt that there are many headwaiters jobs open +this side of the American metropolis, and I can't for the +moment think of anything else at which you would shine-- +with all due respect to some excellent headwaiters I have +known." + +For some time the king remained silent. He was thinking. +He realized that it lay in the power of the American to do +precisely what he had threatened to do. No one would +doubt his identity. Even Peter of Blentz had not recognized +the real king despite Leopold's repeated and hysterical +claims. + +Lieutenant Butzow, the American's best friend, had no +more suspected the exchange of identities. Von der Tann, +too, must have been deceived. Everyone had been deceived. +There was no hope that the people, who really saw so little +of their king, would guess the deception that was being +played upon them. Leopold groaned. Barney opened his eyes +and turned toward him. + +"What's the matter?" he asked. + +"I will sign the release and the sanction of her highness' +marriage to you," said the king. + +"Good!" exclaimed the American. "You will then go at +once to Brosnov as originally planned. I will return to Lus- +tadt and get her highness, and we will immediately leave +Lutha via Brosnov. There you and I will effect a change of +raiment, and you will ride back to Lustadt with the small +guard that accompanies her highness and me to the frontier." + +"Why do you not remain in Lustadt?" asked the king. +"You could as well be married there as elsewhere." + +"Because I don't trust your majesty," replied the American. +"It must be done precisely as I say or not at all. Are you +agreeable?" + +The king assented with a grumpy nod. + +"Then get up and write as I dictate," said Barney. Leo- +pold of Lutha did as he was bid. The result was two short, +crisply worded documents. At the bottom of each was the +signature of Leopold of Lutha. Barney took the two papers +and carefully tucked them beneath his pillow. + +"Now let's sleep," he said. "It is getting late and we both +need the rest. In the morning we have long rides ahead of +us. Good night." + +The king did not respond. In a short time Barney was +fast asleep. The light still burned. + + + + +XIV + +"THE KING'S WILL IS LAW" + +THE BLENTZ princess frowned down upon the king and +impostor impartially from her great gilt frame. It must have +been close to midnight that the painting moved--just a frac- +tion of an inch. Then it remained motionless for a time. +Again it moved. This time it revealed a narrow crack at its +edge. In the crack an eye shone. + +One of the sleepers moved. He opened his eyes. Stealthily +he raised himself on his elbow and gazed at the other across +the apartment. He listened intently. The regular breathing +of the sleeper proclaimed the soundness of his slumber. Gin- +gerly the man placed one foot upon the floor. The eye glued +to the crack at the edge of the great, gilt frame of the +Blentz princess remained fastened upon him. He let his +other foot slip to the floor beside the first. Carefully he +raised himself until he stood erect upon the floor. Then, on +tiptoe he started across the room. + +The eye in the dark followed him. The man reached the +side of the sleeper. Bending over he listened intently to the +other's breathing. Satisfied that slumber was profound he +stepped quickly to a wardrobe in which a soldier had hung +the clothing of both the king and the American. He took +down the uniform of the former, casting from time to time +apprehensive glances toward the sleeper. The latter did not +stir, and the other passed to the little dressing-room adjoin- +ing. + +A few minutes later he reentered the apartment fully +clothed and wearing the accouterments of Leopold of Lutha. +In his hand was a drawn sword. Silently and swiftly he +crossed to the side of the sleeping man. The eye at the crack +beside the gilded frame pressed closer to the aperture. The +sword was raised above the body of the slumberer--its point +hovered above his heart. The face of the man who wielded +it was hard with firm resolve. + +His muscles tensed to drive home the blade, but some- +thing held his hand. His face paled. His shoulders con- +tracted with a little shudder, and he turned toward the +door of the apartment, almost running across the floor in his +anxiety to escape. The eye in the dark maintained its un- +blinking vigilance. + +With his hand upon the knob a sudden thought stayed +the fugitive's flight. He glanced quickly back at the sleeper +--he had not moved. Then the man who wore the uniform +of the king of Lutha recrossed the apartment to the bed, +reached beneath one of the pillows and withdrew two neatly +folded official-looking documents. These he placed in the +breastpocket of his uniform. A moment later he was walk- +ing down the spiral stairway to the main floor of the castle. + +In the guardroom the troopers of the Royal Horse who +were not on guard were stretched in slumber. Only a cor- +poral remained awake. As the man entered the guardroom +the corporal glanced up, and as his eyes fell upon the new- +comer, he sprang to his feet, saluting. + +"Turn out the guard!" he cried. "Turn out the guard for +his majesty, the king!" + +The sleeping soldiers, but half awake, scrambled to their +feet, their muscles reacting to the command that their brains +but half perceived. They snatched their guns from the racks +and formed a line behind the corporal. The king raised his +fingers to the vizor of his helmet in acknowledgment of their +salute. + +"Saddle up quietly, corporal," he said. "We shall ride to +Lustadt tonight." + +The non-commissioned officer saluted. "And an extra horse +for Herr Custer?" he said. + +The king shook his head. "The man died of his wound +about an hour ago," he said. "While you are saddling up I +shall arrange with some of the Blentz servants for his burial +--now hurry!" + +The corporal marched his troopers from the guardroom +toward the stables. The man in the king's clothes touched a +bell which was obviously a servant call. He waited impa- +tiently a reply to his summons, tapping his finger-tips against +the sword-scabbard that was belted to his side. At last a +sleepy-eyed man responded--a man who had grown gray +in the service of Peter of Blentz. At sight of the king he +opened his eyes in astonishment, pulled his foretop, and +bowed uneasily. + +"Come closer," whispered the king. The man did so, and +the king spoke in his ear earnestly, but in scarce audible +tones. The eyes of the listener narrowed to mere slits--of +avarice and cunning, cruelly cold and calculating. The speak- +er searched through the pockets of the king's clothes that +covered him. At last he withdrew a roll of bills. The amount +must have been a large one, but he did not stop to count it. +He held the money under the eyes of the servant. The fel- +low's claw-like fingers reached for the tempting wealth. He +nodded his head affirmatively. + +"You may trust me, sire," he whispered. + +The king slipped the money into the other's palm. "And +as much more," he said, "when I receive proof that my +wishes have been fulfilled." + +"Thank you, sire," said the servant. + +The king looked steadily into the other's face before he +spoke again. + +"And if you fail me," he said, "may God have mercy on +your soul." Then he wheeled and left the guardroom, walk- +ing out into the courtyard where the soldiers were busy +saddling their mounts. + +A few minutes later the party clattered over the draw- +bridge and down the road toward Blentz and Lustadt. From +a window of the apartments of Peter of Blentz a man +watched them depart. When they passed across a strip of +moonlit road, and he had counted them, he smiled with re- +lief. + +A moment later he entered a panel beside the huge fire- +place in the west wall and disappeared. There he struck a +match, found a candle and lighted it. Walking a few steps +he came to a figure sleeping upon a pile of clothing. He +stooped and shook the sleeper by the shoulder. + +"Wake up!" he cried in a subdued voice. "Wake up, Prince +Peter; I have good news for you." + +The other opened his eyes, stretched, and at last sat up. + +"What is it, Maenck?" he asked querulously. + +"Great news, my prince," replied the other. + +"While you have been sleeping many things have trans- +pired within the walls of your castle. The king's troopers +have departed; but that is a small matter compared with +the other. Here, behind the portrait of your great-grand- +mother, I have listened and watched all night. I opened the +secret door a fraction of an inch--just enough to permit me +to look into the apartment where the king and the American +lay wounded. They had been talking as I opened the door, +but after that they ceased--the king falling asleep at once-- +the American feigning slumber. For a long time I watched, +but nothing happened until near midnight. Then the Ameri- +can arose and donned the king's clothes. + +"He approached Leopold with drawn sword, but when +he would have thrust it through the heart of the sleeping +man his nerve failed him. Then he stole some papers from +the room and left. Just now he has ridden out toward +Lustadt with the men of the Royal Horse who captured +the castle yesterday." + +Before Maenck was half-way through his narrative, Peter +of Blentz was wide awake and all attention. His eyes +glowed with suddenly aroused interest. + +"Somewhere in this, prince," concluded Maenck, "there +must lie the seed of fortune for you and me." + +Peter nodded. "Yes," he mused, "there must." + +For a time both men were buried in thought. Suddenly +Maenck snapped his fingers. "I have it!" he cried. He bent +toward Prince Peter's ear and whispered his plan. When he +was done the Blentz prince grasped his hand. + +"Just the thing, Maenck!" he cried. "Just the thing. Leo- +pold will never again listen to idle gossip directed against +our loyalty. If I know him--and who should know him +better--he will heap honors upon you, my Maenck; and +as for me, he will at least forgive me and take me back +into his confidence. Lose no time now, my friend. We are +free now to go and come, since the king's soldiers have been +withdrawn." + +In the garden back of the castle an old man was busy +digging a hole. It was a long, narrow hole, and, when it +was completed, nearly four feet deep. It looked like a grave. +When he had finished the old man hobbled to a shed that +leaned against the south wall. Here were boards, tools, and +a bench. It was the castle workshop. The old man selected +a number of rough pine boards. These he measured and +sawed, fitted and nailed, working all the balance of the +night. By dawn, he had a long, narrow box, just a trifle +smaller than the hole he had dug in the garden. The box +resembled a crude coffin. When it was quite finished, in- +cluding a cover, he dragged it out into the garden and set +it upon two boards that spanned the hole, so that it rested +precisely over the excavation. + +All these precautions methodically made, he returned to +the castle. In a little storeroom he searched for and found an +ax. With his thumb he felt of the edge--for an ax it was +marvelously sharp. The old fellow grinned and shook his +head, as one who appreciates in anticipation the consumma- +tion of a good joke. Then he crept noiselessly through the +castle's corridors and up the spiral stairway in the north +tower. In one hand was the sharp ax. + + +The moment Lieutenant Butzow had reached Lustadt he +had gone directly to Prince von der Tann; but the moment +his message had been delivered to the chancellor he sought +out the chancellor's daughter, to tell her all that had oc- +curred at Blentz. + +"I saw but little of Mr. Custer," he said. "He was very +quiet. I think all that he has been through has unnerved +him. He was slightly wounded in the left leg. The king was +wounded in the breast. His majesty conducted himself in a +most valiant and generous manner. Wounded, he lay upon +his stomach in the courtyard of the castle and defended +Mr. Custer, who was, of course, unarmed. The king shot +three of Prince Peter's soldiers who were attempting to +assassinate Mr. Custer." + +Emma von der Tann smiled. It was evident that Lieuten- +ant Butzow had not discovered the deception that had been +practiced upon him in common with all Lutha--she being +the only exception. It seemed incredible that this good friend +of the American had not seen in the heroism of the man who +wore the king's clothes the attributes and ear-marks of Bar- +ney Custer. She glowed with pride at the narration of his +heroism, though she suffered with him because of his wound. + +It was not yet noon when the detachment of the Royal +Horse arrived in Lustadt from Blentz. At their head rode +one whom all upon the streets of the capital greeted enthusi- +astically as king. The party rode directly to the royal palace, +and the king retired immediately to his apartments. A half +hour later an officer of the king's household knocked upon +the door of the Princess Emma von der Tann's boudoir. In +accord with her summons he entered, saluted respectfully, +and handed her a note. + +It was written upon the personal stationary of Leopold of +Lutha. The girl read and reread it. For some time she could +not seem to grasp the enormity of the thing that had over- +whelmed her--the daring of the action that the message +explained. The note was short and to the point, and was +signed only with initials. + +DEAREST EMMA: + + +The king died of his wounds just before midnight. I +shall keep the throne. There is no other way. None +knows and none must ever know the truth. Your father +alone may suspect; but if we are married at once our +alliance will cement him and his faction to us. Send +word by the bearer that you agree with the wisdom +of my plan, and that we may be wed at once--this +afternoon, in fact. + +The people may wonder for a few days at the strange +haste, but my answer shall be that I am going to the +front with my troops. The son and many of the high +officials of the Kaiser have already established the prece- +dent, marrying hurriedly upon the eve of their departure +for the front. + +With every assurance of my undying love, believe me, + +Yours, +B. C. + + +The girl walked slowly across the room to her writing +table. The officer stood in respectful silence awaiting the +answer that the king had told him to bring. The princess sat +down before the carved bit of furniture. Mechanically she +drew a piece of note paper from a drawer. Many times she +dipped her pen in the ink before she could determine what +reply to send. Ages of ingrained royalistic principles were +shocked and shattered by the enormity of the thing the man +she loved had asked of her, and yet cold reason told her +that it was the only way. + +Lutha would be lost should the truth be known--that the +king was dead, for there was no heir of closer blood con- +nection with the royal house than Prince Peter of Blentz, +whose great-grandmother had been a Rubinroth princess. +Slowly, at last, she wrote as follows: + + +SIRE: +The king's will is law. +EMMA + + + +That was all. Placing the note in an envelope she sealed +it and handed it to the officer, who bowed and left the +room. + +A half hour later officers of the Royal Horse were riding +through the streets of Lustadt. Some announced to the +people upon the streets the coming marriage of the king +and princess. Others rode to the houses of the nobility with +the king's command that they be present at the ceremony +in the old cathedral at four o'clock that afternoon. + +Never had there been such bustling about the royal pal- +ace or in the palaces of the nobles of Lutha. The buzz and +hum of excited conversation filled the whole town. That the +choice of the king met the approval of his subjects was more +than evident. Upon every lip was praise and love of the +Princess Emma von der Tann. The future of Lutha seemed +assured with a king who could fight joined in marriage to a +daughter of the warrior line of Von der Tann. + +The princess was busy up to the last minute. She had +not seen her future husband since his return from Blentz, +for he, too, had been busy. Twice he had sent word to her, +but on both occasions had regretted that he could not come +personally because of the pressure of state matters and the +preparations for the ceremony that was to take place in the +cathedral in so short a time. + +At last the hour arrived. The cathedral was filled to over- +flowing. After the custom of Lutha, the bride had walked +alone up the broad center aisle to the foot of the chancel. +Guardsmen lining the way on either hand stood rigidly at +salute until she stopped at the end of the soft, rose-strewn +carpet and turned to await the coming of the king. + +Presently the doors at the opposite end of the cathedral +opened. There was a fanfare of trumpets, and up the center +aisle toward the waiting girl walked the royal groom. It +seemed ages to the princess since she had seen her lover. Her +eyes devoured him as he approached her. She noticed that +he limped, and wondered; but for a moment the fact car- +ried no special suggestion to her brain. + +The people had risen as the king entered. Again, the +pieces of the guardsmen had snapped to present; but si- +lence, intense and utter, reigned over the vast assembly. +The only movement was the measured stride of the king +as he advanced to claim his bride. + +At the head of each line of guardsmen, nearest the chan- +cel and upon either side of the bridal party, the ranks were +formed of commissioned officers. Butzow was among them. +He, too, out of the corner of his eye watched the advancing +figure. Suddenly he noted the limp, and gave a little in- +voluntary gasp. He looked at the Princess Emma, and saw +her eyes suddenly widen with consternation. + +Slowly at first, and then in a sudden tidal wave of mem- +ory, Butzow's story of the fight in the courtyard at Blentz +came back to her. + +"I saw but little of Mr. Custer," he had said. "He was +slightly wounded in the left leg. The king was wounded in +the breast." But Lieutenant Butzow had not known the true +identity of either. + +The real Leopold it was who had been wounded in the +left leg, and the man who was approaching her up the +broad cathedral aisle was limping noticeably--and favoring +his left leg. The man to whom she was to be married was +not Barney Custer--he was Leopold of Lutha! + +A hundred mad schemes rioted through her brain. The +wedding must not go on! But how was she to avert it? The +king was within a few paces of her now. There was a smile +upon his lips, and in that smile she saw the final confirma- +tion of her fears. When Leopold of Lutha smiled his upper +lip curved just a trifle into a shadow of a sneer. It was a +trivial characteristic that Barney Custer did not share in +common with the king. + +Half mad with terror, the girl seized upon the only sub- +terfuge which seemed at all likely to succeed. It would, at +least, give her a slight reprieve--a little time in which to +think, and possibly find an avenue from her predicament. + +She staggered forward a step, clapped her two hands +above her heart, and reeled as though to fall. Butzow, who +had been watching her narrowly, sprang forward and caught +her in his arms, where she lay limp with closed eyes as +though in a dead faint. The king ran forward. The people +craned their necks. A sudden burst of exclamations rose +throughout the cathedral, and then Lieutenant Butzow, +shouldering his way past the chancel, carried the Princess +Emma to a little anteroom off the east transept. Behind him +walked the king, the bishop, and Prince Ludwig. + + + + +XV + +MAENCK BLUNDERS + +AFTER a hurried breakfast Peter of Blentz and Captain +Ernst Maenck left the castle of Blentz. Prince Peter rode +north toward the frontier, Austria, and safety, Captain +Maenck rode south toward Lustadt. Neither knew that gen- +eral orders had been issued to soldiery and gendarmerie of +Lutha to capture them dead or alive. So Prince Peter rode +carelessly; but Captain Maenck, because of the nature of +his business and the proximity of enemies about Lustadt, +proceeded with circumspection. + +Prince Peter was arrested at Tafelberg, and, though he +stormed and raged and threatened, he was immediately +packed off under heavy guard back toward Lustadt. + +Captain Ernst Maenck was more fortunate. He reached +the capital of Lutha in safety, though he had to hide on +several occasions from detachments of troops moving toward +the north. Once within the city he rode rapidly to the house +of a friend. Here he learned that which set him into a fine +state of excitement and profanity. The king and the Princess +Emma von der Tann were to be wed that very afternoon! +It lacked but half an hour to four o'clock. + +Maenck grabbed his cap and dashed from the house be- +fore his astonished friend could ask a single question. He +hurried straight toward the cathedral. The king had just +arrived, and entered when Maenck came up, breathless. The +guard at the doorway did not recognize him. If they had +they would have arrested him. Instead they contented them- +selves with refusing him admission, and when he insisted +they threatened him with arrest. + +To be arrested now would be to ruin his fine plan, so he +turned and walked away. At the first cross street he turned +up the side of the cathedral. The grounds were walled +up on this side, and he sought in vain for entrance. At the +rear he discovered a limousine standing in the alley where +its chauffeur had left it after depositing his passengers at +the front door of the cathedral. The top of the limousine +was but a foot or two below the top of the wall. + +Maenck clambered to the hood of the machine, and from +there to the top. A moment later he dropped to the earth +inside the cathedral grounds. Before him were many win- +dows. Most of them were too high for him to reach, and +the others that he tried at first were securely fastened. Pass- +ing around the end of the building, he at last discovered +one that was open--it led into the east transept. + +Maenck crawled through. He was within the building that +held the man he sought. He found himself in a small room +--evidently a dressing-room. There were two doors leading +from it. He approached one and listened. He heard the +tones of subdued conversation beyond. + +Very cautiously he opened the door a crack. He could not +believe the good fortune that was revealed before him. On +a couch lay the Princess Emma von der Tann. Beside her +her father. At the door was Lieutenant Butzow. The bishop +and a doctor were talking at the head of the couch. Pacing +up and down the room, resplendent in the marriage robes +of a king of Lutha, was the man he sought. + +Maenck drew his revolver. He broke the barrel, and saw +that there was a good cartridge in each chamber of the cyl- +inder. He closed it quietly. Then he threw open the door, +stepped into the room, took deliberate aim, and fired. + +The old man with the ax moved cautiously along the cor- +ridor upon the second floor of the Castle of Blentz until he +came to a certain door. Gently he turned the knob and +pushed the door inward. Holding the ax behind his back, +he entered. In his pocket was a great roll of money, and +there was to be an equal amount waiting him at Lustadt +when his mission had been fulfilled. + +Once within the room, he looked quickly about him. +Upon a great bed lay the figure of a man asleep. His face +was turned toward the opposite wall away from the side of +the bed nearer the menacing figure of the old servant. On +tiptoe the man with the ax approached. The neck of his +victim lay uncovered before him. He swung the ax behind +him. a single blow, as mighty as his ancient muscles could +deliver, would suffice. + +Barney Custer opened his eyes. Directly opposite him +upon the wall was a dark-toned photogravure of a hunting +scene. It tilted slightly forward upon its wire support. As +Barney's opened it chanced that they were directed +straight upon the shiny glass of the picture. The light from +the window struck the glass in such a way as to transform +it into a mirror. The American's eyes were glued with horror +upon the reflection that he saw there--an old man swinging +a huge ax down upon his head. + +It is an open question as to which of the two was the +most surprised at the cat-like swiftness of the movement +that carried Barney Custer out of that bed and landed him +in temporary safety upon the opposite side. + +With a snarl the old man ran around the foot of the bed +to corner his prey between the bed and the wall. He was +swinging the ax as though to hurl it. So close was he that +Barney guessed it would be difficult for him to miss his +mark. The least he could expect would be a frightful wound. +To have attempted to escape would have necessitated turn- +ing his back to his adversary, inviting instant death. To +grapple with a man thus armed appeared an equally hope- +less alternative. + +Shoulder-high beside him hung the photogravure that +had already saved his life once. Why not again? He snatched +it from its hangings, lifted it above his head in both hands, +and hurled it at the head of the old man. The glass shat- +tered full upon the ancient's crown, the man's head went +through the picture, and the frame settled over his shoul- +ders. At the same instant Barney Custer leaped across the +bed, seized a light chair, and turned to face his foe upon +more even turns. + +The old man did not pause to remove the frame from +about his neck. Blood trickled down his forehead and cheeks +from deep gashes that the broken glass had made. Now he +was in a berserker rage. + +As he charged again he uttered a peculiar whistling noise +from between his set teeth. To the American it sounded like +the hissing of a snake, and as he would have met a snake he +met the venomous attack of the old man. + +When the short battle was over the Blentz servitor lay +unconscious upon the floor, while above him leaned the +American, uninjured, ripping long strips from a sheet torn +from the bed, twisting them into rope-like strands and, with +them, binding the wrists and ankles of his defeated foe. +Finally he stuffed a gag between the toothless gums. + +Running to the wardrobe, he discovered that the king's +uniform was gone. That, with the witness of the empty +bed, told him the whole story. The American smiled. "More +nerve than I gave him credit for," he mused, as he walked +back to his bed and reached under the pillow for the two +papers he had forced the king to sign. They, too, were +gone. Slowly Barney Custer realized his plight, as there +filtered through his mind a suggestion of the possibilities of +the trick that had been played upon him. + +Why should Leopold wish these papers? Of course, he +might merely have taken them that he might destroy them; +but something told Barney Custer that such was not the +case. And something, too, told him whither the king had +ridden and what he would do there when he arrived. + +He ran back to the wardrobe. In it hung the peasant +attire that he had stolen from the line of the careless house +frau, and later wished upon his majesty the king. Barney +grinned as he recalled the royal disgust with which Leopold +had fingered the soiled garments. He scarce blamed him. +Looking further toward the back of the wardrobe, the +American discovered other clothing. + +He dragged it all out upon the floor. There was an old +shooting jacket, several pairs of trousers and breeches, and +a hunting coat. In a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe +he found many old shoes, puttees, and boots. + +From this miscellany he selected riding breeches, a pair +of boots, and the red hunting coat as the only articles that +fitted his rather large frame. Hastily he dressed, and, taking +the ax the old man had brought to the room as the only +weapon available, he walked boldly into the corridor, down +the spiral stairway and into the guardroom. + +Barney Custer was prepared to fight. He was desperate. +He could have slunk from the Castle of Blentz as he had +entered it--through the secret passageway to the ravine; +but to attempt to reach Lustadt on foot was not at all +compatible with the urgent haste that he felt necessary. He +must have a horse, and a horse he would have if he had to +fight his way through a Blentz army. + +But there were no armed retainers left at Blentz. The +guardroom was vacant; but there were arms there and am- +munition. Barney commandeered a sword and a revolver, +then he walked into the courtyard and crossed to the stables. +The way took him by the garden. In it he saw a coffin-like +box resting upon planks above a grave-like excavation. Bar- +ney investigated. The box was empty. Once again he grinned. +"It is not always wise," he mused, "to count your corpses +before they're dead. What a lot of work the old man might +have spared himself if he'd only caught his cadaver first-- +or at least tried to." + +Passing on by his own grave, he came to the stables. A +groom was carrying a strong, clean-limbed hunter haltered +in the doorway. The man looked up as Barney approached +him. A puzzled expression entered the fellow's eyes. He was +a young man--a stupid-looking lout. It was evident that he +half recognized the face of the newcomer as one he had +seen before. Barney nodded to him. + +"Never mind finishing," he said. "I am in a hurry. You +may saddle him at once." The voice was authoritative--it +brooked no demur. The groom touched his forehead, dropped +the currycomb and brush, and turned back into the stable +to fetch saddle and bridle. + +Five minutes later Barney was riding toward the gate. +The portcullis was raised--the drawbridge spanned the moat +--no guard was there to bar his way. The sunlight flooded +the green valley, stretching lazily below him in the soft +warmth of a mellow autumn morning. Behind him he had +left the brooding shadows of the grim old fortress--the cold, +cruel, depressing stronghold of intrigue, treason, and sud- +den death. + +He threw back his shoulders and filled his lungs with the +sweet, pure air of freedom. He was a new man. The wound +in his breast was forgotten. Lightly he touched his spurs to +the hunter's sides. Tossing his head and curveting, the ani- +mal broke into a long, easy trot. Where the road dipped into +the ravine and down through the village to the valley the +rider drew his restless mount into a walk; but, once in the +valley, he let him out. Barney took the short road to Lus- +tadt. It would cut ten miles off the distance that the main +wagonroad covered, and it was a good road for a horseman. +It should bring him to Lustadt by one o'clock or a little +after. The road wound through the hills to the east of the +main highway, and was scarcely more than a trail where it +crossed the Ru River upon a narrow bridge that spanned +the deep mountain gorge that walls the Ru for ten miles +through the hills. + +When Barney reached the river his hopes sank. The +bridge was gone--dynamited by the Austrians in their re- +treat. The nearest bridge was at the crossing of the main +highway over ten miles to the southwest. There, too, the +river might be forded even if the Austrians had destroyed +that bridge also; but here or elsewhere in the hills there +could be no fording--the banks of the Ru were perpendicular +cliffs. + +The misfortune would add nearly twenty miles to his +journey--he could not now hope to reach Lustadt before +late in the afternoon. Turning his horse back along the trail +he had come, he retraced his way until he reached a nar- +row bridle path that led toward the southwest. The trail +was rough and indistinct, yet he pushed forward, even +more rapidly than safety might have suggested. The noble +beast beneath him was all loyalty and ambition. + +"Take it easy, old boy," whispered Barney into the slim, +pointed ears that moved ceaselessly backward and forward, +"you'll get your chance when we strike the highway, never +fear." + +And he did. + + +So unexpected had been Maenck's entrance into the +room in the east transept, so sudden his attack, that it was +all over before a hand could be raised to stay him. At the +report of his revolver the king sank to the floor. At almost +the same instant Lieutenant Butzow whipped a revolver +from beneath his tunic and fired at the assassin. Maenck +staggered forward and stumbled across the body of the king. +Butzow was upon him instantly, wresting the revolver from +his fingers. Prince Ludwig ran to the king's side and, kneel- +ing there, raised Leopold's head in his arms. The bishop +and the doctor bent over the limp form. The Princess Emma +stood a little apart. She had leaped from the couch where +she had been lying. Her eyes were wide in horror. Her +palms pressed to her cheeks. + +It was upon this scene that a hatless, dust-covered man +in a red hunting coat burst through the door that had ad- +mitted Maenck. The man had seen and recognized the con- +spirator as he climbed to the top of the limousine and +dropped within the cathedral grounds, and he had followed +close upon his heels. + +No one seemed to note his entrance. All ears were turned +toward the doctor, who was speaking. + +"The king is dead," he said. + +Maenck raised himself upon an elbow. He spoke feebly. + +"You fools," he cried. "That man was not the king. I saw +him steal the king's clothes at Blentz and I followed him +here. He is the American--the impostor." Then his eyes, +circling the faces about him to note the results of his an- +nouncements, fell upon the face of the man in the red hunt- +ing coat. Amazement and wonder were in his face. Slowly +he raised his finger and pointed. + +"There is the king," he said. + +Every eye turned in the direction he indicated. Exclama- +tions of surprise and incredulity burst from every lip. The +old chancellor looked from the man in the red hunting coat +to the still form of the man upon the floor in the blood- +spattered marriage garments of a king of Lutha. He let the +king's head gently down upon the carpet, and then he rose +to his feet and faced the man in the red hunting coat. + +"Who are you?" he demanded. + +Before Barney could speak Lieutenant Butzow spoke. + +"He is the king, your highness," he said. "I rode with +him to Blentz to free Mr. Custer. Both were wounded in +the courtyard in the fight that took place there. I helped +to dress their wounds. The king was wounded in the breast-- +Mr. Custer in the left leg." + +Prince von der Tann looked puzzled. Again he turned +his eyes questioningly toward the newcomer. + +"Is this the truth?" he asked. + +Barney looked toward the Princess Emma. In her eyes he +could read the relief that the sight of him alive had brought +her. Since she had recognized the king she had believed +that Barney was dead. The temptation was great--he +dreaded losing her, and he feared he would lose her when +her father learned the truth of the deception that had been +practiced upon him. He might lose even more--men had +lost their heads for tampering with the affairs of kings. + +"Well?" persisted the chancellor. + +"Lieutenant Butzow is partially correct--he honestly be- +lieves that he is entirely so," replied the American. "He did +ride with me from Lustadt to Blentz to save the man who +lies dead here at your feet. The lieutenant thought that he +was riding with his king, just as your highness thought that +he was riding with his king during the battle of Lustadt. +You were both wrong--you were riding with Mr. Bernard +Custer, of Beatrice. I am he. I have no apologies to make. +What I did I would do again. I did it for Lutha and for the +woman I love. She knows and the king knew that I intended +restoring his identity to him with no one the wiser for the +interchange that had taken place. The king upset my plans +by stealing back his identity while I slept, with the result +that you see before you upon the floor. He has died as he +had lived--futilely." + +As he spoke the Princess Emma had crossed the room to- +ward him. Now she stood at his side, her hand in his. +Tense silence reigned in the apartment. The old chancellor +stood with bowed head, buried in thought. All eyes were +upon him except those of the doctor, who had turned his +attention from the dead king to the wounded assassin. But- +zow stood looking at Barney Custer in open relief and ad- +miration. He had been trying to vindicate his friend in his +own mind ever since he had discovered, as he believed, that +Barney had tricked Leopold after the latter had saved his +life at Blentz and ridden to Lustadt in the king's guise. Now +that he knew the whole truth he realized how stupid he +had been not to guess that the man who had led the vic- +torious Luthanian army before Lustadt could not have been +the cowardly Leopold. + +Presently the chancellor broke the silence. + +"You say that Leopold of Lutha lived futilely. You are +right; but when you say that he has died futilely, you are, +I believe, wrong. Living, he gave us a poor weakling. Dy- +ing, he leaves the throne to a brave man, in whose veins +flows the blood of the Rubinroths, hereditary rulers of Lutha. + +"You are the only rightful successor to the throne of +Lutha," he argued, "other than Peter of Blentz. Your +mother's marriage to a foreigner did not bar the succession +of her offspring. Aside from the fact that Peter of Blentz is +out of the question, is the more important fact that your +line is closer to the throne than his. He knew it, and this +knowledge was the real basis of his hatred of you." + +As the old chancellor ceased speaking he drew his sword +and raised it on high above his head. + +"The king is dead," he said. "Long live the king!" + + + + +XVI + +KING OF LUTHA + +BARNEY CUSTER, of Beatrice, had no desire to be king of +Lutha. He lost no time in saying so. All that he wanted of +Lutha was the girl he had found there, as his father before +him had found the girl of his choice. Von der Tann pleaded +with him. + +"Twice have I fought under you, sire," he urged. "Twice, +and only twice since the old king died, have I felt that the +future of Lutha was safe in the hands of her ruler, and both +these times it was you who sat upon the throne. Do not +desert us now. Let me live to see Lutha once more happy, +with a true Rubinroth upon the throne and my daughter +at his side." + +Butzow added his pleas to those of the old chancellor. +The American hesitated. + +"Let us leave it to the representatives of the people and +to the house of nobles," he suggested. + +The chancellor of Lutha explained the situation to both +houses. Their reply was unanimous. He carried it to the +American, who awaited the decision of Lutha in the royal +apartments of the palace. With him was the Princess Emma +von der Tann. + +"The people of Lutha will have no other king, sire," said +the old man. + +Barney turned toward the girl. + +"There is no other way, my lord king," she said with +grave dignity. "With her blood your mother bequeathed +you a duty which you may not shirk. It is not for you or +for me to choose. God chose for you when you were born." + +Barney Custer took her hand in his and raised it to his +lips. + +"Let the King of Lutha," he said, "be the first to salute +Lutha's queen." + +And so Barney Custer, of Beatrice, was crowned King of +Lutha, and Emma became his queen. Maenck died of his +wound on the floor of the little room in the east transept of +the cathedral of Lustadt beside the body of the king he +had slain. Prince Peter of Blentz was tried by the highest +court of Lutha on the charge of treason; he was found guilty +and hanged. Von Coblich committed suicide on the eve of +his arrest. Lieutenant Otto Butzow was ennobled and given +the confiscated estates of the Blentz prince. He became a +general in the army of Lutha, and was sent to the front in +command of the army corps that guarded the northern +frontier of the little kingdom. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs + +I have made the following changes to the text: +PAGE CHAPTER PARAGRAPH LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO + 72 VIII 3 1 Ludstadt Lustadt + 81 3 2 mier miter + 83 7 3 Ludstadt Lustadt + 86 3 2 him arm his arm + 90 4 4 monarch, he monarch he + 94 2 4 colums columns + 98 2 2 imposter impostor + 121 1 1 approaced approached + 126 2 5 from from the + 140 6 5 whom, appeared whom appeared + 142 5 1 once side one side + 143 4 8 knew drew + 158 4 5 presumptious presumptuous + 182 5 3 jeweler's shot jeweler's shop + 189 8 2 ingrate?" ingrate? + 193 5 3 oil panting oil painting + 200 7 1 soldiers soldier + 211 2 1 men and woman men and women + 212 3 5 instruments instrument + 217 4 1 The cheered They cheered + 217 6 2 gril's face girl's face + 218 1 magnamity magnanimity + 218 7 2 him. Barney's him, Barney's + 225 3 3 horseman horsemen + 228 5 1 ajaculated ejaculated + 233 8 6 king of Lustadt, king of Lutha, + 234 6 2 You "You + 251 9 Luthania army Luthanian army + 252 2 3 poor, weakling poor weakling + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs + |