A Son of the Immortals

 By LOUIS TRACY

 Author of "The Stowaway, " "The Message, " "The Wings of the Morning, " etc. 

 Illustrations by HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY

 New York Edward J. Clode Publisher

 Copyright, 1909, by EDWARD J. CLODE

 Entered at Stationers' Hall

 [Illustration: The sight of Alec and his fair burden brought a cheer from the crowd Frontispiece]

 CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE

 I. THE FORTUNE TELLER 1 II. MONSEIGNEUR 22 III. IN THE ORIENT EXPRESS 44 IV. THE WHITE CITY 64 V. FELIX SURMOUNTS A DIFFICULTY 89 VI. JOAN GOES INTO SOCIETY 112 VII. JOAN BECOMES THE VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES 132 VIII. SHOWING HOW THE KING KEPT HIS APPOINTMENT 154 IX. MUTTERINGS OF STORM 176 X. WHEREIN THE SHADOWS DEEPEN 196 XI. JOAN DECIDES 221 XII. THE STORM BREAKS 241 XIII. WHEREIN A REASON IS GIVEN FOR JOAN'S FLIGHT 263 XIV. THE BROKEN TREATY 284 XV. THE ENVOY 310

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 The sight of Alec and his fair burden brought a cheer from the crowd _Frontispiece_

 PAGE

 "Gentlemen, here stands Alexis Delgrado" 75 Beaumanoir and Felix fortified the position 153 Joan laughed at Alec's masterful methods 199 Stampoff saluted the King in silence 268 In a few minutes the three were securely bound 298 He felt the thrill that ran through her veins 306

A SON OF THE IMMORTALS

CHAPTER I

THE FORTUNE TELLER

On a day in May, not so long ago, Joan Vernon, coming out into thesunshine from her lodging in the Place de la Sorbonne, smiled a morninggreeting to the statue of Auguste Comte, founder of Positivism. It wouldhave puzzled her to explain what Positivism meant, or why it should bemerely positive and not stoutly comparative or grandly superlative. As ateacher, therefore, Comte made no appeal. She just liked the bland lookof the man, was pleased by the sleekness of his white marble. He seemedto be a friend, a counselor, strutting worthily on a pedestal labeled"_Ordre et Progrès_"; for Joan was an artist, not a philosopher. 

Perhaps there was an underthought that she and Comte were odd fish to beat home together in that placid backwater of the Latin Quarter. Nextdoor to the old-fashioned house in which she rented three rooms was acabaret, a mere wreck of a wineshop, apparently cast there by thetorrent of the Boule Mich, which roared a few yards away. Its luminoussign, a foaming tankard, showed gallantly by night, but was garish byday, since gas is akin to froth, to which the sun is pitiless. But thecabaret had its customers, quiet folk who gathered in the evening togossip and drink strange beverages, whereas its nearest neighbor on theboulevard side was an empty tenement, a despondent ghost to-day, thoughonce it had rivaled the flaunting tankard. Its frayed finery told of gaysparks extinguished. A flamboyant legend declared, "Ici on chante, onboit, on s'amuse(?)" Joan always smirked a little at that suggestivenote of interrogation, which lent a world of meaning to thehalf-obliterated statement that Madame Lucette would appear "tous lessoirs dans ses chansons d'actualités. "

Nodding to Léontine, the cabaret's amazingly small maid of all work, whowas always washing and never washed, Joan saw the query for thehundredth time, and, as ever, found its answer in the blistered paintand dust covered windows: Madame Lucette's last song of real lifepointed a moral. 

Joan's bright face did not cloud on that account. Paul Verlaine, takingthe air in the Boulevard Saint Michel, had he chanced to notice the dryhusk of that Cabaret Latin, might have composed a chanson on the vanityof dead cafés; but this sprightly girl had chosen her residence therechiefly because it marched with her purse. Moreover, it was admirablysuited to the needs of one who for the most part gave her days to theLouvre and her evenings to the Sorbonne. 

She was rather late that morning. Lest that precious hour of white lightshould be lost, she sped rapidly across the place, down the boulevard, and along the busy Quai des Grands Augustins. On the Pont Neuf sheglanced up at another statuesque acquaintance, this time a kinglypersonage on horseback. She could never quite dispel the notion thatHenri Quatre was ready to flirt with her. The roguish twinkle in hisbronze eye was very taking, and there were not many men in Paris whocould look at her in that way and win a smile in return. To be sure, itwas no new thing for a Vernon to be well disposed toward Henry ofNavarre; but that is ancient history, and our pretty Joan, blithelyunconscious, was hurrying that morning to take an active part inredrafting the Berlin treaty. 

At the corner of the bridge, where it joins the Quai du Louvre, she meta young man. Each pretended that the meeting was accidental, though, after the first glance, the best-natured recording angel evercommissioned from Paradise would have refused to believe either of them. 

"What a piece of luck!" cried the young man. "Are you going to theLouvre?"

"Yes. And you?" demanded Joan, flushing prettily. 

"I am killing time till the afternoon, when I play Number One for theWanderers. To-day's match is at Bagatelle. "

She laughed. "'Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speechbetrayeth thee, '" she quoted. 

"I don't quite follow that, Miss Vernon. "

"No? Well, I'll explain another time. I must away to my copying. "

"Let me come and fix your easel. Really, I have nothing else to do. "

"Worse and worse! En route, _alors_! You can watch me at work. That mustbe a real pleasure to an idler. "

"I am no idler, " he protested. 

"What? Who spoke but now of 'killing time, ' 'play, ' 'Number One, ' and'Bagatelle'? Really, Mr. Delgrado!"

"Oh, is that what you are driving at? But you misunderstood. Bagatelleis near the polo ground in the Bois, and, as Number One in my team, Ishall have to hustle. Four stiff chukkers at polo are downright hardwork, Miss Vernon. By teatime I shall be a limp rag. I promised to playnearly a month ago, and I cannot draw back now. "

"Polo is a man's game, at any rate, " she admitted. 

"Would you care to see to-day's tie?" he asked eagerly. "We meetChantilly, and, if we put them out in the first round of the tournament, with any ordinary luck we ought to run right into the semi-final. "

She shook her head. "You unhappy people who have to plan and scheme howbest to waste your hours have no notion of their value. I must worksteadily from two till five. That means a sixteenth of my picture. Divide two hundred and fifty by sixteen, and you have--dear me! I am nogood at figures. "

"Fifteen francs, sixty-two and a half centimes, " said he promptly. 

She flashed a surprised look at him. "That is rather clever of you, " shesaid. "Well, fancy a poor artist sacrificing all that money in order towatch eight men galloping after a white ball and whacking it and eachother's ponies unmercifully. "

"To hit an adversary's pony is the unforgivable sin, " he cried, smilingat her, and she hastily averted her eyes, having discovered an unnervingsimilarity between his smile and--Henri Quatre's!

They walked on in eloquent silence. The man was cudgeling his brains foran excuse whereby he might carry her off in triumph to the Bois. Thegirl was fighting down a new sensation that threatened her independence. Never before had she felt tonguetied in the presence of an admirer. Shehad dismissed dozens of them. She refrained now from sending thisgood-looking boy packing only because it would be cruel, and Joan Vernoncould not be cruel to anyone. Nevertheless, she had to justify herselfas a free lance, and it is the rôle of a lance to attack rather thandefend. 

"What do you occupy yourself with when you are not playing polo orlounging about artists' studios?" she asked suddenly. 

"Not much, I am afraid. I like shooting and hunting; but these Frenchmenhave no backbone for sport. Will you believe it, one has the greatestdifficulty in getting a good knock at polo unless there is a crowd ofladies on the lawn?"

"Ah! I begin to see light. "

"That is not the reason I asked you to come. If you honored me sogreatly you would be the first woman, my mother excepted, I have everdriven to the club. To-day's players are mostly Americans or English. Ofcourse there are some first-rate French teams; but you can take it fromme that they show their real form only before the ladies. "

"As in the tourneys of old?"

"Perhaps. It is the same at the châteaux. Everyone wants his best girlto watch his prowess with the gun. "

He stopped, wishing he had left the best girl out of it; but Joan waskind hearted and did not hesitate an instant. 

"So you are what is known as a gentleman of leisure and independentmeans?" she said suavely. 

"Something of the sort. "

"I am sorry for you, Mr. Delgrado. "

"I am rather sorry for myself at times, " he admitted, and if Joan hadchanced to glance at him she would have seen a somewhat peculiarexpression on his face. "But why do you call me Mr. Delgrado?"

She gazed at him now in blank bewilderment--just a second too late tosee that expression. "Isn't Delgrado your name?" she asked. 

"Yes, in a sense. People mostly call me Alec. Correctly speaking, Alecisn't mother's darling for Alexis; but it goes, anyhow. "

"Sometimes I think you are an American, " she vowed. 

"Half, " he said. "My mother is an American, my father a Kosnovian--well, just a Kosnovian. "

"And pray what is that?" she cried. 

"Haven't you heard of Kosnovia? It is a little Balkan State. "

"Is there some mystery, then, about your name?"

"Oh, no; plain Alec. "

"Am I to call you plain Alec?"

"Yes. "

"But it follows that you would call me plain Joan. "

"Let it go at Joan. "

"Very well. Good morning, Alec. "

"No, no, Miss Vernon. Don't be vexed. I really did not mean to be rude. And you promised, you know. "

"Promised what?"

"That I might help carry your traps. Please don't send me away!"

He was so contrite that Joan weakened again. "It is rather friendly tohear one's Christian name occasionally, " she declared. "I will compoundon the Alec if you will tell me why the Delgrado applies only in asense. "

"Done--Joan, " said he, greatly daring. He waited the merest fraction oftime; but she gave no sign. "My stipulation is of the slightest, " headded, "that I discourse in the Louvre. Where are you working?"

"In the Grande Galerie; on a subject that I enjoy, too. People have suchodd notions as to nice pictures. They choose them to match thefurniture. Now, this one is quite delightful to copy, and not verydifficult. But you shall see. "

They entered the Louvre from the Quai. 

Joan was undoubtedly flurried. Here, in very truth, was thatirrepressible Henri descended from his bronze horse and walking by herside. That his later name happened to be Alec did not matter at all. Sheknew that a spiteful Bourbon had melted down no less than two statues ofNapoleon in order to produce the fine cavalier who approved of her everytime she crossed the Pont Neuf, and it seemed as if some of the littleCorsican's dominance was allied with a touch of Béarnais swagger in thestalwart youth whom she had met for the first time in Rudin's studioabout three weeks earlier. 

They were steel and magnet at once. Delgrado had none of theboulevardier's abounding self-conceit, or Joan would never have givenhim a second look, while Joan's frank comradeship was vastly morealluring than the skilled coquetry that left him cold. Physically, too, they were well mated, each obviously made for the other by adiscriminating Providence. They were just beginning to discover thefact, and this alarmed Joan. 

She could not shake off the notion that he had waylaid her this morningfor a purpose wholly unconnected with the suggested visit to the pologround. So, tall and athletic though he was, she set such a pace up thesteps and through the lower galleries that further intimate talk becameimpossible. Atalanta well knew what she was about when she ran hersuitors to death, and Meilanion showed a deep insight into human naturewhen he arranged that she should loiter occasionally. 

Delgrado, however, had no golden apples to drop in Joan's path, couldnot even produce a conversational plum; but he was young enough tobelieve in luck, and he hoped that fortune might favor him, once thepainting was in hand. 

Each was so absorbed in the other that the Louvre might have been empty. Certainly, neither of them noticed that a man crossing the Pont duCarrousel in an open cab seemed to be vastly surprised when he saw themhastening through the side entrance. He carried his interest to thepoint of stopping the cab and following them. Young, clear skinned, black-haired, exceedingly well dressed, with the eyes and eyelashes ofan Italian tenor, he moved with an air of distinction, and showed thathe was no stranger to the Louvre by his rapid decision that the Salledes Moulages, with its forbidding plaster casts, was no likely restingplace for Delgrado and his pretty companion. 

Making straight for the nearest stairs, he almost blundered upon Alec, laden with Joan's easel and canvas; but this exquisite, having somethingof the spy's skill, whisked into an alcove, scrutinized an old print, and did not emerge until the chance of being recognized had passed. After that, he was safe. He appeared to be amused, even somewhat amazed, when he learned why Delgrado was patronizing the arts. Yet the discoverywas evidently pleasing. He caressed a neat, black mustache with awell-manicured hand, while taking note of Joan's lithe figure and wellpoised head. The long, straight vista of the gallery did not permit of anear view, and he could not linger in the narrow doorway, used chieflyby artists and officials, whence he watched them for a minute or more. 

So he turned on his heel and descended to the street and his waitingvictoria, waving that delicate hand and smiling with the manner of onewho said, "Fancy that of Alec! The young scamp!"

Joan was copying Caravaggio's "The Fortune Teller, " a masterpiece thatspeaks in every tongue, to every age. Its keynote is simplicity. Agallant of Milan, clothed in buff-colored doublet slashed with brownvelvet, a plumed cavalier hat set rakishly on his head, and a laceruffle caught up with a string of seed pearls round his neck, is holdingout his right palm to a Gypsy woman, while the fingers of his left handrest on a swordhilt. The woman is young and pretty, her subject a mereboy, and her smug aspect of divination is happily contrasted with theyouth's excitement at hearing what fate has in store. 

"There!" cried Joan. "What do you think of it?"

She had almost completed the Gypsy, and there was already a suggestionof the high lights in the youngster's face and his brightly coloredgarb. 

"I like your copy more than the original, " said Delgrado. 

"Your visits to Rudin have not taught you much about art, then, " saidshe tartly. 

"Not even that great master would wish me to be insincere. "

"No, indeed; but he demands knowledge at the back of truth. Now, markme! You see that speck of white fire in the corner of the woman's eye?It gives life, intelligence, subtle character. Just a little blob ofpaint, put there two hundred years ago, yet it conveys the whole stockin trade of the fortune teller. Countless numbers of men and women havegazed at that picture, a multitude that must have covered the wholerange of human virtues and vices; but it has never failed to carry thesame message to every beholder. Do you think that my poor reproductionwill achieve that?"

"You have chosen the only good bit in the painting, " he declaredstoutly. "Look at the boy's lips. Caravaggio must have modeled them froma girl's. What business has a fellow with pouting red lips like them towear a sword on his thigh?"

Joan laughed with joyousness that was good to hear. 

"Pooh! Run away and smite that ball with a long stick!" she said. 

"Hum! More than the Italian could have done. "

He was ridiculously in earnest. Joan colored suddenly and busied herselfwith tubes of paint. She believed he was jealous of the handsomeLombard. She began to mix some pigments on the palette. Delgrado, already regretting an inexplicable outburst, turned from the picture andlooked at Murillo's "woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under herfeet, and upon her head a diadem of twelve stars. "

"Now, please help me to appreciate that and you will find me a willingstudent, " he murmured. 

But Joan had recovered her self-possession. "Suppose we come off thehigh art ladder and talk of our uninteresting selves, " she said. "Whatof the mystery you hinted at on the Quai? Why shouldn't I call you Mr. Delgrado? One cannot always say 'Alec, ' it's too short. "

Then he reddened with confusion. "Delgrado is my name, right enough, " hesaid. "It is the prefix I object to. It implies that I am sailing underfalse colors, and I don't like that. "

"I am not good at riddles, and I suspect prefix, " she cried. 

"Ah, well, I suppose I must get through with it. Have you forgotten howRudin introduced me?"

She knitted her brows for a moment. Pretty women should cultivate thetrick, unless they fear wrinkles. It gives them the semblance of lookingin on themselves, and the habit is commendable. "Rudin is fond of hislittle joke, " she announced at last. 

"But--what did he say?"

"Oh, there was some absurdity. He addressed me as if I were a royalpersonage, and asked to be allowed to present his Serene Highness PrinceAlexis Delgrado. "

The man smiled constrainedly. "It sounds rather nonsensical, doesn'tit?" he said. 

"Rudin often invents titles. I have heard efforts much more amusing. "

"That is when he is original. Unfortunately, in my case, he was merelyaccurate. "

Joan whirled round on him. "Are you a Prince?" she gasped, each wordmarking a crescendo of wonder. 

"Yes--Joan. "

"But what am I to do? What am I to say? Must I drop on one knee and kissyour hand?"

"I cannot help it, " he growled. "And I was obliged to tell you. Youwould have been angry with me if I had kept it hidden from you. Oh, dashit all, Joan, don't laugh! That is irritating. "

"My poor Alec! Why did they make you a Prince?"

"I was born that way. My father is one. Do you mean to say you havelived in Paris a year and have never seen our names in the newspapers?My people gad about everywhere. The Prince and Princess MichaelDelgrado, you know. "

"I do not know, " said Joan deliberately. 

Her alert brain was slowly assimilating this truly astonishingdiscovery. She did not attempt to shirk its significance, and her firstthought was to frame some excuse to abandon work for the day; since, nomatter what the cost to herself, this friendship must go no farther. Thedecision caused a twinge; but she did not flinch, for Joan would alwaysvisit the dentist rather than endure toothache. She could not dismiss aSerene Highness merely because he declared his identity, nor was sheminded to forget his rank because she had begun to call him Alec. But ithurt. She was conscious of a longing to be alone. If not in love, shewas near it, and hard-working artists must not love Serene Highnesses. 

Delgrado was watching her with a glowering anxiety that itself carried awarning. "You see, Joan, I had to tell you, " he repeated. "People makesuch a fuss about these empty honors----"

Joan caught at a straw. She hoped that a display of sarcastic humormight rescue her. "Honors!" she broke in, and she laughed almostshrilly, for her voice was naturally sweet and harmonious. "Is it anhonor, then, to be born a Prince?"

"If a man is worth his salt, the fact that he is regarded as a Princeshould make him princely. "

"That is well said. Try and live up to it. You will find it a task, though, to regulate your life by copybook maxims. "

"The princedom is worth nothing otherwise. In its way, it is a handicap. Most young fellows of my age have some sort of career before them, whileI--I really am what you said I was, an idler. I didn't like the tauntfrom your lips; but it was true. Well, I am going to change all that. Iam tired of posturing as one of Daudet's 'Kings in Exile. ' We expelledpotentates all live in Paris; that is the irony of it. I want to becandid with you, Joan. I have seen you every day since we met atRudin's; but I did not dare to meet you too often lest you should sendme away. You have given me a purpose in life. You have created a sort ofhunger in me, and I refuse to be satisfied any longer with the easygoingexistence of the last few years. No, you must hear me out. No matterwhat you say now, the new order of things is irrevocable. I almostquarreled with my father last night; but I told him plainly that I meantto make a place for myself in the world. At any rate, I refuse to livethe life he lives, and I am here to-day because the awakening is due toyou, Joan. "

A tremor ran through the girl's limbs; but she faced him bravely. Thoughher lips quivered, she forced herself to utter words that sounded like ajibe. "I am to play Pallas Athene to your Perseus, " she said, and itseemed to him for a moment that she was in a mood to jest at heroics. 

"If you mean that I regard you as my goddess, I am well content, " heanswered quickly. 

"Ah, but wait. Pallas Athene came to Perseus in a dream, and let us makebelieve that we are dreaming now. She had great gray eyes, clear andpiercing, and she knew all thoughts of men's hearts and the secrets oftheir souls. My eyes are not gray, Alec, nor can they pierce as hers;but I can borrow her beautiful words, and tell you that she turns herface from the creatures of clay. They may 'fatten at ease like sheep inthe pasture, and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in the stall. Theygrow and spread, like the gourd along the ground; but, like the gourd, they give no shade to the traveler, and when they are ripe death gathersthem, and they go down unloved into hell, and their name vanishes out ofthe land. ' But to the souls of fire she gives more fire, and to thosewho are manful she gives a power more than man's. These are her heroes, the sons of the Immortals. They are blest, but not as the men who liveat ease. She drives them forth 'by strange paths . .. Through doubt andneed and danger and battle. .. . Some of them are slain in the flower oftheir youth, no man knows when or where, and some of them win noblenames and a fair and green old age. ' Not even the goddess herself cantell the hap that shall befall them; for each man's lot is known only toZeus. Have you reflected well on these things, Alec? Be sure ofyourself! There may be Gorgons to encounter, and monsters of the deep. "

He came very near to her. Her eyes were glistening. For one glowingsecond they looked into each other's hearts. 

"And perhaps a maiden chained to a rock to be rescued, " he whispered. 

Then she drew herself up proudly. "Do not forget that I am PallasAthene, " she said. "My shield of brass is an easel and my mighty spear amahl-stick; but--I keep to my rôle, Alec. "

He longed to clasp her in his arms; but it flashed upon him with aninspiration from topmost Olympus that, all unwittingly, she had boundherself to his fortunes. 

"Then I leave it at that, " he said quietly. 

This sudden air of confidence was bewildering. She had been swept offher feet by emotion, and the very considerations she thought she hadconquered were now tugging at her heart-strings. He must not go away asher knight errant, eager and ready to slay dragons for her sake. 

"Do not misunderstand me, " she faltered. "I was only quoting a passagefrom one of Kingsley's Greek fairy tales that has always had a peculiarfascination for me. "

"I'll get that story and read it. But I am interfering with your work, and here comes your friend, the Humming Bee. If he said anything funnyto me just now, I should want to strangle him. So good-by, dear Joan. Iwill turn up again to-morrow and tell you how I fared in each round. "

And he was gone, leaving her breathless and shaken; for well she knewthat he held her pledged to unspoken vows, that his eager confidenceswould apply alike to the day's sport and his future life. With handsthat trembled she essayed a further mixing of colors; but she scarcelyrealized what she was doing, until a queer, cracked voice that yet wasmusical sang softly in German at her elbow:

 If the Song should chance to wander Forth the Minstrel too must go. 

It was passing strange that crooked little Felix Poluski, ex-Nihilist, the wildest firebrand ever driven out of Warsaw, and the only livingartist who could put on canvas the gleam of heaven that lights theVirgin's face in the "Immaculate Conception, " should justify hisnickname of Le Bourdon by humming those two lines. 

"I hope you are not a prophet, Felix, " said Joan with a catch in herthroat. 

"No, _ma belle_, no prophet, merely an avenger, a slayer of Kings. I seeyou have just routed one. "

She turned and looked into the deepset eyes of the old hunchback, andfor the first time noted that they were gray and very bright andpiercing. At the same time the fancy crossed her mind that perhaps HenriQuatre had had blue eyes, bold yet tender, like unto Alec's. 

"So you too are aware that Monsieur Delgrado is a Prince?" she said, letting her thought bubble forth at random. 

"Some folk call him that, and it is the worst thing I know of him sofar. It may spoil him in time; but at present I find him a nice youngman. "

Joan swung round to her picture. "If Alec had the chance of becoming aKing, he would be a very good one, " she said loyally. 

Poluski's wizened cheeks puckered into a grin. He glanced at the easeland thence to the picture on the wall. 

"Perfectly, my dear Joan, " he said. "And, by the bones of Kosciusko, youhave chosen a proper subject, The Fortune Teller! Were you filling ourwarrior with dreams of empire? Well, well, I don't know which is morepotent with monarchs, woman or dynamite. In Alec's case I fancy I shouldbet on the woman. Here, for example, is one that shook Heaven, and Ihave always thought that Eve was not given fair treatment, or she wouldsurely have twisted the serpent's tail, " and, humming the refrain of"Les Demi-Vièrges, " he climbed the small platform he had erected infront of the world famous Murillo. 

Back to back, separated by little more than half the width of thegallery, Joan and Poluski worked steadily for twenty minutes. The Polesang to himself incessantly, now bassooning between his thin lips themotif of some rhapsody of Lizst's, now murmuring the words of somecatchy refrain from the latest review. Anybody else who so transgressedthe rules would have been summarily turned out by the guards; but themen knew him, and the Grande Galerie, despite its treasures, or perhapsbecause of them, is the least popular part of the Louvre. Artists hauntit; but the Parisian, the provincial, the globe trotter, gape once intheir lives at Andrea del Sarto, Titian, Salvator Rosa, Murillo ofcourse, and the rest of the mighty dead, and then ask with a yawn, "Where are the Crown Jewels?"

So the Humming Bee annoyed none by his humming; but he stopped short inan improvised variation on the theme of Vulcan's song in "Philemon andBaucis" when he heard a subdued but none the less poignant cry ofdistress from Joan. In order to turn his head he was compelled to twisthis ungainly body, and Joan, who was standing well away from her canvas, was aware of the movement. She too turned. 

"I am going, " she announced. "I cannot do anything right to-day. Justlook at that white feather!"

"Where?"

"In the boy's hat, you tease! Where else would you look?"

"In your face, _belle mignonne_, " said the Pole. 

It was true. Joan was not ill; but she was undeniably low spirited, andthe artist's mood has a way of expressing itself on the palette. Shelaughed, with a certain sense of effort. 

"I like you best when you sing, Felix. Sometimes, when you speak, youare Infelix. "

"By all means go home, " he grinned. "One cannot both joke and copy aCaravaggio. "

He began to paint with feverish industry, did not look at her again, buttossed an adieu over his humped shoulder when she hurried away. Then hegazed reproachfully, almost vindictively, at the uplifted eyes of thetransfigured Virgin. 

"Now, you!" he growled. "Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes! Thisaffair is in your line. Why don't you help? _Saperlotte!_ The girl isworth it. "

CHAPTER II

MONSEIGNEUR

The Wanderers beat Chantilly. One minute before the close of the fourthchukkur the score stood at four all. Both teams were playing withdesperation to avoid a decider on tired ponies, when the Wanderers'third man extricated the ball from a tangle of prancing hoofs andclattering sticks, and Alec Delgrado got away with it. He thought hispony was good for one last run at top speed, that and no more. Riskingit, he sprinted across two hundred yards of green turf with theChantilly Number One in hot chase. His opponent was a stone lighter andbetter mounted; so Alec's clear start would not save him from beingoverhauled and ridden off ere he came within a reasonable strikingdistance of the opposing goalposts. That was the Chantilly man's supremeoccupation, --some experts will have it that the ideal Number One shouldnot carry a polo stick, --and the pursuer knew his work. 

A hundred, eighty, sixty, yards in front Alec saw a goal keeping centaurwaiting to intercept him. In another couple of strides a lean, eagerhead would be straining alongside his own pony's girths. So he struckhard and clean and raced on, and the goalkeeper judged the flight of thewhite wooden ball correctly, and smote it back again fair and straight. 

It traveled so truly that it would have passed Alec three feet from theground to drop almost exactly on the spot whence he had driven it. Butthere was more in that last gallop along the smooth lawn than might berealized by any one present save Alec himself. It was his farewell tothe game. From that day he would cease to be dependent on a begrudgedpittance for the upkeep of his stable, and that meant the end of hispolo playing. But he was not made of the stuff that yields before thetwelfth hour. His mallet whirled in the air, there was a crack like apistol shot, and the ball flew over the amazed goalkeeper's head andbetween the posts. 

The yelling and handclapping of the few spectators almost drowned theumpire's whistle. 

"By gad, that was a corker!" said he of Chantilly, as the ponies' wildgallop eased to a canter. 

"I hope that flourish of mine did not come too close, Beaumanoir, " saidAlec. 

"Don't give a tuppenny now, " laughed Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir. "Thematch is over, and you've won it, and if you play till Doomsday you'llnever score a better notch. "

"It was lucky, a sheer fluke. "

"Oh, that be jiggered for a yarn! A fellow flukes with his eyes shut. You meant it!"

"Yes, that is right. So would you, Berty, if it was your last knock. "

"Well, time's up, anyhow, " said Beaumanoir, not comprehending. 

They trotted off to the group of waiting grooms. Delgrado ran thegauntlet of congratulations, for Paris likes to see Chantilly's flaglowered, and escaped to the dressing room. He gave a letter, alreadywritten and sealed, to an attendant, and drove away in his dogcart. Bowling quickly along the broad Allée de Longchamps, he turned into theRoute de l'Etoile, and so to the fine avenue where all Paris takes thesummer air. 

He found himself eying the parade of fashion in a curiously detachedmood. Yesterday he thought himself part and parcel of that gay throng. To-day he was a different being. All that had gone before was merged in"yesterday's seven thousand years. "

His cob's pace did not slacken until he drew rein at the giant doorwayof a block of flats in the Rue Boissière. It was then about fiveo'clock, and he meant to appear at his mother's tea table. He was farfrom looking the "limp rag" of his phrase to Joan. Indeed, it might havetaxed the resources of any crack regiment in Paris that day to producehis equal in condition. Twenty-four years old, nearly six feet inheight, lean and wiry, square wristed, broad shouldered, and straight asa spear, he met the physical requirements, at least, of those classicyouths beloved of Joan's favorite goddess. 

Usually his clean cut face, typically American in its high cheekbones, firm chin, mobile mouth, and thoughtful eyes, wore a happy-go-luckyexpression that was the despair of matchmaking mamas; but to-day Alecwas serious. He was thinking of the promise that to the souls of firewould be given more fire, to the manful a might more than man's. 

If he had not been so preoccupied, he would certainly have heard theraucous shouts of newsboys running frantically along the boulevards. That is to say, he heard, but did not heed, else some shadow of astrange destiny must have dimmed his bright dreams. 

Their nature might be guessed from his words to Joan. The question headdressed to the concièrge proved that his intent was fixed. 

"Is Monseigneur at home?" he asked. 

"_Oui, m'sieur. _ His Excellency has mounted a little half-hour ago, "said the man. 

Alec nodded. "Now for it!" he said to himself. 

His father, a born fop, a boulevardier by adoption, cultivated habitsthat seemed to follow the mechanical laws of those clockwork manikinsthat ingenious horologists contrive for the amusement of children, bigand little. Whether eating, sleeping, driving, strolling, chatting orcard playing, the whereabouts and occupation of Prince Michael Delgradocould be correctly diagnosed at any given hour of the day and night. Fortune delights at times in tormenting such men with greatopportunities. Prince Michael, standing now with his back to thefireplace in his wife's boudoir, was fated to be an early recipient ofthat boon for which so many sigh in vain. 

Of course he knew nothing of that. His round, plump, rosy face, at firstsight absurdly disproportionate to his dapper and effeminate body, worea frown of annoyance. In fact, he had been obliged to think, and theeffort invariably distressed him. Apparently he had a big head, and bigheaded men of diminutive frame usually possess brains and enjoy usingthem. But closer inspection revealed that his Highness' skull resembledan egg, with the narrow end uppermost. 

Thus, according to Lavater, he was richly endowed with all the baserqualities that pander to self, and markedly deficient in the higherattributes of humanity. The traits of the gourmand, the cynic, theegoist, were there; but the physiognomist would look in vain for anysign of genius or true nobility. Recognition of his undoubted rank had, of course, given him the grand manner. That was unavoidable, and it washis chief asset. He liked to be addressed as "Monseigneur"; he had acertain reputation for wit; he carried himself with the ease that markshis caste; and he had shown excellent taste in choosing a wife. 

The Princess did indeed look the great lady. Her undoubted beauty, aidedby a touch of Western piquancy, had captivated the Paris salons of anearlier generation, and those same salons repaid their debt byconferring the repose, the dignity, the subtle aura of distinction, thatconstitute the aristocrat in outward bearing. For this reason, PrincessDelgrado was received in poverty stricken apartments where her husbandwould be looked at askance, since the frayed Boulevard Saint Germainstill shelters the most exclusive circle in France. 

Here, then, was an amazing instance of a one-sided heredity. AlexisDelgrado evidently owed both mind and body to his mother. Looking at thePrincess, one saw that such a son of such a father did not becomesheerly impossible. 

To-day, unhappily, neither Prince Michael nor his wife was in tune for afamily conclave. Monseigneur was ruffled, distinctly so, and Madame wason the verge of tears. 

When Alec entered the room he was aware of a sudden silence, accentuatedby a half-repressed sob from his mother. Instantly he took the blame onhis own shoulders. He expected difficulties; but he was not prepared fora scene. 

"Why, mother dear, " he said, bending over her with a tenderness thatcontrasted strongly with Prince Michael's affected indifference, "whatis the matter? Surely you and dad have not been worrying about me! Youcan't keep me in the nest always, you know. And I only want to earn thewherewithal to live. That is not so very terrible, is it?"

The distressed woman looked up at him with a wan smile. She seemed tohave aged since the morning. There was a pathetic weakness in her mouthand chin that was noticeably absent from her son's strong lineaments, and it occurred to Alec with a pang that he had never before seen hismother so deeply moved. 

"I suppose one must endure the world's changes, " she murmured. "It wasfoolish on my part to imagine that things could continue forever on thesame lines; but I shall not grieve, Alec, if no cloud comes between youand me. It would break my heart----"

"Oh, come now!" he cried, simulating a lively good humor he was far fromfeeling. "What has dad been saying? Clouds! Where are they? Not aroundmy head, at any rate. I have dispelled the only one that existed, thesilly halo of class that stops a fellow from working because he happensto be born a Prince. It was different for dad, of course. My respectedgrandfather, Ferdinand VII. , was really a King, and dad was a grown manwhen the pair of them were slung out of Kosnovia. Sorry, sir; but thatis the way they talk history nowadays. It has ceased to be decorous. Iam afraid Paris is largely responsible. You see, we have an Emperor inthe next block, two Kings in the Avenue Victor Hugo, and a fugitiveex-President in the Hôtel Métropole. I have seen the whole lot, even ournoble selves, burlesqued in a Montmartre review. And I laughed! That isthe worst part of it. I roared! We looked such a funny crew. And we wereall jolly hard up, borrowing five-franc pieces from one another, andoffering to sell scepters at a ridiculous sacrifice. That came rathernear home. We haven't got what the storybooks calls an embarrassment ofriches, have we? So, a cup of tea, please, mother, and I'll hear theCzar's edict. It is pending. I can see it in his eye. "

Usually Prince Michael responded to that sort of airy nonsense. Whensure of his audience, he had spoken much more disrespectfully of theParisian band of Kings in exile. But to-day his chubby cheeks refused tocrease in a grin. He remained morose, oracular, heavy jowled. In fact, he had set himself a very difficult task. Now that the moment hadarrived for its fulfilment, he shirked it. 

"May I ask, Alec, if you have any scheme in view?" he said, strutting onthe hearthrug in front of a grate filled with ferns. He always stoodthere, --in winter because it was warm, and he was a martyr tochilblains; in summer because of the habit contracted in winter. 

"Well, sir, candidly speaking, I have not. But I saw in a newspaper theother day a paragraph of advice to a young man. 'No matter how smallyour income may be, live within it: that is the beginning of wealth, ' itsaid. How profound! I applied it to myself. My income is nil. There Iencountered a serious obstacle at the very start of the Great MoneyStakes. But----"

"This is a grave discussion, Alec. I have that to say which may painyou. Pray be serious. "

"Oh, I am--quite serious. My ponies and the dogcart are in Dumont'scatalogue for the next sale. I resigned my membership of the polo clubto-day. To-morrow, or eke to-night, I look for a job. As you, mother o'mine, have heard men say in your beloved west, I'm going to butt in. "

"I--er--suppose you--er--look to me for some assistance?" coughed PrinceMichael. 

His wife rose. Her face was gray-white, her eyes blazed. "Alec knows weare poor. Why torture him--and me? I refuse to allow it. I refuse!" Hervoice took a tragic note, thin and shrill; there was a pitiful quiveringof her lips that wrung her son's heart, and he was utterly at a loss tounderstand why a discussion as to his future should lead to this displayof passion. 

"But, mother darling, " he cried, "why are you grieving so? You and dadmust maintain a certain state, --one begins by assuming that, --and it isno secret that the Delgrado side of the family was not blessed withwealth. Very well. Let me try to adjust the balance--the bank balance, eh? Really, why weep?"

Alec's gallant attempt to avert the storm failed again. His SereneHighness muttered words in a foreign tongue that sounded anything butserene. The Princess did not understand; but her son did. His browswrinkled, and the good humored gleam died out of his eyes. 

"Perhaps, sir, " he said stiffly, "this subject had better be discussedwhen my mother is not present. "

Prince Michael looked at him fixedly. For some reason the little man wasvery angry, and he seemed to resent the implied slur on his good taste. 

"I am determined to end this farce once and for all, " he vowed. "Beforeyou joined us, I told the Princess----"

The door was flung open. The young man who had followed Joan and Alecinto the Louvre that morning rushed in. His pink and white face wascrimson now, and his manner that of unmeasured, almost uncontrollableexcitement. He gazed at them with a wildness that bordered on frenzy, yet it was clear that their own marked agitation was only what heexpected to find. 

"Ah, you have heard?" he snapped, biting at each syllable. 

"Heard what, Julius?" demanded Monseigneur, with an instant lowering ofthe princely mask, since Julius dabbled in stocks and was reputed wellto do. 

"The news! The news from Kosnovia!"

Prince Michael affected to yawn. "Oh, is that all?" he asked. 

"All! _Grand Dieu_, what more would you have? It means--everything. "

"My good Julius, it is long since I was so disturbed. What, then, hashappened? The Danube in flood is no new thing. "

"The Danube!" and the newcomer's voice cracked. "So you do notknow--sire?"

The little word seemed to have the explosive force of nitroglycerine. Its detonation rang through the room and left them all silent, as thoughtheir ears were stunned and their tongues paralyzed. Alec was the firstto see that some event far out of the common had reduced his cousin, Count Julius Marulitch, almost to a state of hysteria. 

"We are at cross purposes, " he said quietly. "My father, like the restof us, read this morning's telegram about the overflowing of theriver----"

Count Marulitch waved his hands frantically. He was literally besidehimself. His full red lips, not at all unlike those of the youth inJoan's picture, moved several times before sounds came. 

"It is at least my good fortune to be the first to congratulate myKing!" he cried at last. "Be calm, I pray you; but a tremendous changehas been affected at Delgratz. Last night, while Theodore and the Queenwere at dinner, the Seventh Regiment mutinied. It was on guard at theSchwarzburg. Officers and men acted together. There was no resistance. It was impossible. Theodore and Helena were killed!" This man, whoappealed for calmness, was himself in a white heat of emotion. 

A stifled scream, a sob, almost a groan, broke from the Princess, andshe clung to her son as though she sought protection from thatbloodthirsty Seventh Regiment. Prince Michael, fumbling with aneyeglass, dropped it in sheer nervousness. Alec, throwing an arm roundhis mother, recalled the hoarse yelling of the newsboys on theboulevards. Was it this latest doom of a monarchy that they were bawlingso lustily? He glanced at his father, and the dapper little man found itincumbent on him to say something. 

"But, Julius--is this true? There are so many canards. You know ourproverb: 'A stone that falls in the Balkans causes an earthquake in St. Petersburg. '"

"Oh, it is true, sire. And the telegrams declare that already you havebeen proclaimed King. "

"I!"

Prince Michael's exclamation was most unkingly. Rather was it the wailof a criminal on being told that the executioner waited without. Hisruddy cheeks blanched, and his hands were outstretched as if in apiteous plea for mercy. There was a tumult of objurgations in the outerpassage; but this King in spite of himself paid no heed. 

"I?" he gasped again, with relaxed jaws. 

"You, sire, " cried Marulitch. "Our line is restored. There will befighting, of course; but what of that? One audacious week will see youenthroned once more in the Schwarzburg. Ah! Here come Stampoff andBeliani. You are quick on my heels, messieurs; but I promised my cabmana double fare. "

A scared manservant, vainly endeavoring to protect his master's privateapartments, was rudely thrust aside, and a fierce looking old warriorentered, followed by a man who was obviously more of a Levantine than aSerb. The older man, small, slight, gray haired, and swarthy, butsurprisingly active in his movements for one of his apparent age, racedup to Prince Michael. He fell on his knees, caught that nerveless righthand, and pressed it to his lips. 

"Thank Heaven, sire, that I have been spared to see this day!" heexclaimed. 

The Greek, less demonstrative, nevertheless knelt by Stampoff's side. "Itoo am your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subject, " said he. 

The Prince did then make a supreme effort to regain his self possession. "Thank you, General, " he murmured, "and you also, Monsieur Beliani. Ihave only just been told. Theodore and Helena both dead! What a thing!They were my enemies; but I am shocked, I may almost say grieved. Andwhat am I to do? I am practically powerless, --few friends, no money. Onedoes not merely pack a valise and go off by train to win a throne. Yousay I am proclaimed King, Julius. By whom? Have the representatives met?Is there an invitation from the people?"

Stampoff was on his feet instantly. A man of steel springs and volcanicenergy, his alertness waged constant war against his years. "Thepeople!" he shouted. "What of them? What do they know? There is talk ofa Republic. Think of that! Could folly go farther? A Republic in theBalkans, with Russia growling at one door, Austria picking the lock ofanother, and the Turk squatting before a third! No, Monseigneur. Startfrom Paris to-night, cross the Danube, reveal yourself to yoursupporters, and you will soon show these windbags that a man who meansto rule is worth a hundred demagogues who exist only to spout. "

His Serene Highness was slowly but surely recovering lost ground. Hegrasped the eyeglass again, and this time gouged it into its accustomedcrease. 

"You, Beliani, you are not one to be carried away by emotion, " he said. "Count Marulitch spoke of a proclamation. Who issued it? Was there anyauthority behind it?"

"God's bones! what better authority is there than your Majesty's?"roared Stampoff. 

But the Prince extended a protesting palm. "An excellent sentiment, myfriend; but let us hear Beliani, " he said. 

The Greek, thus appealed to, seemed to find some slight difficulty inchoosing the right words. "At present, everything is vague, Monseigneur, " he said. "It is certain that a battalion of the SeventhRegiment revolted and declared for the Delgrado dynasty. Two otherbattalions of the same regiment in the capital followed their lead. Butthe Chamber met this morning, and there was an expression of opinion infavor of a democratic Government. No vote was taken; but the latestreports speak of some disorder. The approaches to the Schwarzburg areheld by troops. There are barricades in the main streets. "

Prince Michael's hands went under his coattails. His face had notregained its claret red color, and its present tint suggested that ithad been carved out of a Camembert cheese; but he was gradually takingthe measure of current events in Kosnovia. 

"Barricades seem to argue decided opinions, " he said, and there was aperceptible tinge of cynicism in the phrase that jarred on his hearers. 

"One must be bold at times, " muttered Count Julius. 

General Stampoff was chewing an end of his long mustaches in impotentwrath, and Beliani merely shrugged. 

"Of course, my father means that prudence must be allied with boldness, "broke in Alec, who had placed his mother in a chair and was now gazingsternly at Marulitch as if he would challenge the unspoken thought. 

"Exactly, my boy. Well said! One looks before one leaps, that is it! NowI am not so young, not so young, and I have not forgotten the pleasantways of Kosnovia. Theodore thought all was well; but you see what hashappened after thirty years. Just think of it. A lifetime! Why, I cameto Paris twenty-four years ago, just after you were born, Alexis, andeven then the Obrenovitch line seemed to be well established. And hereyou are, a grown man, and Theodore and his Queen are lying dead in theBlack Palace. It gives one to think. Now, our good Stampoff here wouldhave me rush off and buy a ticket for Delgratz to-night. As if Austriahad not closed every frontier station and was not waiting to pounce onany Delgrado who turned up at this awkward moment on the left bank ofthe Danube!"

Beliani was stroking his nose; Stampoff evidently meant to shorten hismustache by inches; and Julius Marulitch was waxen, and thereby renderedmore than ever like a clothier's model. 

Alec was a dutiful son. There were elements in the composition of thesenior Delgrado that he did not admire; but he had never beforesuspected his father of cowardice. His cousin Julius, whom he thoroughlydisliked, was betraying a whole world of meaning in the scorn thatleaped from his eyes, and there was no mistaking the thoughts thatinspired the furious General and the impassive Greek. For the first timein his life, Alec despised Prince Michael. There was a quickening in hisveins, a tingling at the roots of his hair, a tension of his muscles, atthe repulsive notion that a Serene Highness might, after all, be moldedof common clay. And in that spasm of sheer agony he remembered howJoan's sweet voice had thrilled him with the message of Pallas Athene. Was he, indeed, one of those sons of the immortals whom the goddess"drives forth by strange paths . .. Through doubt and need and dangerand battle?" Surely some such hazardous track was opening up now beforehis feet! His whole nature was stirred in unknown depths. It seemed tohim that there was only one man in the room whose words had the ring oftruth and honest purpose. He strode forward and caught old Paul Stampoffby the shoulder. 

"I'll tell you what, " he said, unconsciously adopting the free and easystyle of speech that came naturally to him, "you and I must carry thisthing through, General! My father is glued to Paris, you know. He haslost some of his enthusiasm, and one must be enthusiastic to the pointof death itself if he would snatch a Kingdom out of such a fire as israging now in Kosnovia. Austria has never seen me, probably has nevereven heard of me. I can slip through her cordon, swim ten Danubes ifneed be. What say you, General? Will I fill the bill? If I fail, whatdoes it matter? If I win--well, we must reverse the usual order ofthings, and my respected parent can step into my shoes. "

"Alexis, I am proud of you----" began Prince Michael pompously; but asigh that was blended with a groan came again from his wife, andPrincess Delgrado drooped in a faint. 

Alec lifted her in his arms and carried her to a bedroom. A queersilence fell on the four men in the boudoir. Even his Serene Highnesswas discomfited, and abandoned his position on the hearthrug to gazeout of the window. To his displeased surprise, a small crowd hadgathered. A man was pointing to the Delgrado apartments. Another man, carrying a bundle of newspapers, bore one of the curious small Parisiancontents bills, but its heavy black type was legible enough:"Assassination of the King and Queen of Kosnovia! King Michael inParis!"

Alec, having given the Princess to the care of her maid, came back. Hefound his father looking into the street, General Stampoff standing onthe hearthrug, and Count Julius whispering something in Beliani's ear. 

"My mother will soon be all right, " he announced cheerily. "She was abit upset, I suppose, by our warlike talk; but we were so excited thatwe forgot she was present. Well, father, what say you to my proposal?"

Prince Michael turned. His face was no longer in the light. Perhaps thatwas his notion when he first approached the window. "I think it is anexcellent one, " he said. "Of course, there is a regrettable element ofrisk----"

"But what are we to understand?" broke in Stampoff's gruff accents. "These things are not to be settled as a shopkeeper appoints an agent. Does your Highness renounce all claim to the throne of Kosnovia in favorof your son?"

Words have a peculiar value on such occasions. The substitution of"Highness" for "Majesty" was not devoid of significance; for Stampoff, though loyal to the backbone, was no courtier. 

"No!" cried Alec sharply. 

"Yes, " said Prince Michael, after a pause. 

Count Julius Marulitch breathed heavily, and Constantine Beliani threw awary eye over Alec. 

"Good!" said Stampoff. "That clears the air. I shall be ready toaccompany your Majesty by the train that leaves the Gare de l'Est atseven-thirty P. M. "

Prince Michael laughed dryly. "You see, " he said. "I was sure Stampoffwould interfere with my dinner hour. "

There was almost a touch of genius in the remark. Its very vacuity toldof the man's exceeding unfitness for the rôle thrust upon him by certaindesperadoes in the far off Balkans. 

"We must have money, " growled Stampoff with a most unflattering lack ofrecognition of the elder Delgrado's humor. 

"Ah!" said Prince Michael, plunging both hands into his trousers'pockets and keeping them there. 

"How much?" inquired Beliani. 

"To begin with, fifty thousand francs. After that, all that can beraised. "

"It is most unfortunate, but my--er--investments have been singularlyunremunerative of late, " said his Serene Highness. 

"Why fifty thousand francs?" inquired Alec, half choked with wrath atsight of his father's obvious relief when the terrifying phantom of theBlack Castle was replaced by this delectable Paris. Yet, with it all, hewas aware of a consuming desire to laugh. There was a sense of utterfarce in thus disposing of the affairs of nations in a flat in the RueBoissière. He recalled the exiled potentates of the music hall review, and the bitter wit of the dramatist was now justified. It was ludicrous, too, of Stampoff to address him as "your Majesty. "

"Even Kings must give bribes occasionally, " explained the impetuousGeneral. 

"Or promise them, " said Count Julius. 

"Or take them, " said Beliani. 

"If I am to be a King, I mean to dispense with these bad habits, " saidAlec. "We need our railway fares only, General. Once at Delgratz, ourfickle Kosnovia must either maintain us or shoot us. In either event, weare provided for. "

"Still, we must have sufficient funds to secure a foothold, " urgedStampoff. 

"I charge myself with providing ten thousand francs, " said the Greek. 

Alec glanced at his watch. "Give the money to Stampoff. He may want it. I do not, " he said. "Dumont, though a horse dealer, is fairly honest. Myfour ponies are worth another ten, and he will surely pay me five, cashdown. We meet at the Gare de l'Est. Who goes? You, Julius?"

"No, " said the Count, "I shall follow when you have made a beginning. Mypresence would hamper you now. I am too well known, and secrecy isall-important until you are at the head of the army. "

Alec turned on him with an air that would have delighted Joan, could shehave been present. 

"The army!" he cried. "I know nothing of leading armies. I mean to placemyself at the head of the people. "

"Nonsense, Alexis! Make for the troops. They alone can make or mar you, "said Prince Michael. 

"We shall settle those points at Delgratz, " declared the brusk Stampoff. "You will bring the money, half in gold, to the station?" he added toBeliani. 

"Yes. Gold is best. For the remainder, you will want Russian notes. "

Something seemed to be troubling the august mind of Prince Michael. "Bythe way, my dear Beliani, " he began; but the Greek awoke into a verypanic of action. 

"Pray forgive me, your Highness, " he said. "If I have to raise such alarge sum before seven o'clock I cannot lose an instant. "

"I shall see you off from the Gare de l'Est, " cried Marulitch hurriedly, and the two quitted the room in company. Alec went to pay a brief visitto his mother, and Prince Michael was left alone with the rugged oldGeneral. Then, for a few seconds, he became a man. 

"You must forgive me, Paul, " he said huskily. "I am not fitted for thework. I am broken down, a trifler, a worn out old dandy. You have gotthe right metal in Alexis. See to it that he does not follow my example, but keeps unstained the family name. "

"God's bones! he will do that at least, " muttered Stampoff. "If you oryour father had possessed half his spirit, there would never have beenan Obrenovitch on the throne of Kosnovia! Ferdinand VII. , Michael V. , Alexis III. ! By the patriarch! somehow you Delgrados have managed atlast to breed a King!"

CHAPTER III

IN THE ORIENT EXPRESS

After some haggling, Alec wrung four thousand five hundred francs out ofDumont. Then, at five minutes past six, he jumped into a cab and wasdriven to the Place de la Sorbonne. 

Of course he had ascertained Joan's address easily. He made no secret ofthe fact that he had seen her on her way to the Louvre nearly every dayof the twenty that had elapsed since their first meeting. His knowledgeof the route she followed advanced quickly until he found out where shelived. He would not have dared to call on her now, if it had not beenfor the tremendous thing that had happened in his life; for he was surehe would become King of Kosnovia. The art that conceals art is good; butthe art that is unconscious of artifice is better, and never hadsoothsayer arranged more effective preliminaries for astoundingprediction than sibyl Joan herself. 

Paris, too, might well witness the rising of his star. What other citystages such memorials to inspire ambition? Behind him, as his cab speddown the Champs Elysées, rose the splendid pile of the Arch of Triumph;in front, beyond the Place de la Concorde, the setting sun gilded asmoke blackened fragment that marked the site of the Tuileries; whilenear at hand the statue of France, grief stricken yet defiant, gazedever and longingly in the direction of her lost Provinces. Here, withina short mile, stood the silent records of three Empires, founded, astime counts, within a few years. Two were already crumbled to the dust. The survivor, consolidated on the ruins of France, flourished beyond theRhine. 

Perhaps, if read aright, these portents were not wholly favorable to oneabout to try his luck in that imperial game. But Alec, though a gooddeal of a democrat at heart, was cheered by the knowledge that so longas the world recognizes the divine right of Kings, no monarch by descentcould lay better claim to a throne than he. And he was young, and inlove, and ready to believe that youth and love can level mountains, makefirm the morass, bridge the ocean. 

He wondered how Joan would take his great news. He thought he couldguess her attitude. At first she would urge him to forget that such aperson as Joan Vernon existed. Then he would plead that she was askingthat which was not only impossible but utterly unheroic. And the minuteswere flying. He would remind her that time does not wait even for Kings, nor would the Orient Express delay its departure by a single second tooblige such a fledgling potentate as he. 

"We must part now, my sweet, " he would say. "I am going to demand mybirthright. When I am admittedly a King, I shall send for you. If you donot answer, I shall become my own envoy. You will make a beautifulQueen, Joan. You and I together will raise Kosnovia from the mire ofcenturies. "

Somewhat stilted lovemaking this; but what was a poor fellow to do whohad been taken from the Rue Boissière and plunged into empire making, all in the course of a summer's evening?

He crossed the Pont Neuf without ever a look at Henri Quatre. That was apity. The sarcastic Béarnais grin might have revealed some of thepitfalls that lay ahead. At any rate, the King of Navarre could havegiven him many instances of a woman's fickleness--and fickleness was theugly word that leaped into Alec's puzzled brain when an ancient dame atJoan's lodgings told him that Mademoiselle and her maid had gone awaythat afternoon. 

"Gone! Gone where?" he asked blankly. 

"It is necessary to write, " said Madame, and shut the door in his face, since it is forbidden in the Quartier for good looking and unknown youngmen to make such urgent inquiries concerning the whereabouts of discreetyoung women like Mademoiselle Joan. 

Léontine, still scrubbing, came to the rescue. Never had she seen anyone so distinguished as this Monsieur. _Mon Dieu!_ but it was a pitythat the belle Américaine should have packed her boxes that very day!And diminutive Léontine was romantic to the tips of her stubby fingers. 

"M'sieu'? wishes to know where he will find the young lady who livesthere?" said she archly, jerking her head and a broom handle toward theneighboring house. 

"But yes, my pretty one, " cried Alec. 

"Well, Pauline said--Pauline is her domestic, see you--said they weregoing to the forest to paint. "

"To Fontainebleau?"

"Perhaps, m'sieu'--to the forest, that was it. "

"No name? Barbizon?"

"It might be. I have no head for those big words, m'sieu'. "

Alec gave her a five-franc piece. It was the first coin he found in hispocket, and the sight of it caused a frown. Confound those Montmartreplaywrights! Why was their stupid travesty constantly recurring to hismind? He frowned again, this time at Auguste Comte's smugness, andlooked at his watch. Twenty-five minutes to seven! It was too late nowto do other than write--if he succeeded. If not--ah, well! "Some of themare slain in the flower of their youth. " At least, she would remember, and those glorious eyes of hers would glisten with tears, and the beliefhelped to console him. Still, he was saddened, disappointed, almostdulled. Doubt came darkly with the dispelling of the dream that he mightcommence his Odyssey with Joan's first and farewell kiss on his lips. Love and ambition seemed to be at variance; but love had flown, whereasambition remained. 

Back, then, to the Rue Boissière, to an uproar of visitors, sightseers, journalists. Prince Michael had become Monseigneur again. He was holdinga reception. Alec, pressing through the throng, was waylaid by aservant. 

"This way, monsieur, " whispered the man, drawing him into a passage andthence to the room of Princess Delgrado. Alec was soothing his mother'sgrief when his father entered secretly on tiptoe with the hushed voiceand stealthy air of a conspirator. He carried a parcel, long and narrow, wrapped in brown paper. 

"I have been consumed with anxiety, " said he. "Julius came and warned methat your departure from Paris ought to be incognito. This is wise; so Iremain King-elect till you reach Delgratz. The newspapers are pesteringme to declare a program. They all expect that I shall leave Paristo-night or early to-morrow. Indeed, an impudent fellow representing'_Le Soir_' says that if I don't bestir myself I shall be christened theSluggard King. But I shall humbug them finely. Leave that to me. Yourportmanteaus have been smuggled out by way of the servants' quarters, and you must vanish unseen. Buy a ticket for Vienna, ignore Stampoffduring the journey, accept my blessing, and take this. " He held out theparcel. 

"What is it?" inquired Alec. 

"My father's sword, your grandfather's sword. I have kept it bright foryou. "

Alec squirmed. He knew the weapon, a curved simitar inlaid with gold, and reposing in a scabbard of gilt metal and purple velvet. In itswrapping of brown paper and twine it suspiciously resembled a child'stoy, and Prince Michael's grandiloquent manner added a touch ofbuffoonery to a farewell scene made poignant by a woman's tears. 

"I shall use it only on the skulls of eminent personages, " said Alecgravely. In truth, this Parisian kingship was rapidly becoming farcical. What a line, what a situation, for that review!

But there was worse to come. Checked in his outburst of family pride, Monseigneur became practical. "What of Dumont?" said he. 

"He was touched; but he knocked off five hundred francs. "

"Ah, bah! I rather hoped--well, I must return to the salon and play mypart. Remember, you will see no one except a servant at the Gare del'Est. Julius has arranged passports, everything. "

"He is taking an extraordinary interest in me. Of course, if I pullthrough, he becomes heir presumptive. "

"Parbleu! That is so. But--you will marry. Bide your time, though. Choose a Queen who--" his shifty eyes fell on the trembling form of hiswife, who had remained strangely silent during this somewhat strainedinterview, --"who will be as good a wife to you as your mother has beento me. Farewell! may God guard you!"

Twice in one day had the pompous little man been betrayed into an avowalof honest sentiment. But he soon recovered. Once reëstablished on thehearthrug, with his eyeglass properly adjusted, his hands tucked underhis coattails when they were not emphasizing some well turned phrase, Prince Michael enjoyed himself hugely. 

And then Alec clasped his mother in his arms. She was almost incoherentwith terror. Bid him remain she dare not; she lacked the force ofcharacter that such a step demanded. She had given too many years tothis chimera of royalty now suddenly grown into a monster to be satedonly by the sacrifice of her son! But she mourned as if he was alreadydead, and a lump rose in Alec's throat. He had always loved his mother;his father had ever been remote, a dignified trifler, a poser. The threeheld nothing in common. It could hardly be doubted that every goodquality of mind and body the boy possessed was a debt to thebrokenhearted woman now clinging to him in a very frenzy of lamentation. Small wonder if his eyes were misty and his voice choked. Ah! if Joanbut knew of this sorrowing mother's plight, surely she would come toher!

At last he tore himself away. Grasping that ridiculous parcel, hehurriedly descended a back staircase. Owing to the paternal watchfulnessthat the French Government exercises over its subjects, he was obligedto pass the concièrge; but none paid heed to him. If it came to that, all Paris would guffaw at the notion of dear Alec becoming a filibuster. 

He hailed a passing cab. If he would catch his train, they must drivefuriously, which is nothing new in Paris. Climbing the Rue La Fayette, he passed Count Julius Marulitch and Constantine Beliani coming theother way in an open victoria. They were so deeply engaged inconversation that they did not see him. Julius was talking and the Greeklistening. It flashed into Alec's mind that the presence in Paris of theGreek on the very day of the Delgratz regicide offered a most remarkablecoincidence. Beliani was no stranger to him, since he and GeneralStampoff, the one as Finance Minister and the other as Commander inChief, were exiled from Kosnovia after an abortive revolution ten yearsago. 

But Beliani usually lived in Vienna, indeed, he was sometimes regardedas an active agent in Austria's steady advance on Salonica, --whereasdear old Paul Stampoff hated Austria, was a frequent visitor to theDelgrado receptions, and it was largely to his constant urging andtuition that Alec owed his familiarity with the Slav language. TheGreek, it was evident, heard of the murders at the earliest possiblemoment; Julius too was singularly well informed, though his interest inKosnovian affairs had long seemed dormant; even the fiery Stampoff wasno laggard once the news was bruited. Alec went so far as to fix theexact time at which Julius appeared in the Rue Boissière. He knewsomething of the ways of newspapers, and was well aware that no privateperson could hope to obtain such important intelligence before thepress. He himself had unwittingly heard the first public announcement ofthe tragedy, and the three men had certainly lost no time in hurrying togreet their new sovereign. 

What a madly inconsequent jumble it all was! Little more than two hoursago he was driving through the Bois with no other notion in his brainthan to seek a means of earning a livelihood; yet here he was at theGare de l'Est carrying a sword as a symbol of kingship. A sword, wrappedin brown paper, tied with string! Suppose, by some lucky chance, Joanmet him now, would she sympathize, or laugh?

He found his father's valet waiting with his luggage near the ticketoffice. The man gave him an envelop. It contained a passport, viséd bythe Turkish Embassy, and a few scribbled words:

 Note the name. It is the nearest to your initials B. Could procure. I shall come to you on the train. Destroy this. S. 

The name was that on the passport, "Alexandre George Delyanni;nationality, Greek; business, carpet merchant; destination, Constantinople. "

Alec smiled. The humor of it was steeling him against the canker ofJoan's untimely disappearance. "I don't look much like a Greek, " he saidto himself; "but the 'Alexandre' sounds well as an omen. I'm not sosorry now. This business would tickle Joan to death. "

So, on the whole, it was a resigned if not light-hearted adventurer whodisposed himself and his belongings in the Orient Express, afterexperiencing the singular good luck of securing a section in thesleeping car returned by a Viennese banker at the last moment. He wentabout the business of buying his ticket and passing the barrier with acareless ease that would have excited the envy of a Russian Terrorist. Sharp eyes attend the departure of every international train from Paris;but never a spy gave more than casual scrutiny to this broad shoulderedyouth strolling down the platform, the latest passenger to arrive, andthe least flurried. 

He neither saw nor looked for Stampoff. Having a minute to spare, heobtained a newspaper, took a seat voucher for the first dinner, lighteda cigarette, entered his reserved compartment, arranged his luggage, andburnt General Stampoff's scrawl just as the train moved out of thestation. 

Then he read an account of the Delgratz crime, --for it was only a crime, a brutal and callous murder, not worthy to be dignified by the mantle ofpolitical hate. The unhappy King and Queen of Kosnovia were dining incompany with the Queen's brother and the Minister of Ways andCommunications when the regiment on duty in the palace burst in on them. King Theodore was shot down while endeavoring to protect the Queen. Shetoo fell riddled with bullets, and both corpses were flung into acourtyard. The unhappy guests were wounded, and still remained prisonersin the hands of the regicides, who vaunted that they had "saved" thecountry, and meant to restore the ancient sovereignty. 

Beliani's summary of subsequent events was accurate; but it struck Alecat once that he had said nothing of the minister nor of SergiusVottisch, Queen Helena's brother, who was mainly instrumental indefeating Beliani's half-forgotten revolt. Did he know of theirpresence? How peculiar that he should utter no word of triumphconcerning Vottisch!

Alec threw aside the paper. He was sick at heart. He loathed the thoughtthat the first step toward his throne lay across the body of a woman. 

"Nice guards, the noble Seventh Regiment!" he muttered. "Now, when I amKing----"

Then he realized that during the few minutes that had elapsed since thetrain started, the whole aspect of the adventure had changed completely. It was no longer a snatch of opera bouffe, a fantastic conceitengendered in the brain of that elderly beau whom he had left in the RueBoissière, a bit of stage trifling happily typified by the propertysword. It had become real, grim, menacing. It reeked of blood. Its firstbattle was there, recorded in the newspaper. He pictured those brutalsoldiers mauling the warm bodies, thrusting them through an open windowand proclaiming their loyalty--to him!

The train was rushing through an estate noted for its game, and he hadbeen one of a party of guns in its coverts last October. He rememberedshooting a pheasant of glorious plumage, and saying: "Ah! What a pity! Iought to have spared him, if only on account of his coat of manycolors. "

"When birds are flying fast, even you, Alec, have to shoot _passim_, "said a witty Hebrew, and Delgrado did not appreciate the _mot_ untilsome one told him that _passeem_ in Hebrew meant "patchwork, " and thatJacob's offense to Joseph's brethren lay in the gift of a Prince's robeto his favorite son. 

The quip came to mind now with sinister significance; he wished mostheartily he had missed that pheasant. It was quite a relief when dinnerwas announced, and he made his way to the dining car, where a polyglotgathering showed that although the Orient Express had not quitted Parisfifteen minutes it had already crossed many frontiers. There were fewFrench or English on board, and not one American. A couple of Turks, aBulgarian, a sprinkling of Russians and Levantines, and a crowd ofTeutons, either German or Austrian, made up the company. Stampoffremained invisible, and Alec shared a table with an Armenian, whoinsisted on speaking execrable English, though he understood French farbetter. 

Then this newest of all Kings felt very lonely, and he began tounderstand something of the isolation that would surround him in thatBlack Castle of his daydream, where, if all went well with him, healone would be the "foreigner. " A longing for companionship came uponhim. He wanted some one who would laugh and talk airy nonsense, some onewhose mind would not be running everlastingly in the political groove, and an irresistible impulse urged him to ask for a telegraph form andwrite:

 BEAUMANOIR, Villa Turquoise, Chantilly. Come and join in the revel. ALEC. 

He gave the message to an attendant, bidding him despatch it fromChalons. He reasoned that Beaumanoir would be puzzled, would call at theRue Boissière, see his father, and solve the mystery. In all likelihood, Lord Adalbert, who cheerfully answered to the obvious nickname--wouldaccept the invitation, and by the time he reached Delgratz thesuccession to the throne of Kosnovia would be in a fair way towardsettlement. Moreover, by depriving the Chantilly team of their crackNumber One, Alec would equalize matters for the Wanderers, and the loveof sport is ever the ruling passion in healthy and vigorous youth. 

"By gad!" he said to himself, "I'm showing craft already. That is aMachiavellian wire!"

It was, as it happened, a stroke worthy of the wily Florentine himself;but neither he nor his latest pupil could possibly have estimated itstrue bearing on events. 

After dinner Stampoff found him. Delgrado was astounded at first. Stampoff, shorn of his immense mustache, ceased to be a General. Infact, the wizened, keen faced old man bore a striking resemblance to acertain famous actor of the Comédie Française; but he was not seated inAlec's compartment ten seconds with the door closed ere he showed thatthe loss of his warrior aspect had in no way tamed his heart. 

"Yes, " he said, passing a lean hand over his blue-black upper lip, "itwas necessary to disguise myself. Ten years are not so long, and I amknown on the Danube. You see, we must get through to Delgratz and theSchwarzburg. Once there, with three thousand bayonets behind us, we cando things. Leave the fighting to me, your----"

He stopped, and glanced at a fat Turk lumbering along the corridor. 

"Exactly, my dear old friend, " said Alec. "Drop titles, please, until wehave a right to use them. Even then they can be left to gentlemen ushersand court chamberlains. Alec and Paul sound better, anyhow. But you wereoutlining a scheme. I go with you as far as Delgratz; but those bayonetsin the Schwarzburg will not be behind me, I hope. Some of them may comewithin measurable distance of my manly chest; but even that isimprobable, for I have always noticed that vulgar assassins arecowards. "

Stampoff's bushy eyebrows had been spared, and they formed a hairy seamnow straight across eyes and nose. "You forget, perhaps you do notknow, that these men alone have actually declared for you--for aDelgrado, " he growled. 

"And a pretty gang of cutthroats they must be! I read the details afterleaving Paris. That poor woman, Paul! She was pretty and vivacious, Ihave been told. Just picture the scene in the dining hall. One woman, three unarmed men, the King leaping up and endeavoring to shieldher--and the gallant Seventh firing volleys at them. Then, when the lastsob is uttered, the last groan stilled, husband and wife are pitched tothe dogs. Oh, it makes my blood boil! By the Lord! when I am King Ishall hang the whole crew!"

He spoke very quietly. Any one looking through the window in the upperhalf of the door would have seen a young man seemingly telling an olderone something of ordinary import. But the words were crisp and hot. Theycame like drops of molten steel from the furnace of his heart. 

Stampoff's thin face grew swarthier. He bent forward, his hands on hisknees. "Will you tell me why you are going to Delgratz?" he asked with acurious huskiness in his voice. 

"To occupy a throne--or a tomb. In either event, I am only copying theexample of the vast majority of my revered ancestors. "

"The throne is yours by right. Theodore has fallen almost precisely asyour grandfather fell. Ferdinand was shot, and escaped with his lifeonly because there was a struggle and a few faithful followers carriedhim into safety. "

"If I depended on the fealty of the Seventh Regiment, I should notexpect to find even the faithful few. Poor Theodore may have looked forthem; but they did not exist. "

"Then we had better leave the train at Chalons and return to Paris. "

"Certainly, if the butchers of the Schwarzburg are to form my cohort. "

"God's bones! never have I been so mistaken in a man! Your father, now, --one feared he might have lost his nerve, --but you, Alec! The deviltake it! I thought better of you. I suppose then, it will have to beMarulitch. "

"Julius! Is he a candidate--or a rival?"

Stampoff paused, irresolute. He was deeply troubled, and his fierce eyessearched Delgrado's face. "I had real hope of you, " he muttered. "Youwould appeal to the women, and they are ever half the battle. Why areyou so squeamish? You needn't embrace the men of the Seventh. You canuse them, and kick them aside. That is the fate of ladders that lead tothrones. I know it. I am old enough not to care. "

"I am not thinking of ladders as yet, Paul. Sufficient for the day isthe foundation thereof, and I refuse to build my Kingdom on the brokenvows of traitors. "

"Ha! Stupid words! The ravings of cheap philosophers! By your ownshowing, I am a traitor. "

"Yes, but an honest one. You fought fairly and were beaten. Were itotherwise, Theodore would never have tried so often to tempt you to hisservice. "

The General flung himself back in the carriage and folded his arms. Thesteel spring was relaxed. He was baffled, and the weariness of life hadsuddenly enveloped him in its chilling fog. "Very well, then. We descendat Chalons, " he said, with a sigh that was a tribute to adverse fate. 

"Having paid for your ticket, you may as well come on to Vienna, " saidAlec with irritating composure. 

"Curse Vienna! Why should I take that long journey for nothing?"

"To oblige me. "

"You'll drive me crazy. How will it oblige you?"

"Because I am going to Delgratz, General, and there is a whole lot ofthings I want to ask you. "

Stampoff bounced up again. "Will you be so kind as to explain what youmean?" he cried indignantly. 

"Oh, yes. We are going to talk far into the night, and it is only fairthat you should know my intentions. Otherwise, the valuable counsel youwill give me might be misdirected, as it is, for instance, at thepresent moment, when you are heatedly advising me to throw in my lotwith a set of rascals who, when I fail to satisfy their demands, wouldturn and rend me just as they have rended Theodore. Be sure that theirobject was selfish, Stampoff. Not one of these men has ever seen PrinceMichael or myself. Even their leaders must have been mere boys whenFerdinand VII. Was attacked--probably by their fathers. Well, I shallhave none of them. They and their like are the curse of Kosnovia. Whowill pay taxes to keep me in the state that becomes a King? Not they. Who will benefit by good government and honest administration of thelaws? Assuredly not they, for they batten on corruption; they are themaggots not the bees of industry. Over whom, then, shall I reign?

"I am young, Paul; but I have read and thought, --not very deeply, perhaps, but I have looked at things in that strong, clear light ofParis, which is heady at times, like its good wine, but which enablesmen to view art and politics and social needs in their nakedness. And Iam half an American, too, which accounts for certain elements in mycomposition that detract from French ideals. A Frenchman cannotunderstand, Paul, why some of my excellent kith and kin across theAtlantic should condemn studies of the nude. But somehow I have aglimmering sense of the moral purpose that teaches us to avoid thatwhich is not wholly decent. So I am a blend of French realism andAmerican level headedness, and both sides of my nature warn me that aKing should trust his people. Sometimes the people are slow to learnthat vital fact. Well, they must be taught, and the first lesson in aState like Kosnovia might well be given by trying those felons of theSchwarzburg before a duly constituted court of law. "

"Fine talk, Alec. Fine talk! You do not know our Serbs, " yet Stampoffwas moved, and his Slavonic sympathies were touched. 

"Well, 'A King should die standing, ' said one poor monarch, who thoughthe did know Frenchmen. I ask only for a few hours in my boots once Ireach Delgratz. I shall say things that will not be forgotten for a dayor two. Come, now, my old war-horse, join me in this new campaign! Itmay well prove your last as it is my first; but we shall fall honorably, you and I. "

There were tears in Stampoff's eyes when Alec made an end. "Perhaps youare right, " he said. "I have always given my mind to the militaryelement. It seemed to me that the common folk require to be driven, notled, into the path they should tread. I am growing old, Alec; yours is anew creed to me. I never thought to hear it from a Delgrado, and it willmake a rare stir in more places than Kosnovia; but by Heaven it is wortha trial!"

So Alec had won a convert, and that is the first essential of areformer. Long and earnestly did they discuss the men and manners ofKosnovia and its chief city, and ever the Danube drew nearer; but not aword did Alec say of his telegram to Beaumanoir until a man met him inthe Western Station at Vienna, wrung his hand, and rushed away againwith the words:

"Beaumanoir leaves Paris to-night. He understands. So do I. Good luck, old chap! If you have to hit, hit hard and quickly. "

Stampoff did not speak English. He was greatly distressed that Alecshould have been recognized the instant he alighted from the train, though Paris was then twenty-two hours distant. "Who is that?" he askedanxiously. 

"A friend from the British Embassy. "

"From an Embassy! Then we are lost. "

"It seemed to me that I was found, rather. "

"But if the Embassies know----"

"They are invariably the worst informed centers in any country. Thefacts of which they profess total ignorance would fill many interestingvolumes. Have no fear, General. I said 'a friend. ' He gave me a pleasantmessage. "

"Ah, from a woman, of course?"

"No. But----"

Delgrado wheeled round to face a tall burly man standing stiffly at hisside as though awaiting orders. Stampoff, who had been following thevanishing figure of Beaumanoir's emissary with suspicious eyes, turnedand looked at the newcomer. 

"Oh, that is Bosko, " he said, "my servant--yours, too, for that matter. You can trust Bosko with your life. Can't he, you dog?"

"_Oui, m'sieur!_" said Bosko. 

CHAPTER IV

THE WHITE CITY

Alec was sound asleep when the Orient Express rumbled over the Danubefor the last time during its slow run to the Near East. He was arousedby an official examining passports, which he was informed would berestored in the railway station at Delgratz. He disliked the impliedsubterfuge; but it could not be helped. Austria, gracious to travelerswithin her bounds, excepts those who mean to cross her southeasternfrontier. There she frowns and inquires. If it was known that a Delgradowas in the train, he would have been stopped for days, pestered byofficialdom; and possibly deported. 

A curious element of safety was, however, revealed by newspaperspurchased at Budapest. The various factions in Delgratz had declared atruce. The Delgrado partizans had telegraphed an invitation to PrinceMichael to come and occupy the throne, and the Prince, or some wiserperson, had sent a gracious reply stating that his matured decisionwould reach Kosnovia in due course. The National Assembly was stillcoquetting with the republican idea; but, in the same breath, avowed itspatriotic impartiality. In a word, Delgratz wanted peace. Toward thatend, the Seventh Regiment continued to occupy the Black Castle, theremainder of the troops stood fast, and the citizens pulled down theirbarricades. 

Oddly enough, the Paris correspondent of "The Budapest Gazette" pointedout that Prince Michael's son was playing polo in the Bois during theafternoon of Tuesday. The journalist little dreamed that Alec wasreading his sarcastic comments on the Delgrado lack of initiative atBudapest at midnight on Wednesday. 

The train was about to cross the River Tave (Delgratz stands on thejunction of that stream and the Danube) when Stampoff appeared. TheAlbanian servant accompanied him. 

"Leave everything to Bosko, " said the General. "We must display nohaste, and he will smooth the way through the customs. "

"I suppose you don't want me to ask any questions?" laughed Alec. 

"Better not. Do you still adhere to your program of last night?"

"Absolutely. "

Stampoff took off his hat, pointed through the window, and said quietly, "There, then, God willing, is your Majesty's future capital. I wish tocongratulate your Majesty on your first sight of it. "

Beyond a level stretch of meadowland rose the spires and domes andminarets of a white city. The sun, not long risen, gilded its gracefulcontours and threw the rest of a wondrous picture into shadow so sharpthat the whole exquisite vista might have been an intaglio cut in thesapphire of the sky. The Danube, a broad streak of silver, blended withthe blue Tave to frame a glimpse of fairyland. For one thrilling momentAlec forgot its bloodstained history and looked only on the fair domainspread before his eyes. Then the black girders and crude latticework ofa bridge shut out the entrancing spectacle, and he was conscious thatStampoff had caught his hand and was pressing it to his lips. 

The gallant old Serb meant well, for he was a patriot to the core; buthis impulsive action grated. Perhaps it was better so. Alec, bred in asociety that treated such demonstrations with scant respect, wassuddenly recalled to earth, and the business that lay before him seemedto be more in keeping with the modern directness of the railway bridgethan with daydreams founded on a picturesque vision of Delgratz. 

The city, too, lost its glamour when seen from those backdoor suburbsthat every railway in every land appears to regard as the only naturalavenue of approach to busy communities. The line turned sharply alongthe right bank of the Tave and ran past tobacco factories, breweries, powder mills, scattered hovels, and unkempt streets. Here was no sun, but plenty of bare whitewash. Even Alec, accustomed to the singularlyugly etchings of Paris viewed from its chief railways, was completelydisillusioned by these drab adumbrations of commerce and squalor. TheTave was no longer blue, but dull brown with the mud of recent rain. Noteven the inhabitants were attractive. They were not garbed as Serbs, butwore ungainly costumes that might have passed unnoticed in the Bowery. He was irresistibly reminded of the stage, with its sharp contrastsbetween the two sides of the footlights, and in the luggage net near hishead reposed that melodramatic sword, still wrapped in brown paper. 

The train slowed, and Stampoff went into the corridor. He came backinstantly. "The station is guarded by troops, " he muttered. "Some of theofficers may recognize me. Perhaps we ought to separate. "

"No, no, " said Alec. "Let us stick to the other passengers. I am thereal stranger here, and they can look at me as much as they like. "

It was, indeed, easy to concede that Alexis III. Was a man apart fromhis people. Swarthy old Stampoff, Prince Michael Delgrado, the pink andwhite Julius Marulitch, even the olive skinned, oval faced Beliani, might have mingled with the throng on the platform and found each hisracial kith and kin; not so Alec. His stature, his carriage, his faircomplexion tanned brown with an open air life, picked him out amongthese Balkan folk almost as distinctly as a Polar bear would show amongthe denizens of an Indian jungle. Moreover, every man of importancewore some sort of uniform, whereas Alec was quietly dressed in tweeds. 

Thus, he drew many eyes, and evoked many a whispered comment; but nevera man or woman in that crowded terminus harbored the remotest notionthat he was a Delgrado. There were guesses in plenty, wherein he rangedfrom an English newspaper correspondent to a Greek Prince, the latterwild theory originating in the discovery of his name on the passport. Stampoff was ignored, and all went well till Bosko, laden withportmanteaus, led the way to the exit. 

Alec, swayed by a desire to please his father, carried under his arm thesword of Ferdinand VII. The customs officials at the barrier allowed theparty to pass; but a shrewd visaged officer standing just outside eyedAlec's package. 

"What have you there?" he asked, probably more anxious to exchange aword with this distinguished looking stranger than really inquisitive. 

"A sword, " said Alec. 

"And why are you carrying a sword?" said the other, who seemed hardly toexpect this prompt reply in the vernacular. 

"It is a curiosity, a veritable antique. "

"Ha! I must see it. "

"Come with me to Monsieur Nesimir's house and I will show it to you. "

The suspicious one became apologetic, since Monsieur Nesimir wasPresident of the National Assembly. 

"I pray your pardon, " he said. "Any friend of the President passesunchallenged. But these are troublous times in Kosnovia, so youunderstand----"

"Exactly. Brains are far more useful than swords in Delgratz to-day, andthis, at the best, is but a gilded toy. "

Stampoff was already inside a closed carriage, and Bosko was holding thedoor open for Alec, who gave the driver clear instructions before heentered. The vehicle rattled off, and Stampoff swore bluntly. 

"Gods! I thought there would be a row, " he growled. "That fellow isCaptain Drakovitch, I remember him well; he is all nose. "

"I shall appoint him sanitary inspector, " said Alec, sniffing. 

Stampoff laughed. Now that they were fairly committed to Alec's scheme, he was in excellent spirits. "By the patriarch! you certainly believe inyourself, and I am beginning to believe in you!" he vowed. 

But his faith was rudely shaken when Alec insisted on sending his owncard to Nesimir. "That is a mad thing, " he protested. "He will refuse toreceive you and hand you over to the guard. "

"On the contrary, he will hasten to meet us. Curiosity is the mostpotent of human attributes. Even Presidents yield to it. At this moment, in all likelihood, he is struggling into a frock coat. "

Alec was right. A portly person, wearing, indeed, a frock coat, a sash, and peg top trousers, appeared in the doorway of the presidentialmansion. He also wore an expression of deep amazement. He glanced fromthe tall smiling youth to the diminutive General, on whom his eyes dweltsearchingly. 

"Yes, " said Stampoff abruptly, speaking in French, "I am Paul Stampoff, shorn of his fleece. This is the King, " and he nodded to Alec. 

"The King!"

"Alexis III. , grandson of Ferdinand VII. , and son of Michael V. "

Nesimir hastily ordered a servant to close the outer door. As ithappened, the President's military guard was stationed at a gate on theother side of the main courtyard, and no one could be aware of thevisitor's identity, except the man who had taken Alec's card, while he, probably, was unable to read Roman script. 

"Your Excellency will doubtless permit our baggage to be placed in thehall?" said Alec, using the most musical of all the Slavonic tongueswith fluency. 

The President, in that state of trepidation best described by the homelyphrase, "You could have knocked him down with a feather, " seemed tocollapse utterly when he heard the stranger talking like a native. 

"Certainly, your--certainly. I don't understand, of course; but I shallgive directions. .. " he stuttered. "You have come by train, from--er--from the west? You have not breakfasted? A cup of chocolate?Ah, yes, a cup of chocolate. Then we can discuss matters. The Assemblymeets at ten, and I am very busy; but I can give you half an hour, Monsieur----" he looked at the card in his hand, --"Monsieur----"

Then he gave it up. He simply dared not pronounce the name; so, withhospitable flourish, he ushered the two up a broad staircase and into aroom. 

While climbing the stairs he recovered sufficiently to tell thedoorkeeper that the gentlemen's portmanteaus were to be brought withinand no one admitted without specific permission. Once in the room heclosed the door, stood with his back to it, and gasped at Stampoff withone word:

"Now!"

"As soon as you like. I am famished. I ate but little en route, becauseI detest German cooking, " said Stampoff, on whom Alec's methods weretaking effect. 

"But----"

"Ah, you wonder why his Majesty should appear without ceremony? Well, hequitted Paris on Tuesday night, an hour after Prince Michael hadabdicated in his favor. "

"Abdicated!" wheezed the President. 

"Our friend takes too much for granted, " broke in Alec, smiling andunembarrassed. "My father could not vacate a throne he did not occupy. He merely resigned his claims in my favor. Kosnovia should be governedby a constitutional King, and the power to choose him now rests solelywith the honorable house of which you are chief. If that is your view, Ishare it to the uttermost. It is reported in the press that the men whomurdered King Theodore and Queen Helena have declared their allegianceto the Delgrado line. My reply is that I refuse their nomination. If Iam elected King by the representatives of the people, I shall have muchpleasure in hanging every officer who took part in the infamy of theBlack Castle. But--it is an early hour for politics. You mentionedbreakfast, Monsieur le Président?"

Fat and asthmatic Sergius Nesimir was not the man to deal with a candidadventurer of this type. It occurred to him that he ought to summon helpand clap the soi-disant King and his henchman into prison. But on whatcharge? Could any royal pretender put forth more reasonable plea? AndKosnovia is near enough to the East to render sacred the claims ofhospitality. 

"One moment, I beg, " he stammered. "Why has your--why have you come tome? What am I to do? The Assembly----"

"The Assembly seems to favor a Republic, " said Alec. "Be it so. Thereare certain arguments against such a course which I would be glad of anopportunity to place before members. If you introduce me, they will giveme a fair hearing. Let a vote be taken at once. If it is opposed to amonarchy, I am ready to be conducted to either the railway station orthe scaffold, whichever the Assembly in its wisdom may deem best fittedto national needs. If it is in my favor, I am King. What more is thereto be said?"

"What, indeed?" growled Stampoff. "Why so much talk? Let us eat!"

Poor Nesimir! He had the unhappy history of his country at his fingers'ends, and never before had Delgrado or Obrenovitch striven for kingshipin this kid-glove fashion. 

"Breakfast shall be served instantly, " he said, trying vainly to imitatethe cool demeanor of his guests. "But--you will appreciate thedifficulties of my position. I must consult with the ministers. "

"I hope I may call your Excellency a friend, " said Alec, "and I shall beever ready to accept your Excellency's counsel; but on this exceptionaloccasion I venture to advise you. Let none know I am here. In thepresent disturbed condition of affairs there must be almost as manyhidden forces existing in Delgratz as there are men in the Cabinet. Whypermit them to fret and fume when you alone have power to control them?I promise faithfully to abide by the decision of the Assembly. Should itfavor me, your position is consolidated; should it prove adverse to mycause, you still remain the chief man in the State, since the world willrealize that it was to you, and you only, I submitted in the firstinstance. "

"By all the saints, that is well put!" cried Stampoff. "Now, Sergius, my lamb, a really good omelet, something grilled, and a bottle of soundKarlowitz--none of your Danube water for me!"

The President surrendered at discretion. Alec's appeal to his selfimportance was irresistible. He was excited, elated, frightened; buthappily he was strong enough to perceive that a chance of obtainingdistinction was within his grasp, and he clutched at it, though withpalsied hands. 

So it came to pass that when the hundred and fifty members of theNational Assembly gathered in the great hall of the convention, nonethere knew why a tall, pleasant faced young man should be sitting in thePresident's private room, and apparently not caring a jot who came orwent during the half-hour's lobbying and retailing of political gossipthat preceded the formal opening of the sitting. 

But there was an awkward moment when Nesimir, pale and shaken, enteredthe chamber through the folding doors at the back of the presidentialdais. 

"Silence for his Excellency the President!" shouted a loud voiced usher, and all men looked up in wonder when they discovered that the youthfulstranger was standing by the President's side. The session was to be asecret one. Press and public were excluded. Who, then--

"Gentleman, " said Sergius Nesimir, and he spoke with the slowness of illrepressed agitation, "I have a momentous announcement to make. Thishonorable house has almost committed itself to the republican form ofGovernment----"

 [Illustration: "Gentlemen, here stands Alexis Delgrado" Page 75]

"Definitely!" cried a voice. 

"No, no!" this from a Senator. 

The President lifted a hand. In other circumstances, the interruptionswould have provoked rival storms of agreement and dissent from the manygroups into which the Assembly was split up; but now there was anelectric feeling in the air that their trusted chief would not broachthis grave question so suddenly without good cause. And--who was hiscompanion? Why did he occupy the dais?

"I ask for silence, " said Nesimir. "The fortunes of Kosnovia tremble inthe balance. You will be given ample time for discussion; but hear mefirst. I have said that the republican idea has been mooted in allseriousness. We, in common with the rest of humanity, have beenhorror stricken by recent events in our beloved land. Our reigningdynasty has been blotted out of existence. There is no heir of theObrenovitch line. Were we, the representatives of the people, to declarein favor of a King, we should naturally turn to the other royal house ofour own blood. We should send for a Delgrado. Gentlemen, here standsAlexis Delgrado----"

He could go no further. A yell of sheer amazement came from all parts ofthe crowded chamber. Ministers, Senators, Representatives, joined inthat bewildered roar. Those who were sitting rose; those in the backbenches stood on the seats in order to gaze over the heads in front. Men shouted and glared and turned to shout again at one another; butthrough all the turmoil Alec faced them, smiling and imperturbable, and, at what he judged to be the right moment--for that volcanic outburstmust be given time to exhaust itself--he placed his one hand on thePresident's shoulder and with the other signaled his desire to be heard. 

Again he placed implicit confidence in the all powerful element ofcuriosity. He knew full well that these emotional Serbs could not hearhis name unmoved, while the extraordinary racial difference betweenhimself and every other man in the Assembly must have made a strongappeal to their dramatic instincts. And again was he justified; for themere expression of his wish to address them was obeyed by an instanthushing of the storm. 

"My fellow countrymen, " he began, "you whom I expect to count among myfriends ere this day is out----"

Another wave of sound ran through the hall. Men still wondered; buttheir hearts were beating high, and a new note had come into theirvoices. He was speaking their own language, speaking it as one to themanner born, speaking it as no Austrian could ever speak it, sinceharsh, dominant German can never reproduce the full Slavonic resonance. Alec, but yesterday Joan's typical idler, had fathomed some uncharteddeep in the mysterious art of swaying his fellow men. He realized atonce that this rumble of astonishment was the very best thing thatcould have happened. He waited just long enough for the sympatheticmurmur to merge into nods and whisperings, then he continued:

"It is true that I am here as a Delgrado. I come as a candidate, not aclaimant. It rests with you whether I shall remain among you as AlexisIII. , King of Kosnovia, or go back to my father and tell him that ourpeople are anxious to try a new form of Government. Of course, " and hereAlec beamed on them most affably, "there are other alternatives. You mayelect to put me in jail, or throw me into the Danube, or swing me from agibbet as a warning to all would-be monarchs and other malefactors. Butthere is one thing you cannot do. You can never persuade me to wade to athrone through the blood of innocent people! And that is why I am here, and not in the company of the wretched conspirators now skulking behindthe walls of the Schwarzburg. "

Then a hurricane of cheers made the windows rattle, and a deputy fromthe Shumadia, "the heart of Kosnovia, " a bigchested, deep voicedforester, sent forth a trumpet shout that reached every ear:

"Hola! That's a King! Look at him!"

From that instant Alec was as surely King of Kosnovia as the GermanEmperor is King of Prussia. Of course, he had to talk till he washoarse, and wring strong hands till he was weary, and Stampoff had tomake more than one gruff speech, and eloquent Senators and Deputies hadto proclaim the inviolate nature of the new constitution, and Alec hadto sign it amid a scene of riotous enthusiasm. But these things were theaftermath of a harvest reaped by half a dozen sentences. The Shumadiaman's simple phrases became a formula. Men laughed and said:

"Hola! That's a King! Look at him!"

In time it reached the streets. The people took it up as a popularcatchword. It whirled through all Kosnovia. Those who had never seenAlec, nor heard of him before they were told he was King, adopted it asa token of their belief that the nation had at last obtained a ruler whosurpassed all other Kings. 

But that was to come later. While Alec was listening to the plauditsthat proclaimed his triumph, Stampoff growled at him from behind thehalf-closed door:

"Gods! You've done it! And without a blow! Never was Kingdom won soeasily. God bless your Majesty! May you live long and reign worthily!"

Good wishes these; but in them was the germ of an abiding canker. Whatwould Joan say? He had taken a sleeping car ticket from Paris and hadstepped into his patrimony with as little anxiety or delay as wouldherald a royal succession in the oldest and most firmly establishedmonarchy in Europe. What of the goddess with the great gray eyes, clearand piercing, who knew all the thoughts of men's hearts and the secretsof their souls? What of her warning that she would drive her chosen onesby strange paths through doubt and need and danger and battle? Which ofthese had he encountered, beyond the vanished phantoms of idle hourspassed in the cozy comfort of the Orient Express? "Never was kingdom wonso easily!"

Well meant; but it rankled. That ominous line of Vergil's came to hismind. _Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes_ (I fear the Greeks even bringinggifts). Truly the Greeks were come speedily, carrying in full measurethe gifts of loyalty and dominion. Yet he feared them. A whiff of peril, pitfalls to be leaped, some days or weeks of dire uncertainty, men to bewon, and factions placated, any or all of these might have appeased thejealous gods. But this instant success would shock Olympus. It cried forcontrast by its very flight to the pinnacle. 

None suspected this mood in the chosen King. He charmed these volatileand romantic Serbs by his naturalness. He seemed to take it sothoroughly for granted that he was the one man living who could rulethem according to their aspirations, that they adopted the notionwithout reserve. The morning passed in a blaze of enthusiasm. Alec, outwardly calm and hale fellow with all who came in contact with him, was really in a state of waking trance. His brain throbbed with ideas, words that he had never conned flowed from his lips. Thus, when asked tosign the constitution, he wrote "Alexis, Rex, " with a firm hand, andthen looked round on the circle of intent faces. 

"Gentlemen, " he said, "I hereby pledge myself to our land. When I amdead, if my successor shows signs of faltering, make my skin into adrumhead for the cause of Kosnovia!"

At the moment he really did not know that this was borrowed thunder, andassuredly the Kosnovians did not care. Already his utterances were beingretailed with gusto. Before night, every adult inhabitant of Delgratzwas likening their marvelous King, fallen from the skies, to a drum thatshould summon the Serbs to found the Empire of their dreams. 

He was asked if he would not order the Seventh Regiment to evacuate theBlack Castle so that he might take up his quarters there. 

"There is no hurry, " he said. "The place needs cleaning. "

A review of the troops stationed in other parts of the capital wasarranged for the afternoon in the beautiful park that crowns thepromontory formed by the two rivers, and it was suggested that he shoulddrive thither in the President's carriage. 

"I would prefer to ride, " said he. "Then the people and I can see oneanother. "

A number of horses were brought from the late King's stables and Alecselected a white Arab stallion that seemed to have mettle and be up toweight. Soldiers and civilians exchanged underlooks at the choice. Selim was the last horse ridden by the ill fated Theodore, and, afterthe manner of Arabs, he had stumbled on the level roadway and the royalequestrian was thrown. 

During the procession, while passing through the densely packedWassina-st. , Selim stumbled again and was promptly pulled back almost onhis haunches. At that very instant a revolver was fired from the crowdand a bullet flattened itself on the opposite wall. The would-beassassin was seized instantly, a hundred hands were ready to tear him toshreds, when the King's white horse suddenly pranced into the midst ofthe press. Grasping the man by the neck, Alec drew him free by mainforce. 

"Kill him!" yelled the mob. 

"No, " cried Alec, "we will put him in the recruits' squad and teach himhow to shoot!"

Throughout a long day he displayed a whole hearted abandonment to thejoy of finding himself accepted by the people as their ruler that didmore than a year's session of the Assembly to endear him to them; butthe seal of national approval was conferred by his action next day, whennews came that Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir was a prisoner at Semlin!

Naturally, the telegraph wires had thrilled Europe during every hourafter ten o'clock on Thursday morning, but the thrills felt in Germany, Russia, and Turkey were supplemented by agonized squirming on the partof official Austria. That an upstart, a masquerader, a mountebank of aKing, should actually have traversed Austria from west to east, withoutever a soul cased in uniform knowing anything about him, was ill toendure, and the minions of Kosnovia's truculent neighbor swore mightyoaths that no bottle holder from Paris or elsewhere should be allowed tofollow. So Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir was watched from Passau to MariaTheresiopel, and telegrams flew over the face of the land, and Alec'sBritish ally was hauled from the train at Semlin soon after dawn Friday. 

Captain Drakovitch, anxious to atone for his prying of the previous day, brought circumstantial details to his Majesty Alexis III. , who wasbreakfasting with Nesimir, Stampoff, and Ministers of State. There couldbe no doubting Beaumanoir's identity, since his baggage was on thetrain, and Drakovitch had made sure of his facts before hurrying to thePresident's house. 

"Has Austria any right to arrest a British subject merely because hewishes to enter Kosnovia?" asked Alec, looking round at the assembledgray-heads. 

"None whatever, " said Nesimir. 

"It is an outrage, " puffed the War Minister. 

"She would not dare act in that way on any other frontier!" cried he ofthe Interior. 

"What, then, is to be done?" demanded the King. 

"Make the most emphatic protest to Vienna, " came the chorus. 

"Through the usual diplomatic channels?"

"Yes--of course. "

"But that means leaving my friend in prison for an indefinite period. "

Eloquent shrugs expressed complete agreement. 

"Has it been the habit of Kosnovia to accept tamely such treatment atthe hands of Austria?" inquired Alec, looking at the President. 

"I fear so, your Majesty. We are small and feeble; she is mighty in sizeand armament. "

"So was Goliath, yet David slew him with a pebble, " said Alec, rising. "Come, Captain Drakovitch, you and I will call on the AustrianAmbassador. Stampoff, will you kindly arrange that a regiment of cavalryand six guns shall parade outside the station in half an hour's time?You might also ask the railway people to provide the necessarytransport, though I hardly expect it will be needed. Still, we ought tomake a show, just for practice. "

Several faces at the table blanched. 

"What does your Majesty mean by these preparations?" asked Nesimir. 

"Preparations--for what? Surely we can inspect our own troops and testour own railway accommodation, " laughed Alec. "As for the AustrianAmbassador, I intend to make an emphatic protest through the usualdiplomatic channel. Isn't that what you all agreed to?"

He went out, followed by Drakovitch. In five minutes they wereclattering through the streets accompanied by a small escort, whichAlec would have dispensed with if it was not absolutely needed to cleara passage when once Delgratz knew that the King was abroad. 

Neither the Austrian nor Russian representative had recognized the newrégime as yet. Each was waiting to see how the other would act; so Baronvon Rothstein viewed with mixed feelings the arrival of his royalvisitor. But he met him with all ceremony, and began to say thatinstructions might reach him from Vienna at any moment to pay anofficial call. 

"Quite correct, Herr Baron, " said Alec cheerfully. "I am a novice atthis game; but I fully understand that you act for your Government andnot for yourself. That fact renders easy the favor I have to ask. "

"Anything that lies in my power, your Majesty----"

"Oh, this is a simple matter. A friend of mine, Lord AdalbertBeaumanoir, who was coming here from Paris to visit me, was arrested atSemlin this morning. There is, or can be, no charge against him. Some ofyour zealous agents have blundered, that is all. Now, I want you to goto Semlin in a special train I will provide and bring his Lordship herebefore----" Alec looked at his watch--"It is now nine--shall we say?--byeleven o'clock sharp. "

Von Rothstein was startled, and he showed it. "But this is the first Ihave heard of it, " he said. 

"Exactly. That is why I came in person to tell you. "

"I fear I cannot interfere, your Majesty. "

"Is that so? Why, then, Herr Baron, are you Minister for Austria atDelgratz?"

"I mean that this matter is not within my province. "

"Surely it must be. I cannot allow my friends to be collared by Austrianpolice for no reason whatsoever. This passport question concernsKosnovia, not Austria. The action of the Semlin authorities is one ofbrigandage. It can be adjusted amicably by you, Herr von Rothstein. Doyou refuse?"

"I fear I cannot do what you desire, your Majesty. "

"Ah! That is a pity! In that event, I must go to Semlin myself andliberate Lord Adalbert. "

"I don't quite understand----"

"Is my German so poor, then?" laughed Alec. 

"I mean, of course----"

"You think I am bluffing. Do you know the word? It is American for apretense that is not backed by action. I intend nothing of the kind. Either you or I must start for Semlin forthwith. If I go, I take with mea bodyguard sufficiently strong to insure my friend's freedom. I am notdeclaring war against Austria. If any jack in office in Kosnovia actslike these Semlin policemen, and a Kosnovian official refuses to putmatters straight, by all means let Austria teach the offenders a sharplesson. She will have my complete approval, as I hope I have yours onthe present occasion. "

"But, your Majesty, such action on your part does really amount to adeclaration of war!"

"Ridiculous! Austria seizes an inoffensive British gentleman merelybecause he travels from Paris to Delgratz, I appeal to you, the Austrianminister, to go and release him, and you refuse; yet you tell me I ammaking war on your country if I rescue him. The notion is preposterous!At any rate, it can be argued later. I have sufficient cavalry and gunsassembled near the station, and I hope to be in Semlin in twentyminutes. Good morning, Baron. "

"Your Majesty, I implore you to forego this rash enterprise. "

"It is you or I for it!"

"Let me telegraph. "

"Useless. That spells delay. You or I must go to Semlin--now! Which isit to be?"

The Austrian diplomat, pallid and bewildered, yet had the wit to believethat this quiet voiced young man meant every word he said. He reasonedquickly that the freeing of a pestiferous Englishman at Semlin couldhave no possible effect on Austria's subsequent action. She might pleaseherself whether or not the threatened invasion of her territory shouldbe deemed a cause of war, while to yield for the hour robbed thisextraordinary adventurer of the prestige that would accrue from his boldact. 

"I will go, your Majesty, " said he, after a fateful pause. 

"Good! Permit me to congratulate you on a wise decision, " said Alec. "Ishall wait your return in patience until eleven. "

"And then?"

"Oh, then--I follow you, of course. "

Baron von Rothstein thought silence was best. He drove to the station, and did not fail to note the military preparations. His special quittedDelgratz at nine-twenty A. M. At ten-forty A. M. It came back and Alec methim and Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir on the platform. 

"Sorry you were held up, old chap, " was the King's greeting. "Some ofthese frontier police are fearful asses; but Herr von Rothstein rushedoff the instant he heard of your predicament, and here you are, onlyfive hours late after all. "

"Wouldn't have missed it for a pony, dear boy, " grinned Beaumanoir. "There was a deuce of a shindy when three fat johnnies tried to pull meout of my compartment. I told 'em I didn't give a tinker's continentalfor their bally frontier, and then the band played. I slung one jokerthrough the window. Good job it was open, or he might have beenguillotined, eh, what?"

"No one was injured, I hope. "

"Another fellow said I bent his ribs; but they sprang all right underthe vet's thumb. Tell me, why does our baronial friend look so vinegary?He chattered like a magpie in the police bureau, or whatever it iscalled, at Semlin. "

"Lord Adalbert wishes me to explain that a disagreeable incident hadended happily, " said Alec to von Rothstein. 

"I am not sure that it has ended, your Majesty, " was the grim reply. 

"Well, then, shall we say that it has taken a satisfactory turn? Yousee, my dear Baron, I am quite a young King, and I shall commit manyblunders before I learn the usages of diplomacy. But I mean well, andthat goes a long way, --much farther than Semlin, even beyond Vienna. "

CHAPTER V

FELIX SURMOUNTS A DIFFICULTY

Count Julius Marulitch and his friend Constantine Beliani, the onesavagely impatient, the other moody and preoccupied, sprawled listlesslyin Marulitch's flat in the Avenue Victor Hugo, and, though it wasevening, each was reading "The Matin. " That is to say, each waspretending to read; but their thoughts did not follow the printed words. Alexis III. Had reigned only ten days, yet the most enterprising of theParis newspapers was already making a feature of a column headed: "Ourdear Alec, day by day. " It ought to be an interesting record to thesetwo men, yet it evidently was not one-tenth so humorous as "The Matin"believed, since there was a deep frown on both faces. 

At last Marulitch flung the paper aside with an angry snarl. 

"Ah, bah!" he growled. "May the devil fly away with our dear Alec andhis doings day by day! A nice pair of fools we made of ourselves when wepitchforked him into power!"

"Patience, my friend, patience!" said the Greek. "Everything comes tohim who waits, and Alec will fall far when his luck changes. It may beto-morrow, or next week; but he must experience a reverse. He is like agambler at Monte Carlo who stakes maximums just because the table isrunning favorably. "

"Fish!" snorted Marulitch. "What else would a gambler do?"

"What indeed?" agreed Beliani, though a far less alert intelligence thanMarulitch's might have known that he was annoyed. The pink and whiteJulius, whom his friends had nicknamed "le beau Comte, " did not fail tocatch the contemptuous note of that purred answer; he sprang up from hischair, ransacked a cupboard, and threw on the table a box of thosepriceless cigarettes, the produce of a single southwesterly hillside atSalonica, that are manufactured solely for the Sultan of Turkey. 

"There, smoke, my Constantine, " he laughed harshly. "Why should wequarrel? We were idiots. Let us, then, admit it. "

"Were we?"

"Can you deny it? We arranged the first move beautifully. With Theodoreout of the way----"

The Greek turned his head swiftly and looked at the door. Marulitchlowered his voice. 

"No need to refer to Theodore, you will say? How can one avoid it? Hisdeath was the cornerstone of the edifice. If only that senile uncle ofmine had become King the path would be clear for the final coup beforethe year was out. And now where are we? What purpose do we serve by selfdelusion? Each day's newspaper bears witness to our folly. Alec carriesthe Assembly by storm; Alec captures a would-be assassin; Alec floutsAustria; Alec disbands the Seventh Regiment and hands its officers tothe police; Alec attends the funeral of Theodore and Helena, and takesover their servants and debts; Alec tells the Sultan that he exists inEurope only on sufferance; Alec draws a map of Kosnovia and decorates itwith railways; Alec bathes in the Danube at six, breakfasts at seven, attends a christening at eight, a wedding at nine, a review at ten, amemorial service in the cathedral at eleven, lunches at twelve, receivesprovincial deputations at one, inaugurates the Delgratz Polo Club at twoand the Danubian Rowing Club at three, --Alec round the clock, and allEurope agape to know what next he will be up to--and you and I here, unknown, unrecorded, --you and I, the brains, the eyes, the organizers ofthe whole affair! Oh, it makes me sick when I remember how I stood likea stuck pig in old Delgrado's flat and let the son jump in and snatchfrom the father's hands the scepter I had purchased so dearly!"

The Greek rose languidly, strolled to the door, and threw it open. Apage boy was in the lobby, and it was easy to see by his innocent facethat his presence there was inspired by no more sinister motive than todeliver a newspaper. 

Beliani took it, closed the door, listened a moment, and unfolded thedamp sheet. He glanced at its foreign news. 

"'Le Soir' gives prominence to a rumor that King Alexis will marry aMontenegrin Princess, " he murmured composedly. 

"Mirabel, of course?"

"She is unnamed. "

"That's it. I know, I know! He will marry Mirabel. By Heaven! if hedoes, I'll shoot him myself!"

"The trial of the regicides is fixed for June, " went on Beliani, whollyunmoved by Marulitch's vehemence. "Now, the vital question is, How farcan Stampoff be relied on?"

"How does our reliance on Stampoff concern Mirabel?"

"I am not thinking of Mirabel, but of Julius and Constantine. IfStampoff tells our young Bayard everything, Delgratz is no place for youand me, my veteran. "

Marulitch, though trembling with passion, could not fail to see that theGreek was remarkably nonchalant for one who had witnessed the uttercollapse of ten years of work and expenditure. 

"Are we going there?" he managed to ask without a curse. 

"Soon, quite soon, provided Stampoff keeps a still tongue. "

"But why? To grace the coronation by our presence?"

"It may be. Remember, if you please, that we are Alec's best friends. Wegave him his chance. I offered to finance him; did finance Stampoff infact. We are unknown personally to the officers of the Seventh. That waswise, Julius, far-seeing, on my part. Oh, yes, we must go to Delgratz. Delgratz is the nerve center now. "

"You are keeping something from me. "

"On my honor, no. But you sneered at my parable of the successfulgambler, whereas I believe in it implicitly. I have seen that type offool backing the red, staking his six thousand francs on every coup, andhave watched a run of twelve, thirteen, seventeen, twenty-one; but thesmash came at last. "

"What matter? A man who wins twenty times can well afford to lose once. "

"I said a gambler, not a financier, " smiled Beliani. "But let it pass. Ithought you told me there was a girl here in Paris----"

"So there is, a beauty too; but Alec has meanwhile become a King. "

"A somewhat peculiar King. He has borrowed his regal notions fromAmerica rather than Kosnovia, Julius. He would laugh at any claim ofdivine right. One of these days you will find him chaffing theHohenzollerns, and that is dangerous jesting in the Balkans. If he lovesa girl in Paris, he will not marry your Mirabel. I fancy I have takenhis measure. If I am right, he is far too honest to occupy the throne ofKosnovia. "

"_Grand Dieu!_ the country is pining for honest government. Even youwill grant that. "

"Even I, as you say; but I should be wrong. If I have an ax to grind, sohas the other fellow. Kosnovia is in the East, and the East lovesdeceit. Alec has dazzled the people for a few days. Wait till he beginsto sweep the bureaus free of well paid sinecurists. Wait till he findsout how the money is spent that the Assembly votes for railways, education, forestry, and the like. Wait till he reduces the staff of thearmy and the secretaries. I know Delgratz and Kosnovia, and he does not. He will win the people, it is true; but he will alienate the men who cantwist the people this way and that to suit their own purposes. Before amonth is out he will be wrangling with the Assembly. See if I am not aprophet. Oh, yes, Julius, you and I must go to Delgratz. No hurry; slowbut sure. I'll break the journey at Vienna. We must sound Stampoff too. But before I go, I should like to be sure that the girl has gone there. "

"The artist girl to Delgratz!"

Julius was bitter and skeptical; but he reposed such confidence inBeliani's judgment that he choked his doubts. "Yes. Can it be managed?"

Le beau Comte leered, and the satyr grin was highly expressive. Itseemed to show the man's real nature. In repose his face was insipid;now for an instant he resembled the god Pan. 

"You called Alec a Bayard just now. Not a bad title for him. He has thatkind of repute among his friends. Perhaps the girl is built on the samelines, and we don't want to send a pretty saint to Delgratz merely toinspire him to fresh efforts. "

The Greek inhaled a deep breath of the aromatic smoke. "You'll be anaverage sort of King, Julius; but you are not a philosopher, " said hethoughtfully. "I tell you we are safer than ever if we can bring him andthe girl together. He will marry her, you short sighted one--marry her, and thus alienate every Slav in the Balkans. I have turned this thing inmy mind constantly since I recovered from the first shock of hisachievement, and I am fairly certain of my ground. Mark you, PrincessMirabel of Montenegro will be reported to-morrow as out of the running. If that is so, you will begin to believe me and stop clawing your hairand injuring your fine complexion by scowling. "

Next morning's "Matin" announced that King Alexis was greatly annoyed bythe mischievous and utterly unfounded canard that bracketed his namewith that of a woman he had never seen. Count Julius read, and made ahasty toilet. Beliani and he had laid their plans overnight, and he lostno time in opening the new campaign. 

It was a difficult and delicate task he had undertaken. Paris, big inmany respects, is small in its society, which, because of its wellmarked limits, makes a noise in the world quite incommensurate with itsimportance; whereas London, close neighbor and rival, contains a dozendefinite circles that seldom overlap. The woman Julius had seen withAlec in the Louvre was not on Princess Michael's visiting list, of thathe had no manner of doubt. Therefore, from his point of view, the onlypossible solution of their apparent friendship would prove to besomething underhanded and clandestine, an affair of secret meetings, andletters signed in initials, and a tacit agreement to move unhindered indifferent orbits. 

Being of the nature of dogs and aboriginal trackers, Marulitch madestraight for the Louvre. There he had quitted the trail, and there musthe pick it up again. But the hunt demanded the utmost wariness. If hestartled the quarry, he might fail at the outset, and, supposing histalking was successful, both he and Beliani must still beware of aKing's vengeance if their project miscarried. 

Neither man had the slightest belief in Alec's innate nobility ofcharacter. Beliani likened him to Bayard, it is true, and Marulitch hadscoffingly adopted the simile; but that was because each thought Bayardnot admirable, but a fool. The somber history of the Kosnovian monarchy, a record of crass stupidity made lurid at times by a lightning gleam ofpassion, justified the belief that Alexis would follow the path that ledTheodore, and Ferdinand, and Ivan, and Milosch to their ruin. Each ofthese rulers began to reign under favorable auspices, yet each succumbedto the siren's spell, and there was no reason at all, according to suchreckoning, why the handsome and impulsive Alexis should escape. That apretty Parisienne who was also an artist should fail to offer herself asa willing bait did not enter at all into the calculation. 

"Be suave, spend money, and keep in the background, " said the Greek. 

Julius entered the Grande Galerie prepared to apply these instructionsthrough the medium of his own subtle wit. At the outset, luck favoredhim. Somehow, it is always easier to do evil than good, and thelongevity of evil is notorious, whereas the short lived existence ofgood would horrify an insurance agent. 

Joan was not present; but Felix Poluski was preparing a canvas for histwenty-seventh copy of the famous Murillo. Two of his "ImmaculateConceptions" were in private collections; one had been sold to a SouthAmerican millionaire as the Spanish artist's own duplicate of thepicture, though Poluski was unaware of the fraud; and twenty-threeadorned the high altars of various continental churches, where theyedified multitudes happily ignorant of the irreverent conditions underwhich the cheery souled anarchist hunchback droned his snatches of songand extracted from a few tubes of paint some glimpse of heaven, and raysof sunlight, and hints of divine love and divine maternity. 

The crooked little Pole's genius and character were alike unknown toCount Julius. He saw only a quaintly artistic personage who mightpossibly be acquainted with such a remarkable looking habitué of thegallery as Joan. Instead, therefore, of appealing to one of theofficials, he approached Poluski, and the two exchanged greetings withthe politeness that Paris quickly teaches to those who dwell within hergates. 

"You work in this gallery most days, monsieur?" said Julius. 

"But yes, monsieur, " said Felix. 

"About a fortnight ago, monsieur, " explained Marulitch, "I happened tobe here at this hour, and I noticed a young lady copying one of thepictures on the opposite wall. Can you tell me who she was?"

"Can you tell me which picture she was copying?" said Poluski. 

"I am not sure; this one, I think, " and Julius pointed to "The FortuneTeller. "

"Ah! Describe her, monsieur. "

"She was tall, elegant, charming in manner and appearance. "

Poluski appeared to reflect. "The vision sounds entrancing, monsieur, "he said; "but that sort of girl doesn't usually earn her crusts bydaubing canvas in the Louvre at so much a square foot. "

"Yet I saw her, without a doubt. She was not alone that morning. Infact, a friend of mine was with her. "

Poluski turned to his easel. He was in no mind to discuss Joan with thisinquiring dandy. 

"That simplifies your search, monsieur, " said he carelessly. "All thatis necessary is to go to your friend. "

"I cannot. He is not in Paris. "

"Where is he?"

"Far enough away to render it impossible that he should solve my dilemmato-day. And the thing is urgent. I have a commission to offer, a goodone. If you help, you will be doing the young lady a turn--and yourself, too, perhaps. "

"Kindly explain, monsieur. "

"I mean that I will gladly pay for any information. "

"How much? Five, ten francs, a louis?"

The Pole's sarcasm was not to be mistaken. Julius was warned and drewback hurriedly. 

"I really beg your pardon, " he said; "but I am so anxious to carry outmy undertaking that I have expressed myself awkwardly, and I see nowthat you are misinterpreting my motives. Let me speak quite candidly. Ihave no desire to meet the lady in person. An art connoisseur, whoadmires her work, wishes to send her to a cathedral in a distant city tocopy a painting. He will pay well. He offers traveling expenses, hotelbill, and five thousand francs. The picture is not a large one, and thework easy, a Byzantine study of Saint Peter, I believe. If you tell me, monsieur, that you can arrange the matter, I shall be pleased to leaveit entirely in your hands. "

"Since when did Alec become a connoisseur?" demanded Poluski, grinning. 

Marulitch was startled; but he smiled with a ready self possession thatdid him credit. "It was in Monsieur Delgrado's company I saw the fairunknown, " he admitted; "but this affair does not rest with him. It isgenuine, absolutely. "

"Nevertheless, this Byzantine Saint Peter hangs in Delgratz, I suppose?"

"I--I think so. "

"Five thousand francs, you said, and expenses. Not bad. I'm a prettygood hand myself. Will I do?"

The Pole was enjoying the stupid little plot; for it could wear no otherguise to him, and Count Julius was mortified by the knowledge that hehad blundered egregiously at the first step in the negotiation. Whatwould Beliani say? This wizened elf of a man had seen clear throughtheir precious scheme in an instant, and, worst of all, it had notadvanced an inch. Julius made a virtue of necessity, and placed all hiscards on the table. 

"I want you to credit my statements, " he said emphatically. "Thisproposal is quite straightforward. My principal is prepared to pay halfthe money down before the lady leaves Paris, and the balance when thepicture is delivered. Further, he will bear the expenses of any one whoaccompanies her, --a relative, or a friend, such as yourself, forinstance. I don't figure in the matter at all. I am a mere go-between, and if you think otherwise you are utterly mistaken. "

Felix began to whistle softly between his teeth, and the action annoyedJulius so greatly that he decided to try a new line. 

"I seem to have amused you by my sincerity, monsieur!" he snapped. "Prayforget that I have troubled you----"

"But why, my paragon? _Que diable!_ one does not spurn five thousandfrancs like that! I hum or whistle when I am thinking, and just now I amwondering how this business can be arranged. Who is your client?"

"Who is yours?" retorted Julius. 

"She exists, at any rate. "

"So does the other. "

"Well, then, let us meet to-morrow----"

"But time is all important. "

"There can't be such a mortal hurry, seeing that Saint Peter has hung solong undisturbed in Delgratz, " said Felix dryly. "Moreover, it willclear the air if I tell you that the lady is not in Paris, so I cannotpossibly give you her answer before to-morrow morning. "

"How can I be sure that she is the person actually intended for thiscommission?"

"There won't be the least doubt about it when King Alexis III. Sets eyeson her. "

Julius was certainly not himself that day. His pink face grew crimsonwith amazement. "If you tell her that you will defeat my friend's objectin sending her to Delgratz!" he blurted out. 

"Eh, what are you saying? What, then, becomes of that poor Saint Peter?"

"Exactly. She is going there to copy it, not to philander with Alec. "

Poluski screwed his eyes up until he was peering at Julius's excitedfeatures as if endeavoring to catch some transient color effect. "Frankly, you puzzle me, " he said after a pause; "but come againto-morrow. And no tricks, no spying or that sort of thing! I am thewrong man for it. If you doubt me, ask some one who has heard of FelixPoluski. You see, Count Julius Marulitch, I am far more open than you. Iknew you all the time, and as to your motives, I can guess a good dealthat I don't actually know. Still, there is nothing positively dishonestabout a Byzantine Saint Peter. It is not art, but five thousand francssounds like business. Half the cash down, you said; anything by way ofpreliminary expenses?"

"Meaning?"

"Say, one per cent. , fifty francs. Otherwise, I must paint all day andtrust to the post--the least eloquent of ambassadors. "

"Oh, as to that, " and Julius produced a hundred-franc note from hispocketbook. 

The Pole accepted it gravely. "I go instantly, monsieur, " he said. Hebegan to fold his easel and put away his brushes and colors. Once heglanced up at the rapt Madonna. 

"_Au 'voir, ma belle_, " he murmured. "This affair of Saint Peter mustbe arranged. It presses. They change Kings speedily in Delgratznowadays, and their taste in saints may follow suit. But, courage! Ishall return, and who knows what will come of this excursion into theforgotten realm of Byzantium?"

Count Marulitch, of course, had not counted on one who was a completestranger not only recognizing him but stripping the pretense sothoroughly of the artistic commission offered to Alec's fair companionof that memorable morning. He must put the best face on his blunder whendiscussing it with Beliani, and he promised himself a quite definiteunderstanding with Poluski ere another sou left his pocket. 

Meanwhile, who was Poluski? That question, at least, could be answeredeasily. One clue might lead to another. To-morrow, when they met, itmight be his turn to astonish the warped little Pole. 

Felix, feeling that he had spoiled the Egyptians excellently well, hobbled off to his favorite café. Early as the hour was, various cronieswere there already, sipping their morning refreshments; but he passedthem with a nod and made for the fat proprietress throned behind a highdesk. When she caught sight of him, a certain air of firmness seemed tostruggle with sympathy for possession of her bulging features, and shehastily thumbed a small account book taken from beneath a pile ofwaiter's dockets. 

"How much, madame?" asked Felix, who had missed none of this. 

"Twenty-seven seventy-five, " she said severely. 

"Can one make it thirty, _mignonne_?"

"Thirty! Tell me, then, how market bills are to be met when one is owedthese thirties?"

"Dear angel, Providence has decided that you shall deal with suchproblems. "

"Well, well, no more, not a centime beyond the thirty!"

"Monstrous, yet all heart!" murmured Felix. He struck an attitude, andsang with exquisite feeling the opening bars of the Jewel Song from"Faust. " As applied to the earthly tabernacle of madame's generous soul, the effect of that impassioned address was ludicrous. But Felix reckedlittle of that. He threw the hundred-franc note on the counter. 

"There, _ma petite_, be rewarded for your trust, " he cried. "Now give methe railway timetable; for I have far to go ere I return, when you and Ishall crack a bottle of Clos Vosgeot with our dinner. "

Madame, who had not betrayed the least embarrassment when she and hercafé were apostrophized in Gounod's impassioned strains, was utterlybewildered by Poluski's wealth. Not once in many years had he owned somuch at one time, since he always drew small sums on account of hispictures and kept himself going hand-to-mouth fashion. But here wasFelix intent on the timetable and sweeping seventy-two francstwenty-five centimes of change into his pocket without troubling tocount a coin. 

"You have found a mad Englishman, I suppose?" tittered madame. 

"Better, far better, _ma chérie_; I have met a man who would be a King!"He hurried out, climbed into a passing omnibus, and descended at theGare de Lyon. 

Joan was just leaving the pretty hotel at Barbizon, meaning to put insome hours of work after a distracted morning, when Felix emerged fromthe interior of a ramshackle cab that had carried him from Melun to theedge of the forest. Now, a cab drive of several miles, plus a journeyfrom Paris, was a sufficiently rare event in Poluski's life to make Joanstare. His unexpected appearance chimed so oddly with her own disturbedthoughts that she paled. 

"Felix, " she cried, "have you brought ill news?"

"Of whom, _chère mademoiselle_?" he demanded. 

"Of--of any one?"

"Alec still reigns, if that is what you mean. "

"But he has sent you?"

"What, do I look like an envoy?" He laughed. "Well, well, _ma belle_, there is some truth in that. I come in behalf of one before whom evenKings must bow; I represent Saint Peter! But even an apostolicdynamitard must eat. I am starving, having sacrificed my luncheon to mylove of you. Commend me, then, to some deft handed waiter, and lethunger and curiosity be sated at the same time. "

Joan knew that Poluski would choose his own way of explaining hispresence. The hour for luncheon was long past; but she hurried to theempty dining room and was able to secure some soup and a cold chicken. Felix eyed the bird distrustfully. 

"Although I am here in behalf of Saint Peter, there is no sense inasking me to chew the wretched fowl that proclaimed his downfall, " hemuttered. 

"Oh, Felix dear, please do tell me what has happened!" said Joan, clasping her hands in real distress. "I received a letter from Alec thismorning. It was sent to me from my lodgings, and, what between that andthe extraordinary things in the newspapers, I think I am bewitched. NowI am sure that you too have heard from him. Is it a telegram?"

"Yes, " he said, "a message sent without wires; it came by one of thoseunderground currents that convulse an unconscious world, sometimesagonizing mountains, at others perplexing a simple maid like yourself. You see, Joan, all things conspire to draw you to Delgratz. "

"I am not going!" she vowed, thereby giving Poluski the exactinformation he needed; for his nimble brain was beginning to see theconnection between Alec's letter and Count Julius Marulitch's intensedesire to avail himself of Joan's skill as a copyist. 

"You are, my dear, " he said, dropping his bantering tone and looking herstraight in the eyes. 

"How can such an absurdity be dreamed of?" she demanded breathlessly. 

"Because it is a dream that will come true. Listen, now, and don't beafraid, for these gray old trees of Barbizon have heard madderwhisperings than that you should become a Queen. It is in the naturalorder of things that I, who gave my best years to devising the ruin ofKings, should be chosen in my dotage to help in fixing a King firmly onhis throne. It is some sport of the gods, I suppose, a superhuman jest, perhaps the touch of farce that makes tragedy more vivid, since eventhat colossal Shakespeare of yours thought fit to lighten Hamlet byintroducing a comic gravedigger. Be that as it may, Joan, you are Alec'sQueen, and, as he cannot come for you it follows that you must go tohim. Shall I tell you why? You are necessary to him. It is decreed, andyou cannot shirk your lot. He knows it, and he has written to bid youcome. His enemies know it; but there is a kind of knowledge that leadsits votaries blindfold to the pit, and Alec's enemies are blindlyplotting now to send you to Delgratz and thus compass his ruin. "

"Felix! What are you saying?"

"The truth, the simple truth. Not a whiff of metaphor or extravaganceabout that statement, Joan. This morning a man came to me in the Louvre. He was seeking you. He wants to pay you five thousand francs for a copyof some blazoned daub that hangs in the cathedral at Delgratz. He willpay double, four times, the money if only you will consent to go there. Why? Because he believes that Alec is infatuated about you, and thatthe mere hint of marriage with one who is not a Slav princess willshatter the throne of Kosnovia about the ears of its present occupant. My anxious visitor is mistaken, of course. He is trying to do good thatevil may come of it; but while there is justice in Heaven any suchperversion of an eternal principle is foredoomed to failure. 

"But just think of that man coming to me, Felix Poluski, who has an earfor every sob that rises from the unhappy people who dwell in theborderland between Teuton and Tartar! Isn't that the cream of comedy?When I make everything clear to you, when I show you how and by whom thekilling of Theodore and his wife was engineered, you will begin tounderstand the fantastic trick that Fate played when she sent heremissary to the hunchback artist in the Louvre. But it is a long story, and it will beguile the journey across Austria, while there are manythings you must attend to ere you leave Paris in the Orient Expressto-morrow night. "

"Felix, it is impossible!"

"Ah! Then you don't love our Alec. "

"I--I have not heard a word from his lips--well, hardly a syllable----"

"Not in the letter?"

"That is different. Felix, I can trust you. Perhaps, under otherconditions, I might marry Alec; but now I cannot. "

"Why?"

"Because he is a King. "

"The best of reasons, if he was bred in a palace. But he has lived longenough to become a man first. Frankly, Joan, I like Alec, and I think heought to be given a chance. At any rate, I don't see why you are afraidof him. "

"I am not. Indeed, I am not!" Joan's voice was tremulous. She was on theverge of tears; for the little Pole's persistence was breaking down thebarrier that she had striven to erect against her lover's pleading. Alechad not said much in his letter; but what he did say was wholly to thepoint. 

"Come to me, Joan, " he wrote. "Don't wait. Don't stop and worry aboutwhat the world will say, since it will surely be something bitter anduntrue. The people here are all right, and I think they are beginning tolike me; but I can see quite plainly that they will not be content untilI am married, and hints are being thrown out already that there areseveral eligible young ladies in neighboring States. But if theseKosnovians take me they must take you too, and it will be far easier forme when they have seen you. 

"Now, no hesitation, no doubts, no weighing of pros and cons. Just setyour teeth and toss your head up, and tell Pauline to sling yourbelongings into your boxes, and before you start send me one word in atelegram. I am horribly busy, of course (for details see daily papers), and this must be the most extraordinary love letter ever written; butwhat does that matter when you and I understand each other? It was youwho sent me here. Don't forget that, dear teller of fortunes, and I wantyou to be standing by my side when the storm breaks that must surely bebrewing for me after an incredible success. "

There was more in the same vein. Alexis the King seemed to differ in noessential from the Alec Delgrado who used to wait for her every day inthe neighborhood of the Pont Neuf. Dare she risk it? The question hadtortured her ever since the early morning. It was not that the prospectof being a Queen was dazzling or even dismaying in itself; she reallydreaded the result of such a marriage on the fortunes of the man sheloved. 

But against that self sacrificing attitude she was forced to admit theplea of Alec's own bewildering lack of conventionality. If half thestories in the newspapers were true, he was the most original mindedmonarch that ever reigned. She was quite sure that his answer to anyevasive reply on her part would be a public announcement of the factthat his promised bride was a young lady in Paris, Joan Vernon by name. And that would be worse almost than going quietly to Delgratz and beingmarried there. 

What was she to do? She found Felix Poluski's gray eyes looking at hersteadfastly. In this dilemma he was her only trusted counselor, and hehad already advised her to yield. 

"If I even knew his relatives, " she faltered. "His parents live inParis. We have never met. How can I say to his mother, 'Your son wantsme to marry him. What do you think of me?' She, a Princess, would scoffat the idea. "

"Alec is well aware of that; hence he has written direct to you, andsaid nothing to any other person. Let me assure you that if PrinceMichael Delgrado had gone to Delgratz he would have died a sudden andviolent death. Prince Michael knew it, and declined the distinction. Believe me, too, Alec has the very best of reasons for consulting no onein his choice of a wife. Now, Joan, be brave! When all is said and done, it should be far more pleasant to marry a King than fling a bomb at him, and I have met several young ladies almost as pretty as you who wereready enough to adopt the latter alternative. At any rate you will takeno harm by crossing the Danube. It is not the Rubicon, you know, and youhave Saint Peter to lean on in case of difficulty. "

So Felix did not return to Paris alone, and when he met Count JuliusMarulitch next morning in the Louvre he was able to announce that MissJoan Vernon had accepted the commission to copy the Delgratz Saint Peterand was ready to start for Kosnovia by the night mail. 

CHAPTER VI

JOAN GOES INTO SOCIETY

Joan did not telegraph to Alec. She destroyed each of half a dozenattempts, and ended by taking refuge in silence. It was impossible tosay what she had to say in the bald language of a telegram. Merely toannounce her departure from Paris would put her in the false position ofhaving accepted Alec's proposal apparently without reserve, which wasexactly what she meant not to do, and any other explanation of thejourney would bewilder him. 

Her friend Léontine, housemaid at the Chope de la Sorbonne, did not failto tell her of Alec's call the day she left Paris for Barbizon. Therewas no mistaking Léontine's description, which was impressionist to adegree. It was evident, then, that he not only possessed her address, asshown by the letter, but knew of her absence. So she reasoned that if hedid not hear from her within forty-eight hours he would assume that shewas still away from home. By that time she would be in Delgratz, and, although she felt some uneasiness at the prospect, she was brave enoughnot to shirk meeting him. 

They were not children that they should be afraid of speaking theirthoughts, nor lovesick romanticists, apt to be swayed wholly bysentiment, and she could trust Alec to see the folly of rushing into aunion that might imperil his career. In the depths of her heart sheconfessed herself proud and happy at the prospect of becoming his wife;but she would never consent to a marriage that was not commended byprudence. Better, far better, they should part forever than that thelapse of a few months should prove how irretrievably she had ruined him. 

This might be sound commonsense, but it was not love, yet all this, andmore, Joan said to Felix Poluski, and the little man had nodded his headwith grins of approval. Meanwhile, he sang and was busy. 

Count Julius, posted now in the Pole's mottled history, had demandedabsolute anonymity before he carried the negotiations for the pictureany further. Felix gave the pledge readily, since Joan could not be inDelgratz a day ere she suspected the truth. At any rate, Marulitch wassatisfied; he introduced Felix to a well-known dealer in the Rue St. Honoré, and thenceforth disappeared from the transaction. Joan herselfentered into the necessary business arrangements, about which there wasnothing hidden or contraband. The terms proposed were liberal, considering her poor status in the art world; but they were quitestraightforward. She was given return tickets to Delgratz for herselfand her maid; Felix was similarly provided for; five hundred dollars waspaid in advance, and a written guaranty was handed to her that asimilar sum, together with hotel expenses, would be forthcoming inexchange for a copy of the Byzantine Saint Peter. 

Of course, reviewing matters calmly in the train, she hardly expectedthat the second portion of the contract would be fulfilled. She knewquite well that the conspirators hoped to turn her presence in theKosnovian capital to their own account, and when their scheme was balkedthey would devise some means of wriggling out of the bargain. But shelaughed at the notion that she, an unknown student, should have suddenlybecome a pawn in the game of empire. There was an element of daring, almost of peril, in the adventure that fascinated her. It savored ofthose outlandish incidents recorded in novels of a sensational type, wherein fur coated, sallow faced, cigarette smoking scoundrels plottedthe destruction of dynasties, and used fair maidens as decoys forsusceptible Kings. Certainly, Felix Poluski, judged by his past, was nobad prototype of a character in that class of fiction; regarded in hispresent guise, as he sat opposite her in the dining car of the OrientExpress, he looked the most harmless desperado that ever preyed on aquivering world. 

His face seemed to be smaller and more wrinkled than usual. From Joan'ssuperior height his hump was accentuated till it showed above the top ofhis head, and the girl was conscious, though she resolutely closed hereyes to the fact, that the admiring glances with which she was favoredby some of her fellow passengers were somewhat modified by the humorousincongruity of Poluski's appearance. 

At first, they tacitly avoided any reference to Alec or Delgratz. Theirtalk dealt with art and artists, and Joan had a good deal to say aboutthe delights of painting in the open air. 

Felix blinked at her sagely. "Behold, then, the beginning of the end!"he cackled. 

"The end of what?" she asked, with some kindling of suspicion, since herqueer little friend's tricks of conversation were not new to her. 

"Of your career as an artist. Barbizon is fatal to true emotion. Itinduces a fine sense of the beauty of sunsets, of diffused light insylvan solitudes, of blues that are greens and browns that are reds. Ina word, the study of nature inclines one toward truth, whereas art isessentially a gracious lie. That is why the Greeks were the greatestartists: because they were most pleasing liars. They understood thecrassness of humanity. Long before Browning wrote _Fra Lippo Lippi_ theyrealized that

 "We're made so that we love First when we see them painted, things we have passed Perhaps a hundred times, nor cared to see; And so they are better painted--better to us, Which is the same thing. "

Joan laughed, and the cheery sound of her mirth seemed to startle thestaid folk in the car. 

At a neighboring table a middle aged couple were dining, the womandignified and matronly, the man small, slight, with a curiously bloatedaspect which, on analysis, seemed to arise from puffy cheeks and thick, sensual lips. He said something that caused his companion to turn andlook at Joan; for the woman is yet unborn who will hear another womandescribed as pretty and not want to decide for herself how far thestatement is justified. 

So the eyes of the two met, and Joan saw a worn, kindly face, endowedwith a quiet charm of expression and delicacy of contour that offered amarked contrast to the man's unprepossessing features. Both women weretoo well bred to stare, and Joan instantly brought her wits to bear onPoluski's quip; but that fleeting glimpse had thrilled her with subtlerecognition of something grasped yet elusive, of a knowledge thattrembled on the lip of discovery, like a half remembered word murmuringin the brain but unable to make itself heard. 

"Do you ever say what you really mean, Felix?" she asked. 

"Far too often, my belle. That is why I am only a copyist. 

 "I am a painter who cannot paint; In my life, a devil rather than saint. 

"Believe me, we artists err ridiculously when we depart from the Greekstandard. Your Whistler never achieved fame until he stopped reproducingbits of nature and devoted his superb talent to caricature. "

"Caricature! Whistler!" she repeated. 

"Name of a good little gray man! what else? Not portraits, surely? Wisethat he was, he left those to the snapshot photographer; for even thecamera can be given the artistic kink by the toucher-up. Have youforgotten, then, the rage of a stolid Englishman when he saw his wife asWhistler painted her? Oh, yes, art lies outrageously and lives long, like other fables. "

"But Whistler might have been bluntly accurate, a thing that is notalways pleasing. For instance, " and here her voice sank a little, "itmight not be altogether gratifying to my pride if some one was toanalyze mercilessly the precise reasons of my present journey. "

"_Tiens!_ Let us do it. It will serve to pass the time. "

She laughed and blushed. "Wait a little. We have many hours before us. "

"You will never have a more appreciative audience, if only you couldmake your voice heard above this din. "

"What are you driving at? Please tell me. "

"You have seen the two people sitting over there?" and he twistedeyebrows and mouth awry, with a whimsical leer of caution. 

"Yes; what of them?"

"Do you know them?"

"No. "

"Not even the lady?"

"She reminds me of some one--why do you ask?"

"I am surprised at you, Joan. Those charming eyes of yours should bekeener. True, there is nothing feminine about Alec, and he has notsuffered, like his mother. Still, there is a resemblance. "

"Felix, are you in earnest?"

"Absolutely. I, at least, have not the Greek temperament. Our friendsacross the gangway are none other than Prince and Princess MichaelDelgrado. You will discover no prophecy of Alec in his father; but he ishis mother's own son, despite her weak chin and air of resignation. "

Joan was dismayed, utterly astonished; the color ebbed from her cheeks. "Are they going to Delgratz?" she almost whispered. 

"I suppose so. It is one of the oddest things about our lives how theyrun in grooves. Just now all the tiny furrows of our separate existencesare converging on the Danube. We are like ships foredoomed to collision, that hurry remorselessly from the ends of the earth to the preordainedcrash. "

"Oh, Felix, if you knew of this why did you bring me here?"

"Who am I to resist when the gods beckon? I love you, Joan, and I hateKings; but it is decreed that you shall be a Queen, so I fold my armsand bow my head like the meekest of mortals. "

"I shall quit the train at the next stopping place. "

"But why? If Alec and you are to wed, it is only fit and proper thathis parents should grace the ceremony. "

"You harp on marriage when there may be no marriage. If Alec was not aKing, it might be different; but the world will scoff when it hears thathis chosen bride came to him from lodgings in the Place de la Sorbonne. What will Princess Delgrado think, now that she has seen me here, rushing off to Delgratz the instant I was summoned? Felix, I must returnto Paris. Happily, I have some two thousand francs due within a week, and I can then refund the cost of our tickets, and perhaps the railwaypeople will allow something for the incompleted journey. "

"Calm yourself, _ma petite!_ You count like the proprietress of myfavorite café! And to what purpose? It would be a pity to act in thatfoolish way. There is no compulsion on you to marry Alec, and theByzantine Saint Peter still hangs in the cathedral. Let any one so muchas hint that you are throwing yourself at Alec's head, and I shall havethe hinter dynamited. No, no, my Joan, we may yield to higher powers;but we do not abandon our pilgrimage because it is shared by an oldscamp of a father whose sole anxiety is to fleece his son. Come, now, finish your dinner in peace, and let me explain to you why it is thatAlexis III. And not Michael V. Reigns in Delgratz. You don't glean manyfacts about monarchs from newspapers. If I brought you to a certainwineshop in the Rue Taitbout any evening after dinner you would hearmore truth about royalty in half an hour than you will read in half ayear. "

Joan, conscious of a telltale pallor, was leaning forward with an elbowon the table and shielding her face with widespread fingers proppedagainst cheek and forehead. In the noise and flurry of the train it waseasy to tune the voice to such a note that it must be inaudible to thoseat the adjacent tables; but Poluski seemed to be careless whether or nothe was overheard, and the girl fancied that Princess Delgrado had caughtthe words "Alexis, " "Michael, " "Delgratz. " Certainly the Princess turnedagain and looked at her, while she did not fail to glance swiftly at themisshapen figure visible only in profile. 

"Not so loud, Felix, " murmured Joan. "Come to my compartment when youhave smoked a cigarette. By that time I shall have recovered my wits, and I may be able to decide what to do for the best. "

"Wrong again!" he laughed. "Obey your heart, not your brain, _mignonne_. " (He bent nearer, and his extraordinarily bright gray eyespeered up into hers. ) "That is how Alec won his throne. He is all heart. Those who paved the way for him were all brain. They plotted, andcontrived, and spun their web with the murderous zeal of a spider; but, poof! in buzzes bluebottle Alec, and where are the schemers? Ah, myangel, if you knew everything you would be cheery as I and marry yourKing with a light conscience. "

The two persons who were the unwitting cause of Joan's sudden misgivingsrose and quitted the dining car. No one seemed to be aware of theiridentity. Even the brown-liveried attendants did not give them any moreattention than was bestowed on the other passengers, and the girlrealized that the parents of a King, even such a newly fledged King asAlec, did not usually travel with this pronounced lack of state. 

"Are you quite sure they are the Prince and Princess?" she asked, scanning Poluski's wrinkled face to learn if he had not been playingsome sorry jest. 

"Quite sure, " said he. 

"But----"

"You wonder why they condescend to mix with the common horde? Learnthen, my Joan, that a French booking clerk is a skeptic who can beconvinced only by the sight of money. Consider the number of brokendownroyalties in Paris, and picture, if you can, the scowl of disbelief thatwould cloud the official features of the Gare de l'Est if Prince Michaelasked for a special train to Delgratz; booked it on the nod, so tospeak. It could not be done, Joan, not if one substituted 'Archangel'for 'Prince. ' As it is, the senior Delgrado has probably touched afriend for the money to buy the tickets. "

"Yet their names would be recognized. "

Felix called an attendant. "The lady and gentleman who sat at theopposite table were the Count and Countess Polina?"

"I cannot say, monsieur. Shall I inquire?"

"No need, thank you. To be precise, since you demand it, " went onPoluski when the man had gone, "I asked who they were the moment we leftParis. I saw them on the platform, and the absence of any display showedthat they were traveling incognito. I doubt very much if Alec knows oftheir journey. Can you guess why I think that?"

Joan shook her head wearily. "I am living in a land of dreams, " shesighed. "I do not understand the why or wherefore of anything?"

"Listen, then, and you will see that your dreamland is a prosaic place, after all. There is a man in Paris who receives letters daily fromKosnovia, and they tell of events that are not printed for themultitude. Last night, when I was certain we should go to Delgratz, Isought him and heard the latest news. Your Alec means to economize. Hehas promulgated the absurd theory that the people's taxes should bespent for the people's benefit, and he says that no King is worth morethan five thousand pounds a year, while many of his contemporaries wouldbe dear at the price. He has also set up this ridiculous maximum as astandard, and intends to reduce the official salary list to about halfits present dimensions. 

"This fantasy has reached his father's ears, and the old gentleman ishurrying to Delgratz to check the madness ere it is too late. It is asimple bit of arithmetic: if a King, who works like a horse, is toreceive only five thousand a year, what is the annual value of hisfather, who does nothing but lounge about the boulevards? No wonder oldMichael is off hotfoot to the White City!"

Despite her perplexities, Joan had to laugh, and Felix bent nearer toclinch his argument. 

"You and I must stand by Alec, my dear. I too am breathing a newatmosphere. I fought against Kings because they were tyrants; but I amready to fight for one who is a deliverer. What do you fear, you? Theworld? Has the world ever done anything for you that its opinion shouldbe considered? It will fawn or snarl as it thinks best fitted to its ownends; but help or pity? Never! Its votaries in Delgratz will strive torend Alec when they realize that their interests are threatened. We mustbe there, you and I, you to aid him in winning the fickle mob, and I towatch those secret burrowings more dangerous to thrones than openrevolt. It is a sacred mission, my Joan! They who named you were wiserthan they knew. You were christened a King's helpmate, while I, FelixPoluski, am fated to be the most amazing product of moderncivilization, --an anarchist devoted to a monarchy. 

"It came on me yesterday morning in the Louvre. I saw my principlescrucified for the good of humanity. Through the eyes of the Virgin Ilooked into a heaven of achievement, and I care not what the means solong as good results. One honest King is worth a millionrevolutionaries, and God, who made Alec a King, also made him honest. "

Excited, exuberant, bubbling over with that very emotionalism at whichhe had scoffed a few minutes earlier, Felix leaned back in his chair andsang a quatrain in his singularly sweet and penetrating tenor. 

Instantly every head was turned and necks were craned. A waiter, servingcoffee, was so electrified that he poured no small quantity into the lapof an indignant German. Joan, too wrathful for mere words, dared notrush away instantly to her compartment, though she would have given agood deal at that moment to be safe in its kindly obscurity. And theworst thing was that she saw the coffeepot incident, and was forced tolaugh till the tears came. 

Cries of "Bravo!" "Again!" mingled with the iron-clamped syllables ofTeutonic protest, and she distinctly heard a well bred English voicesay:

"Foreign music hall artists! I told you so, though the girl looks anAmerican. But, by gad! can't that humpbacked johnny sing!"

"Felix, how could you?" she managed to gasp at last. 

"I'm sorry. I forgot we were not in Paris. But there are some here whoappreciate good music. If you don't mind, I'll give them Béranger's'Adieu to Mary Stuart. ' You remember, it goes this way--"

Joan fled, making play with her handkerchief. The fast speeding trainthrew her from side to side of the corridor during a hurried transit;but the exquisite lines followed her clearly. 

Felix sang like a robin till the mood exhausted itself. Then, deaf toenthusiastic plaudits and cries for "More!" he lit a long thin cigar andsmoked furiously. Passing Joan's berth later, he knocked. 

"Who is it?" she asked. 

"I, the Humming Bee. "

"Leave me to-night, Felix. I must think. "

"Better sleep. Thinking creates wrinkles. Look on me as a horribleexample. "

He went away, bassooning some lively melody, but grinning the while, andif his thoughts took shape they would run:

"The struggle has ended ere it began, sweet maid. You are in love; buthave not yet waked up to that astonishing fact. Now, why did the goodGod give me a big heart and a small head and a twisted spine? Why nothave made me either a man or an imp?"

Joan could not face strangers in the dining car after Poluski's strangeoutburst. She remained in her own cramped quarters all next day, atesome meals there as best she could, and kept Felix at arm's length sofar as confidence or counsel was concerned. On the platform at Vienna, where the train was made up afresh, she encountered Princess Delgrado. To her consternation, the older woman stopped and spoke. 

"I am sorry I missed the delightful little concert your friend providedin the dining car last night, " she said in French, and her voice hadthat touch of condescension with which a society leader knows how todilute her friendliness when addressing a singer or musician. "Myhusband and I retired early, to our great loss, I hear. Are youtraveling beyond Vienna? If so, and you give us another musical thisevening----"

"There is some mistake, " faltered Joan, unconsciously answering inEnglish. "People who do not know Monsieur Poluski often take him for anoperatic artiste. He is a painter. He sings only to amuse himself, andseldom waits to consider whether the time and place are well chosen. "

"But, gracious me!" cried the Princess, amazed to find that Joan spokeEnglish as to the manner born. "Some one said you were Polish. I doubtedmy eyes when I looked at you; but your companion--well, he might beanything. "

"Both he and I earn our bread by painting pictures, " said Joan. "Indeed, we are now bound for Delgratz to carry out a commission. "

"Delgratz! How extraordinary! I too am going there. It is so disturbedat present that it is the last place in the world I should havesuspected of artistic longings. May I ask who has sent for you?"

Luckily, in the bustle and semiobscurity of the station, PrincessDelgrado did not pay much heed to the furious blushing of the prettygirl who had aroused her interest. It was impossible to regard one whomshe now believed to be an American like herself as being in any wayconcerned with the intrigues that centered in the capital of Kosnovia, and she attributed Joan's confusion to the pardonable error that arosefrom the talk Prince Michael brought from the smoking car. 

But what was Joan to answer? She could not blurt out to Alec's motherthe contents of that exceedingly plainspoken epistle now reposing in herpocket. For one mad instant she wondered what would happen if she said:

"I am being sent to Delgratz by people who wish to drive Alec out of thekingdom, and I am really considering whether or not I ought to marryhim. "

Then she lifted her head valiantly, with just that wood-nymph flingingback of rebellious hair that Alec was thinking of while riding to hisCastle of Care after a long day in the saddle. 

"There is nothing unusual in my being chosen to copy a picture, " shesaid. "Art connoisseurs care little for politics. To them a new Giottois vastly more important than a new King, and I am told that both are tobe found in Delgratz nowadays. "

Prince Michael strolled up. He was pleased that his wife had made theacquaintance of the charming unknown, whom he had looked for in vainduring the day. 

"Ah, " he said, with polite hat flourish, "I feared we had lost thepleasant company of which I heard----"

"You were misinformed, " broke in his wife hastily in English. "Thisyoung lady is visiting Delgratz for art purposes. The gentleman who sanglast night is the celebrated painter, Monsieur--Monsieur----"

"Felix Poluski, " said Joan. 

Prince Michael started as though a scorpion had found a crack in hispatent boots. 

"Poluski--Felix Poluski!" he cried. "I know that name; but he was fondof using strange colors on his palette if I remember rightly. "

Felix, owing to his small stature, was compelled to dodge among thecrowd on the platform like a child. He appeared now unexpectedly, andMichael's exclamation was not lost on him. 

"Excellent, Monseigneur!" he said. "You always had a turn for epigram. Iam glad to find that you have not forgotten the brave days of old whenyou and I used to spout treason together, you because you hungered aftera dynasty, and I because I preferred dynamite. Odd thing, both wordsmean power, strength, sovereignty; the difference lies only in themethod of application. But that was in our hot youth, Michael----"

"Imbecile!" hissed the Prince, his red face blanching, as once beforewhen a man spoke of the perils that hedge a throne in the Balkans. "Thisis Vienna. I shall be recognized!"

Felix snapped his fingers. "They don't care that for you, Monseigneur--never did! You could have come and gone as you pleased anytime during these thirty years. If any one is feared here, it is I. But, my veteran, why this display of wrath? You know me well enough. Didn'tyou see me last night?"

"No--that is, I did not recollect. Your face was hidden. "

"Ah, you had something better to look at. Well, who goes to Delgratz?Get aboard, all!"

During this brief but illuminating conversation the Princess and Joancould do nothing else but gaze from one man to the other in mutesurprise, and Joan was grieved beyond measure that Felix should treatAlec's father with such scant courtesy. Even while they were making forthe steps of the sleeping cars, she managed to whisper tremulously tothe Princess:

"Please don't be angry with Monsieur Poluski. His brusk manner oftengets him into trouble. Forgive me for saying it, but your son knows himwell, and is very fond of him, and I am sure Felix would do anythingthat lay in his power to help--to help King Alexis III. "

"My son! Do you also know him?"

"Yes. "

"Have you met him in Paris?"

"Yes. "

"But I have never seen you at the Rue Boissière. "

"No. We met at Rudin's, and sometimes in the Louvre. "

"And does he know that you are coming to Delgratz?"

"No. I assure you----"

The Princess hesitated. It was not in her kind heart to think evil ofthis singularly frank looking and attractive girl. "Will you tell meyour name?" she said, turning with one foot on the step; for they wereabout to enter separate carriages. 

"Joan Vernon. "

"I suppose it is idle to ask, but you are not married?"

"No, nor likely to be for a very long time. "

"Aboard!" cried a guard, marveling that women could find so much to sayat the very last moment. 

"Well, " said the Princess, "I hope to see you at dinner. If not, inDelgratz. "

Joan took good care that no one except her maid and an attendant saw heragain that evening. She felt bruised and buffeted as though she had beencarried among rocks by some irresistible current. Even her mind refusedto act. The why and the wherefore of events were dim and not to begrasped. Over and over again she regretted the impulse that led her totake this journey. Felix, as friend and artistic tutor, was invaluable;but in the guise of mentor for a young woman who had her own way to makein the world, and nothing more to depend on than her artistic facultiesand a small income from a trust fund, he was a distinct failure. Whatwould Alec think of it all? And what would Alec's mother say when herson told her that Joan Vernon was the woman he meant to marry?

So Joan grew miserable, and developed a headache, and wept a little overperplexities that were very real though she could not define them. AndFelix dined alone, and smoked in dumb reverie, and when Prince Michael, warmed with wine and cheered by the knowledge that a wearisome journeywas drawing to a close, unbent so far as to ask him to sing, the littleman shook his head. 

"You'll hear me singing in Delgratz, Monseigneur, " he said. "I shallhave something to think about then, and I sing to think, just as youlive to eat. At present, there isn't a note in the box. Now, if madamecan spare you, just sit down there, and you and I will talk of oldtimes. For instance, poor Amélie Constant--she died the other day----"

"Ah, bah!" growled Michael. "That is not interesting. Old times of thatsort generally mean times one would rather forget. _Au 'voir_, M'sieurPoluski. We shall meet across the Danube. If your principles permit, come and see me at court. "

"My principles carry me into strange company, Monseigneur, " said Felixgravely. 

CHAPTER VII

JOAN BECOMES THE VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES

On arriving at Delgratz, Joan still avoided her distinguished travelingcompanions. Indeed, no one paid any heed to her, since Prince Michael'svanity could not resist the temptation of making himself known, and whenthe word went round that the King's father was in the station, there wassuch a press around him and the Princess that ordinary passengers wereof little account. 

Monseigneur was flattered by the excitement caused by his unexpectedappearance, and he momentarily regretted the lack of display thatresulted from his decision to travel incognito. It would have been somuch more effective if he had been greeted by the King and a glitteringstaff the moment he descended from the train. It was undignified, too, to pass through the streets of the capital in a disheveled hiredvehicle, when a royal carriage, surrounded by a cavalry escort, mighthave brought him to the palace in style. It was somewhat late in theday, however, to rectify the mistake now. He could not hang round thestation while a messenger went to his son, and if he meant to effect asurprise he had succeeded admirably. 

Leaving a valet and maid to bring the luggage, which an obsequiouscustoms officer cleared at once, he ushered his wife into a ramshacklevictoria and told the man to drive to the Schwarzburg. 

Every Serb is a born gossip; but a policeman had whispered the names ofthe eminent pair, and awe kept the driver's tongue from wagging, elsePrince Michael would have received a greater shock than the welcomingbump of a singularly bad pavement. Luckily the Black Castle lay no greatdistance from the railway, since Delgratz was but a small place when thepalace was built, and the town had long ago closed around it on everyhand. 

During the short drive Michael tried to be cheery, though he had sleptlittle during two nights. "These old streets have really changed verylittle, " he said. "When I was a boy I remember thinking how magnificentthey were. What an eye opener it must have been for Alec when herealized that he had given up Paris--for this!" and he waved adeprecating hand toward the unkempt houses, yellow washed and dingy; forthe White City, though white when seen from a distance, turns out to bean unhealthy looking saffron at close quarters. The Princess carednothing for the squalor of the town. She was thinking of her son. 

"I wish we had told Alec we were coming, Michael, " she said. "Now thatwe are here, the reasons you urged for secrecy seem to be lessconvincing than ever. "

"Alec would have telegraphed his prompt advice to remain where we were. "

"Perhaps----"

"Perhaps you will allow me to decide what is best to be done, Marie. Ouraffairs had reached a crisis. So long as there was a chance of mybecoming King I was able to finance myself. Now that Alec is firmlyestablished, and filling empty heads with all this nonsense as toretrenchment and economical administration, every creditor I had in theworld is pestering me. You cannot realize the annoyance to which I havebeen subjected during the last fortnight. Life was becoming intolerable, just because Alec was talking galimatias to a number of irresponsiblejournalists. "

"Why not write and tell him our troubles? He would have helped us, I amsure. And that which you call rubbish seems to have caught the ear ofall Europe. Even 'The Journal des Débats' published a most eulogisticarticle about him last week. "

"Poof!" snorted Monseigneur. "Those Paris rags pander to republicanism. Every word, every act, of an impetuous youngster like Alec is twistedinto an argument against the older monarchies. Give an eye to the meanlooking building on the right. That is the Chamber of Deputies. Alecmade the speech there that won him a throne. Who would have believedit? Just a few words, and he became King!"

Something in Prince Michael's tone caused his wife to look at himsharply. "You are not growing envious, Michael?" she asked. 

"No; but I was a fool. "

"Because I shall keep you to our compact, " she said, with a firmness ofmanner that surprised the pompous little man by her side. He had beenanswered in that way so seldom during their married life that thenovelty was displeasing. 

"Ah, bah! what are you saying?" he cried. He stifled the next words onhis lips; for the horse passed under an arch, and not even the studiedrepose of a princely boulevardier could conceal his new amazement. 

An industrial army was busy in and around the famous residence of theKings of Kosnovia. They were tearing it to pieces. The roof was off, onewing was wholly dismantled, and the beautiful gardens were strewn withdébris. 

"In the name of Providence, what is going on?" demanded Monseigneur ofthe driver. 

"It is the King's order, your Highness, " said the man, glorying in thefact that the muzzle was off--by request. "The castle is to bedemolished, and a new National Assembly built on the site. "

"Our ancient house pulled down and made a sty for those hogs! The Kingmust be mad!"

"We esteem him highly in Delgratz, " said the man stoutly. "He thinksmore of the people than of palaces, and they say that he means toconvert some of the gold lace into white bread. "

The bewildered and infuriated Michael now remembered that the fewofficers encountered in the railway station or the streets seemed to befar less gaudily attired than in former years. In a passing thought heattributed the alteration to the wearing of undress uniform during theearly hours; but the cab driver's words seemed to hint at some freshwave of reform. His bulging eyes continued to glare at the ruinedpalace; but native caution warned him against being too outspoken in thepresence of one of the lower order. 

"When was this work begun?" he asked. 

"Three days ago, your Highness. The King decided that the banquetinghall should be destroyed as quickly as possible. He says it taints theair. As for the Assembly, it must wait. Money is not so plentiful. "

"What is it, Michael?" cried the Princess, aware that somethingunforeseen had happened; but unable to grasp its significance, owing toher ignorance of the language. 

Monseigneur, who had stood up in the carriage, subsided again. He raisedboth hands in a gesture of bewilderment. "Alexis III. Has signalized thefirst month of his reign by destroying the historic home of ourrace--that is all, madame!" he muttered bitterly. 

"But why are we remaining here? Where does Alec live? He must inhabit ahouse of some sort. Tell the man to drive there at once!"

The Prince affected not to hear. "What could Stampoff be thinking of topermit this outrage?" he murmured. "Why was not I consulted? Idiot thatI am, and coward too! I see now the mistake I made. Can it be rectified?Is it too late?"

A second carriage, laden with luggage, drove in through the gateway. Thevalet and a French maid gazed in discreet wonder at their master andmistress seated disconsolately in front of a tumbledown building. 

"Michael, I insist that you give the driver directions!" cried his wifevehemently. "We cannot remain here. The least shred of commonsenseshould warn you that we are making ourselves ridiculous. "

"Ah, yes, one must act, " agreed the Prince. He glanced up at theenthusiastic supporter of the new régime. 

"We have traveled here from Paris, and his Majesty's recent letters havemissed us, " he said, with a perceptible return of the grand air that hadserved him in good stead for many years. "Take us to his Majesty'spresent residence. The error is mine. I should have told you that in thefirst instance. "

"The King is living in the President's house, Excellency. It is not far;but you will not find his Majesty there this morning. At four o'clockhe rode to Grotzka with the mad Englishman----"

"Ha! and who may that be?"

"An English milord, who laughs always, even when his Majesty and he aretrying to break their necks at a game they play on horseback, hitting awhite ball with long sticks. I have seen them. They make the youngofficers play it, and there are three in hospital already. This is hotweather for such an infernal amusement!"

Prince Michael nodded. Like every other person watching affairs on theDanube, he had read of Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir's adventure with theAustrian authorities, --indeed, Europe had almost expected a declarationof war over the incident, --but he did not know that Beaumanoir was stillan inhabitant of Delgratz. 

"To Monsieur Nesimir's!" he said sullenly, and left it to the Princessto give instructions to the servants to follow, though the poor womandid not yet know whither she was being taken. She was very angry withher husband, and she blamed herself for not having telegraphed to herson before leaving Paris. But she had yielded to Michael Delgrado duringso many years that it was difficult to abandon the habit now; yet shepromised herself a full explanation with Alec when they met, and thatmust be soon, since here she was in Delgratz, where, judging by thenewspapers, the King was in evidence every hour of the day. 

The President's house was distant only a stone's throw, and, thoughobviously mystified, stout Nesimir met his unexpected guests cordially. He was disconsolate because of the King's probable absence till late inthe afternoon. 

"What a pity his Majesty chose to-day for a visit to the artillerycamp!" he cried. "But I shall send a courier; he can return by noon. Howis it nothing was said as to your Highnesses' visit. I dined with theKing last night----"

"We wished to surprise his Majesty, " explained Prince Michael. "You knowhow outspoken he is, and how easily these things get into the newspaper;so we started from Paris without a word to a soul. Send no courier afterhim, I beg. A rest of a few hours will be most acceptable to thePrincess and myself. Madame is fatigued after a long journey, while Iwould ask nothing better than an armchair, a cup of coffee, a cigarette, and a chat; that is, if you can spare the time, Monsieur le Président. "

Nesimir would be charmed to comply with Monseigneur's desires in everyrespect. Really, the elder Delgrado seemed to be even more approachablethan his son; for the President was unable to fathom many of the socialviews propounded by Alexis III. This unheralded advent of the King'sparents, too, betokened some secret move. He was sure of that, and, being a man to whom political intrigue was the breath of life, he sawthat a gossip with Prince Michael might convey information of muchpossible value in the near future. So the Princess Delgrado was usheredto a room by Madame Nesimir with all possible ceremony, and the two menestablished themselves on a cool veranda. 

By this time, Joan and Felix were seated at breakfast in the hotel. Joanhad wisely left the bargaining with the landlord to her companion, andhe, knowing something of Serbian ways, which reck little of politenesswhen curiosity can be sated, chose a sitting room on the first floorwith three bedrooms adjoining. The sitting room was a huge place, bigenough to serve as a studio if necessary. Three large windows commandeda view of the main street, and the solid oak door opened into thecorridor behind, which also gave access to the bedrooms. 

Poluski's only motive in selecting this particular suite was to securethe maximum of privacy. Joan's appearance was far too striking that sheshould be subjected to the scrutiny of every lounger in the restaurantbeneath. In this primitive community she would probably receive severaloffers of marriage the first time she sat at table in the public diningroom. 

It was he, too, who advised her never to go out unless she was deeplyveiled. Joan laughed at the reason--but followed his counsel. Duringtheir first stroll in the open air she said she felt like a Mohammedanwoman; yet she soon realized that a double motor veil not only shieldedher from impertinent eyes but kept her face free from dust and insects. 

Naturally, they made straight for the cathedral and examined the quaintpicture that had provided an excuse for their visit to the Near East. They were much impressed. They gazed at its brilliant coloring and stiffpose for fully a minute. Then Joan broke a silence that was becomingirksome. 

"If it is really a Giotto, " she whispered, "it was painted before hebroke away from the Byzantine tradition. "

"Yes, " murmured Poluski, "here we have both Giotto and Saint Peter attheir worst. "

"Felix, how can I copy that?"

"Impossible, my belle. You must improvise, using it as a theme. When allis said and done, you know far more than Giotto about Saint Peter. Holyblue! if you bring that back to Paris as a veritable likeness of theChief Apostle you will be placed on the Index Expurgatorius. Moreover, it would not be fair to him, after all these years. "

"It needed only this to prove how farcical is the whole scheme. I ambeginning to dread the idea of meeting Alec. He will laugh at me. "

"That will do him good. I am told he is becoming most serious. "

"Told--by whom? Surely you have not sent any message?"

"Not a word. I leave that to you--or Princess Delgrado. "

"How snappy you are! It was not my fault that the Princess spoke to me. She would never have known I was on the train if you hadn't sung. "

"Ah, by the way, we ought to hear some decent Gregorian music in thisold place. See, where they have put the choir, nearly under the dome. Yes, we must attend a service. The bass should roll like thunder upyonder----"

"Felix, who told you about Alec?"

"A waiter in the hotel, a waiter rejoicing in the noble name of JohnSobieski, a Pole, therefore, like myself. I said to him 'What of theKing?' He answered, 'Everything that is good, if one listens to thepeople; but the officers who come here to drink and play cards do notlike him. ' I explained that I wished to know the King's whereabouts, andhe said that if I was anxious to see the gracious youth I should have asplendid opportunity at four o'clock this afternoon, as his Majesty willpass the hotel at that hour on his way to the University, where he haspromised to attend a prize giving. "

"At four o'clock! What shall we do meanwhile?" asked Joan innocently. 

Felix winked brazenly at the picture. "Delgratz is a picturesque city, "he said. "Let us inspect it. "

"You do not think Alec will learn of our presence and visit us beforegoing to the University?"

"Very improbable. He is out in the country, watching artillery at fieldexercise. Of course, he knows nothing about artillery; but Kings have topretend a good deal. Now, if I were a young lady who had been travelingfor a day and two nights, especially if I had slept badly during thesecond night, I should stroll about the principal streets till I wastired, eat a light luncheon, sleep for an hour afterward, dress myselfin some muslin confection, and be ready to dine with the King atseven-thirty or thereabouts. "

"I shall do nothing of the kind!" cried Joan, blushing behind her motorveil. 

"Very well. Behold in me your slave of the lamp. What shall we do?"

"I don't object to looking at the shops and the people for a littlewhile, " she admitted, and this time Felix did not wink at the picture, but contented himself with an expressive raising of his bushy eyebrows. 

The program he mapped out was adhered to faithfully. Joan was reallytired, and the midday heat of Delgratz was not only novel but highlydisagreeable. She retired to her room at one o'clock, and Felix heardher telling her maid to call her at three. 

The elderly Frenchwoman whom Joan employed as a compendium of all thedomestic virtues was scandalized by the pestering she had alreadyundergone at the hands of the hotel employees. They wanted to knoweverything about her mistress as soon as they were told that she was notPoluski's wife, and the staid Pauline was at her wit's end to parry thequestions showered on her in bad French. Felix advised her not tounderstand when spoken to, and relieved her manifest distress by thestatement that the hotel would see the last of them in a day or two. 

Then, anxious himself to be rid of Pauline, he strolled out into FürstMichaelstrasse, entered the hotel's public restaurant by another door, and sat there, musing and alone. 

Thus far, Joan and he had passed through the simple vicissitudes thatmight beset any other strangers in the capital of Kosnovia. Though thelittle man expected developments when Alec heard of Joan's presence, hecertainly did not look for squalls forthwith; yet he had not beensmoking and humming and sipping a cup of excellent coffee more than aminute before he became aware that the sunlit street was curiouslyalive. 

The hottest hours of a hot day might well have driven the citizens ofDelgratz indoors; but some powerful inducement was drawing loiterers toFürst Michaelstrasse. It was evident that the attraction, whatsoever itmight be, was not supplied by the thoroughfare itself. Men lounged alongthe pavements or gathered in groups, and Poluski noted that few womenwere present. Soon a regiment of soldiers marched up, formed into tworanks, and lined the street on both sides. 

Felix betook himself to the door, where his compatriot was dustingmarble topped tables with an apron that, under other conditions, wouldhave soiled them. 

"Does the King arrive earlier than four o'clock?" he asked. 

John Sobieski looked around furtively before he answered. "No, " said hein a low tone, "the crowd is gathering to see the regicides. Their trialended to-day, and they are being taken to the Old Fort to awaitsentence. "

"Found guilty?"

"I should think so, indeed, monsieur! They gloried in their crime. Theyclaim that they cleared the way for Alexis III. By removing Ferdinand. Some people say the King cannot really be severe on them, though it washe who brought them to justice. "

"Have they many sympathizers?"

The waiter, a pallid creature, flicked a table loudly to cover hisreply. "Some of our customers talk big; but it is a strange thing thatthe authorities allow the men of the disbanded Seventh Regiment toremain in Delgratz. There are hundreds of them in the street at thismoment. "

"It reminds one of Warsaw. "

A sudden moisture glistened in John Sobieski's eyes. "Ah, Warsaw!" hemuttered. "Shall I ever see my beautiful city again? But it is differenthere, monsieur. Even though they quarrel among themselves, they have atleast got rid of their conquerors. "

A quickening of interest on the part of the mob, a general craning ofnecks, and a sharp command to the soldiers showed that the criminalswere en route from the law courts. A squad of cavalry trotted intosight, followed by eight closed carriages. An armed policeman sat nearevery driver, and another stood on the step outside each door. Mountedsoldiers in single file surrounded the dismal procession, and a secondstrong detachment guarded the rear. 

It was a doleful spectacle, and Felix was puzzled by the absence ofanything in the nature of a popular demonstration. He had been led tobelieve that Delgratz abhorred these murders committed in the name ofprogress, and he naturally expected an emotional people to betray theirfeelings. He listened in vain for a yell of execration. A queer murmurran through the crowd, that was all, a murmur that was ominous, almostsinister. He scanned the faces of the crowd, trying to pierce theirstolid aspect. Some of the bystanders obviously belonged to the mutinousregiment; but he looked in vain for any sign of anger or regret. 

Skilled conspirator that he was, Poluski seemed rather to discern a deeplaid purpose behind their unnatural phlegm, yet his suspicions died awaywhen the street began to empty as soon as the prisoners' vehicles andthe escort had clattered past. The foot regiment marched off, and withinten minutes Felix was back in his nook, smoking and coffee drinking, andthanking the chance that left Joan unconscious of this grim episode, since her bedroom windows looked out on the garden in rear of the hotel. 

He sat there quietly, sternly repressing his musical instincts when hecaught himself humming some favorite melody; nor would he have budgeduntil Alec appeared had not his keen eyes noted another curiousmovement in the street. About half-past three several men strolled pastthe café, men whom he distinctly remembered having seen in the earliercrowd. In twos and threes they came, and he fancied that the completedisregard each set paid the others was rather overdone. 

At any rate, he ordered a fresh supply of coffee and soughtenlightenment from Sobieski. "Just peep at some of those fellows in thestreet and tell me if they are not soldiers of the Seventh Regiment, " hesaid. 

The waiter obeyed. He determined the point quickly. "I recognize a few, monsieur, " he muttered, "and I believe there are scores of them. I wishthey would patronize some other street. Our patrons will not care to mixwith such rascals. "

Poluski rose wearily; for his energetic soul was housed in a frail body, and the long journey from Paris had exhausted him. 

"I have read in the newspapers that King Alexis dispenses with abodyguard?" he said, lighting a fresh cigar. 

"He hates ceremony, that young man, " was the ready answer. "At first thepeople mobbed him. Now he rides through Delgratz like a courier, sometimes alone, at others with a friend or two, and perhaps anorderly. "

Felix laughed. "He is a fine fellow, " said he. "Do the King a good turn, John, and you will be able to buy a café in Warsaw one of these days. "

"Me, monsieur! How can a poor waiter hope to serve a King?"

"_Que diable!_ You never know your luck. Life is a lottery, and some dayyou may draw the great prize. "

Felix sauntered into the street and took a keen interest in itsarchitecture. In front of the hotel and down a slight gradient to theright it was a wide and straight thoroughfare; but to the left anduphill it narrowed rapidly and took a sharp left turn. In the anglestood a popular restaurant, and the rooms on the first and secondstories were full of customers. No one, apparently, was looking out; butsmall parties of men sat near each open window, and they were notplaying cards or dominoes, though the greater part of the maleinhabitants of Delgratz seem to do little else when not eating orsleeping. Moreover, an empty bullock cart was halted in front of theground floor entrance. 

"There's thunder in the air, " said Poluski to himself; but he continuedto admire the irregular outlines of Fürst Michaelstrasse. Thus, he couldnot fail to notice that the upper rooms of three cafés exactly similarto that at the corner were untenanted, while there was a disposition onthe part of the late Seventh Regiment to group itself either at theturning or a good deal lower down the street, perhaps a hundred yardsbeyond the hotel. 

"Yes, " said he, eying the glittering expanse of unclouded blue overhead, "a storm is certainly brewing. I can feel it in my bones. It reminds meof the afternoon we removed the Governor of Silesia. He was fused by athunderbolt, from just such a summer sky. Obviously, what he lacked wasa lightning conductor. Now, the question is, even if he had owned one, whereabouts would he have put it?"

The reply was given by the appearance of two men on horseback advancingat a fast trot up the easy slope of the hill. They were notable becausethey wore the ordinary costume adopted by riders in the Bois or the Row, and in Delgratz, where rank was marked by uniform, this fact conferreddistinction. A few yards behind them cantered a couple of soldiers. 

"You are ten minutes before time, my dear Alec, " murmured Felix. "Joanwill never forgive me if she is still asleep; but what is one to do?_Saperlotte!_ One must act. "

A hasty glance over his shoulder showed that the gentry in the cornercafé were stirred by some common impulse that led them to the windows, while the bullock cart was now drawn awkwardly across the narrow way. Asthe horsemen came near, the loungers in the lower part of the streetdisplayed a singularly unanimous desire to close in and follow them. There were hundreds of townspeople gathered on the pavements, and not afew vehicles occupied the roadway; so these concerted movements were notdiscernible to any one who was not a past master in the revolutionaryart like Poluski, and to him only because his suspicions were alreadyactive. 

The King and Beaumanoir were coming on at such a pace that Felix, owingto his low stature, would be quite invisible to them if he stood amongthe crowd now hovering on the curb; so he pushed boldly out into themiddle of the street, took off his hat with a flourish, and sanglustily:

"O, Alec! _O, mon roi!_"

The thunderbolt that removed the Governor of Silesia, had it struck thepaving stones in front of the King's horse, could hardly have startledAlec more than the sight of Felix, standing there, bare headed andgrinning, and chanting an improvised version of a famous song at the topof his voice. 

"You, Felix!" he cried. "You here?"

"It is far more to the point that Joan is there, " said Poluski, withexpressive pantomime. 

"In the hotel?"

"Yes, up the stairs, first door on the right, across the landing. Youhave a few minutes to spare. Go quickly!"

Alec required no second bidding. Leaping from the saddle, he threw thereins to one of the orderlies. "Give me a few seconds, Berty, " he criedto Beaumanoir, and before the onlookers could grasp the motive of thissudden halt, he had vanished through the doorway. 

"You come, too; you are wanted, " said Felix, addressing Beaumanoir inEnglish. 

"Sure?" asked his Lordship, gazing at the quaint figure with some degreeof astonishment. 

"Yes, it is a matter of life or death. Come!"

Beaumanoir dismounted leisurely. "Who's going to die?" he demanded, drawing the reins over his charger's head ere he handed them to thesecond soldier. 

Felix quivered, yet he realized that the Englishman's cool demeanor waswholly in accord with the plan outlined in his own alert brain. 

"Everybody of any consequence in this bally menagerie if you don't hurryup, " said Felix. 

The use of British slang at that crisis was a touch of real genius. Itappealed to Beaumanoir. "Gad! it's a treat to hear you talk, " hegrinned; but he thrust through the gapers in his turn. 

Felix rushed into the restaurant and clutched Sobieski. "Here's yourchance!" he growled in Polish. "The King's life is in danger. Run to thePresident and tell him to despatch a strong body of troops on whom hecan rely. If he refuses to listen, say that Felix Poluski sent you, andbid him ask Prince Michael what that signifies. Remember thenames--Poluski, Michael--now run! Delay, and your throat will be cut!"

John Sobieski was trained to obey. He made off without a word. Felixentered the hotel by a side door. He darted up the stairs, breathlessand almost spent. He was in time to see Beaumanoir open the door of thesitting room and close it again hastily. 

"Oh, dash it all!" began his Lordship; for Alec, not to be denied, hadjust clasped Joan in his arms. 

"In, in! Not a second to lose! Barricade the door!" gasped Felix. 

"But, man alive, where is the fire?"

"In, I tell you! _Sacré nom!_ Act first and talk afterward!"

Felix himself flung wide the door, and Alec, at this secondinterruption, was compelled to free the scarlet faced Joan from hiseager embrace. 

"Too bad!" he laughed. "You promised me a minute, Felix!"

Beaumanoir came in, diffident for once in his life, since none knew sowell as he how dear to his friend was the blushing and embarrassed girlwhom he now met for the first time. 

"Sorry, old chap, " he said; "but this other johnny will have it thatsomebody is thirsting for your gore. "

Poluski, all trembling with excitement, slammed and locked the door andpointed to a heavy sideboard. "Drag it here!" he shrieked in a highfalsetto. "The street is crammed with men belonging to the SeventhRegiment, and they have a short way with Kings they don't like. Theinstant they see how they have been tricked they will be after you likea pack of wolves. I have sent a messenger for help. I dared not use oneof your orderlies, because that would have given the game away. Whilethe men sit their horses out there the mutineers may believe you willsoon reappear. Nevertheless, block the doorway with all the furniture. We must gain ten minutes at least, or it may be twenty. "

 [Illustration: Beaumanoir and Felix fortified the position Page 155]

Joan was the first to credit him. She ran to the window. "Oh, Alec, itis true!" she cried. "I was watching the crowd before you came, and itlooks quite different now. Hundreds of men have gathered, and they arearmed with knives and pistols. Something has made them angry, and thetwo soldiers are becoming alarmed. Oh, my dear, my dear! misfortune andI have come to you hand in hand!"

"It seems to me that you and Felix have saved my life, " said Alecquietly. "Now, Beaumanoir, you and I must fortify the position. Joan, stand with your back to the wall between the windows. Felix, watch thehouses opposite, and don't let the enemy take us in flank withoutwarning. Thank goodness for an oak sideboard and a heavy table! Are youready, Berty? Heave away, then! We shall occupy a box in the front rowwhen Stampoff arrives with his hussars! By Jove! what a day! Twelvehours in that scorching sun and Joan waiting here all the time! Well, wonders will never cease! I wish we had one of those live shells we wereexperimenting with this morning. It would come in handy when the firstpanel gives way. "

CHAPTER VIII

SHOWING HOW THE KING KEPT HIS APPOINTMENT

Joan's eyes could not leave Alec. She followed each movement of hislithe, strongly knit frame as he and Beaumanoir hauled the heavy piecesof furniture into position behind the door. She was not fully alive asyet to the real menace of the gesticulating mob surging in the streetbeneath, and her thoughts ran riot in the newly discovered paradise ofbeing loved and in love. 

For Alec had asked no questions, listened to no explanations. When heentered the room, he found her, half turned from the window, consciousthat he was near, though trying to persuade her throbbing heart thatFelix would not depart from an implied promise by sending him to herwithout warning. She strove to utter some words of greeting. Before shecould speak, Alec's arms were around her, and he was kissing her lips, her forehead, her hair. She saw him as through a mist. Her firstfleeting impression was that he had become older, sterner, morecommanding. Kingship had set its seal on him. A short month of power hadstamped lines on his face that would never vanish. But that sense ofimperiousness was quickly dispelled by the enchantment of her presence. 

Somehow, almost without spoken word, he brought the thrilling convictionthat he was hungering for her. The light in his eyes, the overwhelmingardor of his embrace, the magnetic force that leaped the interveningspace while yet they were separated by half the length of theroom, --these things bewildered, charmed, subdued her wholly, and shekindled under them ere her brain could summon to aid the feeblest ofremonstrances. 

She abandoned the nebulous idea of protest when she found that she inturn was clinging to him, giving kiss for kiss with a deliriousintensity that refused to be denied. Nevertheless, the sheer joy of heremotions frightened her, and she was endeavoring to subdue its toosensuous expression when Beaumanoir opened the door, to close it againhurriedly. She recovered her faculties slowly. She was still quiveringunder the stress of that moment of ineffable delight, and her brown eyessparkled with the glow of a soul on fire, and she was brought back toearth only by the knowledge that Felix, standing at his post near awindow, was on the verge of collapse. 

The sideboard contained a flask of brandy, which Pauline had insisted onstowing in a dressing bag in case of illness. Joan, glad of the pretextto do some commonplace thing, thankful for the mere utterance ofcommonplace words, called for help. 

"Please remove the table for an instant, " she cried. "Felix is ill, andI want to get at some cognac that is in the cellarette. "

"Ill! He was lively enough in the street a minute ago, singing like athrush, " said Alec cheerily, though he did not fail to pull the tableclear of the cupboard. "What is it, my Humming Bee?" he demanded, turning to Poluski. "Is it a surfeit of excitement, or late hours, orwhat?"

"I am yielding to the unusual, my King, " crackled the Pole's voicethinly. "During three whole days I have done naught but think, and thatwould incommode an elephant, leave alone a rat like me. "

"Rat, indeed! When we are all out of this trap, Felix, you must tell mewhat caused your alarming exercise of brain power. Already you havebothered me to guess how you fathomed the pretty scheme you are nowupsetting. "

"There, dear Felix, drink that, and you will soon feel strong again, "put in Joan. 

"Ha, dear Felix, am I? I expected to be called anything but that afterbreaking my word so disgracefully!"

"You are forgiven, " said she with a tender smile at Alec. 

Beaumanoir, discreetly peeping through the window over Poluski'sshoulder, saw something that perplexed him. 

"I say, Alec, " he exclaimed, "I thought you told me that Stampoff's manBosko was a thoroughly reliable sort of chap. "

"I have always found him so. "

"Well, just at present he looks jolly like a deserter. He is making aspeech to the mob and tearing off his uniform obligato. The other jokeris scared to death. "

"Bosko making a speech! Why, he never says anything but '_Oui, monsieur_, ' or '_Non, monsieur_, ' which is all the French he knows. Well, this is a day of wonders, anyhow. "

Neglecting the precautions he had insisted on a minute earlier, Alechimself went to the window and drew Joan with him. There were two otherwindows in the room; but the four clustered in the one deep recess, forthe thick walls of this old building were meant to defy extremes of heatand cold. By this time one of the two orderlies had dismounted and wasstamping on his smart cavalry jacket and plumed shako, thus announcingby eloquent pantomime, that he was discarding forever the livery of atyrant. 

The mob in the street was now swollen to unrecognizable dimensions, andAlec's charger, which Bosko was holding, resented the uproar by lashingout viciously with his heels. A man who had narrowly escaped beingkicked drew a revolver, fired, and the spirited Arab fell with a bulletin its brain. The dastardly act was cheered; for the Seventh Regimentremembered that this same white horse had stumbled and thrown KingTheodore on the day of his murder. 

"Oh, the coward, the hateful coward!" wailed Joan, and two of the menmuttered expressions of opinion that must be passed over in silence. 

But Felix happened to be watching Bosko, and noted the black rage thatconvulsed his face when the Arab dropped dead at his feet. TheAlbanian's feelings mastered him only for an instant. 

He began at once to harangue the crowd again, evidently offering to leadhis own horse out of harm's way, and loudly bidding his frightenedcomrade to do likewise. 

A path was being cleared when some one looked up at the window, and afierce yell proclaimed the King's presence. Bosko was forgotten. Sightof their quarry had frenzied the pack. 

"Down everyone!" cried Alec, bending double and dragging Joan with him. 

Several panes of glass were starred with little round holes, mortar fellfrom the ceiling, and the crackle of shots below showed that revolverswere popular in Delgratz. But Felix had seen enough to set his shrewdwits working. 

"That man of yours--is Bosko his name?--is no fool, " said he, when theyhad crept from the glass strewn area into the shelter of the stout wall. "He is gulling your beloved subjects, Alec. He realizes that trouble isbrewing, and he means to steal off and bring help. Fortunately, my braveSobieski will be at the President's house by this time, and your guardsmay arrive before those cutthroats in the street decide to storm thehotel. "

"Sobieski--who is he?" asked Alec. 

"A waiter in the restaurant. I have pledged you to buy him a café inWarsaw if the troops come speedily. "

"Make it a brewery, Alec, " said Beaumanoir; "these bounders meanbusiness. "

A constant fusillade of bullets was now tearing the windows to atoms, and shattering the ceiling on the other side of the room. Lord Adalbertwas justified in offering liberal terms for relief. 

The King, standing with one arm thrown round Joan's shoulders, felt thetremors she strove vainly to repress. "Don't be afraid, sweetheart. Theycannot reach us here, " he said. "I have one unknown protector, it seems, and I feel sure that Felix is right about Bosko. The only drawback isthat our friendly waiter may find some difficulty in persuading theofficers on duty at Monsieur Nesimir's house that we are in danger. Wemust risk that. "

"Oh, to safeguard against delay, I told him to ask for the Prince, " saidFelix. 

"What Prince?"

"Your father, of course. Ha! Name of a good little gray man! You don'tknow that Prince Michael and your mother are in Delgratz. "

"Mark cock!" cried Beaumanoir, as a bullet flew breast high across theroom and imbedded itself in the inner wall. The heroes of the SeventhRegiment were firing from the upper floors of the houses opposite. 

Alec did not seem to heed. The look of blank amazement on his faceproved that he had ridden straight from the review ground to theuniversity, whereas a call at the President's house would haveenlightened him. 

"It is true, dear, " whispered Joan. "They came with us from Paris; inthe same train, that is. We all arrived at Delgratz this morning. Yourmother spoke to me on the platform at Vienna. "

He smiled with something of the old careless humor of Paris days. "Isuppose everything is for the best, " he said. "Nothing surprises me now, not even this, " and he nodded cheerfully toward the landing and stairs, whence a rush of footsteps and clamor of voices were audible. 

The handle of the door was wrenched violently, and shots were fired intothe lock and at the panels; but the wood was seasoned and stanch, andnothing short of a rifle would drive a bullet through. The door creakedand strained under the pressure of the mutineers' shoulders. Had it notbeen reinforced by the solid sideboard and equally heavy table, it musthave given way. As it was, no four men in Delgratz could hope to forcean entrance, and no more than four could attack it simultaneously. 

It was noteworthy that no one called on the King to come out. Thesehirelings, enraged against a ruler who had brought to the Danube a newevangel of justice and uprightness, of honest government and cleanhanded service to the State, made no pretense of requesting a hearingfor their grievances. They had planned to shoot him in cold blood whilehe and his three companions were momentarily delayed by the barrier ofthe bullock cart in front of the corner café. Balked of this easy meansof attaining their end, they were still sure of success. But their criesand curses were intended only for self encouragement. Not even thebloodstained Seventh Regiment had the effrontery to ask their victim toadmit them. 

There was a momentary quieting of their wild beast fury when the doorresisted their utmost efforts. Joan tried to persuade her tortured mindthat the conspiracy had failed. 

"They will not dare to remain, " she whispered. "They know thatassistance may arrive at any moment. Listen, they are going now!"

"Are you gentlemen armed?" asked Felix, grimly. 

"Yes, with riding whips, " said Alec. "For my part, I have refused tocarry any more dangerous weapon; though it is true that I enteredDelgratz with a sword in my hand, " he added, remembering with a twingehis imagining of Joan's ready laugh when she heard of Prince Michael'sbrown paper parcel. 

"Pity you don't possess a revolver apiece. They would prove useful whenthe panels are broken, which will happen just as soon as these highspirited politicians on the landing secure axes, " went on Felixremorselessly. 

He wanted Joan to realize the certain fate that awaited her once thedoor gave way. Concealment was useless, and he hoped she would faintbefore the end came. 

"What price the leg of a chair?" asked Beaumanoir. 

The Pole bent his gleaming gray eyes on the Briton with a curiousunderlook of inquiry. "No, no. We can do better than that. You would beshot before you could strike a blow. Joan, please crawl past the windowand stand upright in the corner close to the wall. You follow, Alec. Igo next, and this young gentleman, who must be Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir, since he has all the outward signs of the British aristocracy, willplace himself near the door. If he does exactly what I tell him, westill have a fighting chance. "

The change of position advised by Poluski rendered them safe from theirassailants' bullets until the door was actually off its hinges and thefurniture thrust aside. In the last resort, Alec meant to show himselfat a window and offer a fair target to the men in the houses across thestreet. When he fell the shooting from that quarter would cease. Then, acting on his precise instructions, Beaumanoir and Felix must lift Joanthrough another window and allow her to drop to the pavement. It was notfar. She might escape uninjured, and there was a possibility that themob would spare a woman who was an utter stranger, one in no way mixedup in Kosnovian affairs. 

Time enough to take this final step when their defense was forced, andthat would be soon. In all likelihood, he had not much more than aminute to live, and he devoted that minute to Joan. 

"Sweetheart, " he murmured tenderly, "you saw the beginning of my careeras a King, and it seems that you are fated to see its end. Have youforgotten what Pallas Athene said to Perseus? It is not so long ago, that morning in the Louvre. But why did you run away from Paris? Whyhave you not written? If you knew how I hoped for a word from you! Myheart told me you loved me; but even one's heart likes to be assuredthat it is not mistaken. "

He was looking into her eyes. The fantasy seized her that he was able toread her secret soul, and she swept aside any thought of concealment. "Alec, " she said, "tell me truly, are we in danger of death?"

"I am, " he replied simply. It was better so, he thought. 

"Then I thank God that I am here to die with you. "

He dared not hint that she might escape. "We still have a remotechance, " he went on. "Let us talk of ourselves, not of death. "

"But I don't want to die, Alec, " she whispered brokenly. "I want tolive, dear. I want to live and be your wife. Oh, Alec, let us ask Heavenfor one year of happiness, one short year----" She choked, and thetears so bravely repressed hitherto dimmed her glorious eyes. Herpiteous appeal increased the torment of his impotence. His face grewmarble white beneath the bronze, and he bent in mute agony over herbowed head. 

Felix, crouching behind Beaumanoir, assured himself that the King andhis chosen lady were momentarily deaf to all else than the one supremefact that each loved the other. He sighed, and touched the stalwartBeaumanoir's shoulder, which he was just able to reach with upliftedhand. 

"Drop on your knees, " he said. "I want to tell you something. "

"You think it is high time I said my prayers--eh, what?"

Yet the younger man obeyed, since there was a calm authority in thepinched and wrinkled face raised to his that seemed to despise theuproar of the mob. Felix was singularly unmoved by the bestial din. Heevidently cared naught for the continuous shooting from street andhouses, or the renewed outburst on the stairs that welcomed the arrivalof axes and sledge hammers rifled from a neighboring shop. 

"Pay heed to what I am going to say, " he muttered, bringing his mouthclose to Beaumanoir's ear, "I don't wish Joan or the King to know whatwe are doing. They will be wise after the event, not before, which isoften the better part of wisdom. Have you a steady hand? Will you flinchif I ask you to destroy every man on the other side of that door?"

Beaumanoir twisted his head round and grinned. "If asking will do thetrick, try me!" said he. 

Felix took from an inner pocket of his coat a gunmetal cigarcase. Hepressed a spring, and the lid flew open. Inside were four cigar shapedcylinders, each studded with a number of tiny knobs. He withdrew acylinder, and from a small cup in its base obtained six percussion caps, which he proceeded to adjust on the iron nipples. 

"My own patent!" he exclaimed, with an air of pride that was grotesqueunder the conditions. "Each cigar is a bomb, warranted to clear anyordinary room of its occupants. It does not discriminate. It willdismember the most exalted personages. "

"By gad!" ejaculated Beaumanoir, shrinking away slightly. 

Felix pressed closer in his enthusiasm. "The point carrying thedetonators is loaded with lead. If properly handled, it is sure to flywith that end in front. You take it between your thumb and secondfinger, thus, and poise it by placing the tip of the first finger behindit, thus; but you must throw hard, and wait until the upper part of thedoor is smashed, and you can fling it clear, or three ounces of dynamitewill explode in front of your nose, with disastrous effect. I will havea second bomb ready if the first one fails; but it will not. "

"By gad!" said Beaumanoir again, gazing at the deadly contrivance as iffascinated by it. He could retreat no farther, being jammed against thesideboard. 

"Do you understand?" demanded Felix coolly. 

"Perfectly. Is it--er--Russian or Spanish?"

"Neither. I call it the International. Are you ready?"

A thunderous blow shook the door. Another and another fell on lock andhinges. 

"Felix!" said Alec, turning from Joan and stooping over the hunchback. 

"Don't bother me, I am busy, " growled the Pole. 

"But we must act. We are done for now, and Joan must be saved. I mean todraw the enemy's fire. When I am hit, you and Beaumanoir must take Joanto the third window over there--take her by force if necessary----"

"My good Alec, at present you are a King without power. Please don'ttalk nonsense. Keep in your corner, pacify Joan, and leave the rest tome. "

"Felix, " and Alec's tone grew curt and sharp, "this is no time for jest!Look, you madman, the door is splitting! Is Joan to die, then, to pleaseyour whim? Either attend to me or stand aside!"

Poluski groaned. He was such an amalgam of contrarieties that he hatedthe notion of explaining to a monarch the subtle means he had devisedfor ridding the world of its unpopular rulers. Where Alec was concerned, the bomb ought to remain a trade secret, so to speak. He would not havetrusted even Beaumanoir with its properties had he not known that hisown nerve would fail at the critical moment. For that was FelixPoluski's weakness. He could not use his diabolical invention--ananarchist in theory, in practice he would not harm a fly. 

"I think just as much of Joan as you!" he blazed back at the pallid manwhose next step promised to lead to the grave. "I am King here, not you!Keep yourself and Joan out of harm's way, and don't interfere! Standflat against the wall, both of you! Back, I say! There is the firstaxhead! Now you, who were born a lord, be ready to lord it over thesegroundlings!"

He whirled round on Beaumanoir, and Alec saw in his friend's hand someobject, what he could not guess, while Felix carried a similar articlein reserve, as it were. The little man's earnestness was so convincingthat the King could not choose but believe that some scheme that offeredsalvation was in train. But it might fail! The door might be forcedbefore his own desperate alternative could be adopted, and theconsequences to Joan of failure were too horrible to be risked. A panelshivered into splinters and the muzzles of two revolvers frowned throughthe aperture. 

"Wait!" bellowed Poluski; for Beaumanoir's hand was raised. 

Lord Adalbert did more than wait. With the quickness born of many ahard won victory on the polo ground, his free left hand flew out andgrasped the wrist behind one of the pistols. He pulled fiercely andirresistibly. An arm appeared, and a yell of pain signalized adislocated shoulder. 

The weapon exploded harmlessly and fell to the floor. A living stop gapnow plugged the first hole made by the ax wielders, while the writhingbody of their comrade interfered with further operations. 

Beaumanoir gave an extra wrench, and his victim howled most dolorously. He slipped the bomb into his coat pocket. 

"Pick up that revolver, Alec, " he cried. "If it is still loaded it willhelp us to hold the fort. "

The King rushed forward, and butted against Beaumanoir in his haste. Felix, whose skin was always sallow, became livid; but nothing happened, and he snatched the bomb from its dangerous resting place. Then he burstinto a paroxysm of hysterical laughter which drowned for an instant anew hubbub in the street. 

Alec, hastily examining his prize, found that three chambers wereloaded. He was about to search for a crack in the door through which hecould fire at least one telling shot, when his ear caught the prancingof horses on the paving stones. 

Joan, thoroughly enlightened now as to their common peril, had behavedwith admirable coolness since Alec implored her not to stir from thecorner between door and window. She was sure they would all be killed, and her lips moved in fervent prayer that death might be merciful in itshaste; but she was not afraid; that storm of tears had been succeeded bya spiritual exaltation that rescued her from any ignoble panic. Yet hersenses were strained to a tension far more exhausting than the displayof emotion natural to one plunged without warning into the most horribleof the many horrors of civil war, and she had heard, long before theothers, the onrush of cavalry and the stampede of the mob. 

So, when her eyes met Alec's, and she saw that questioning look in hisface, she smiled at him with a radiant confidence that was astounding atsuch a moment. 

"Heaven has been good to us, dear, " she said. "Your soldiers are here. Your enemies are running away. Listen! they are fighting now on thestairs. The unhappy men who raved for our lives will lose their own. Cannothing be done to save them?"

He ran to the window. Those leaden blasts that had swept the room fromthe first floors of the opposite houses had ceased, and not onepotvaliant marksman of them all was to be seen; but the street was fullof hussars, and directly beneath, mounted on an excited horse, Stampoffwas giving furious orders which evidently demanded an energetic stormingof the hotel entrance. 

Alec threw open the window and leaned out. "Just in time, old friend!"he cried. 

Stampoff heard him and looked up. "God's bones!" he roared. "Here isthe King safe and sound. At them, my children! Dig them out with yoursabers! Don't leave a man alive!"

"Stop!" shouted Alec. "No more slaughter! I forbid it!"

Stampoff wheeled round on his charger and addressed the press ofsoldiers who had been unable to take any part in the street clearing, since the mob broke and fled when the first rank of plumed caps andflashing swords became visible. 

"You hear, my children, " he vociferated. "Don't harm anybody who doesnot resist. The King's commands must be obeyed. "

Joan, of course, could only guess what was being said; but she could notfail to recognize the sounds of conflict on the stairs. Men arestrangely akin to tigers when they see red, and the tiger's roar when hepounces on a victim differs greatly from his own death scream. Alec, powerless to move Stampoff, who believed, rightly, as it transpired, that the ringleaders were foremost in the attack, turned to Beaumanoir. 

"Release that fellow, " he said. "If I am able to make my voice heardthrough the racket, I can put an end to this butchery. "

Beaumanoir let go the arm, and a body fell on the other side of thedoor. 

"You are too late, I hope, " he said quietly. "My prisoner took the knockjust before you spoke. I felt it run through him. He shook like a ponyunder the spur. And you're wrong, you know. This gang must be clearedout. " He peered through the broken panel. "It's all over, " he added. "Noflowers, by request. "

Felix was peering up at them with his bright crafty eyes. "Queer thing!"he growled. "In my first honest fight I have been on the side oftyranny. If you young gentlemen will be good enough to remove thebarricade and give orders to have the passage cleared, I can go back tothe cup of coffee I left in the restaurant. Meanwhile, Joan must betaken to her room. She is going to faint, and the Lord only knows whathas become of her maid!"

Alec was at Joan's side before Felix had made an end. "You will notbreak down now, sweetheart, " he cried. "All danger is over, and, withGod's help, you will never witness such a scene in Delgratz again!"

"I feel tired, " she sighed. "I know quite well I am safe, Alec. Somehow, I hardly thought you and I should die to-day. We have things to do inthe world, you and I; but those horrid men frightened me by theirshrieks. It must be awful to pass into the unknown--like that!"

She sighed again. To her strained vision Alec suddenly assumed theaspect of Henri Quatre's gilded statue on the Pont Neuf. It did not seemto be in the least remarkable that the statue should leap from his horseand take her in his arms. She was absolutely happy and content. Shefelt she could rest there awhile in safety. 

So, when the door was opened, the King experienced no difficulty incarrying Joan through a scene of bloodshed that would certainly neverhave been blotted from her mind had she remained conscious. Stampoff'scommands had been obeyed, and the place reeked of the shambles; but thegirl was happily as heedless of its nightmare horrors as the thirty-onemen who lay there dead or dying. 

Alec bore her out into the street. The sight of him was greeted by asustained cheer from the troops and the loyal citizens who were nowthreatening a riot of curiosity and alarm, since the news had gone roundthat the King was being done to death by a rebellious soldiery in theFürst Michaelstrasse, and Delgratz was hurrying to the rescue. 

Joan, revived a little by the fresh air and bewildered by the shoutingthrong that pressed around the King, opened her eyes. "Where am I?" shewhispered, delightfully ignorant of the fact that she was nestling inAlec's arms under the gaze of many hundreds of his subjects. 

"I am sending you to my mother, dear, " he replied. "Felix and your maidwill be here in a moment, and they will take you to her in a carriage. You cannot remain at the hotel, and you will be well cared for inMonsieur Nesimir's house. "

"Are you coming, Alec?" she asked, scanning his face like a timid child. 

"Soon, quite soon. "

"Then I am content, " she said, and the cloud descended again for a briefspace. 

Pauline, unfortunately, happened to be in the kitchen when the fraybegan. She was nearly incoherent with fright; but Felix managed toreassure her, and piloted her skilfully out of the hotel by an exit thatconcealed the gruesome staircase. 

The glittering escort of soldiers surrounding the carriage pressed intothe King's service served to complete the illusion insisted on byPoluski, and Pauline rejoined her mistress, firm in the conviction thatthe tumult was an outlandish Serbian method of merrymaking. 

Alec, having seen the carriage started on its short journey, approachedStampoff and wrung his hand. "It was a near thing, General, " he said. "Five minutes later and we should have been in another world. "

He spoke in French, and Beaumanoir heard him. 

"Not a bit of it, " said he. "That anarchist johnny carries about withhim the finest assortment of bombs. --By the way, where is the ballything? I'll swear I put it in my pocket when I grabbed that jokerthrough the door. "

His hurried search was not rewarded, and Alec, scarcely understandinghim, asked Stampoff who had given the alarm. 

"Bosko, of course. He came tearing up to the War Office like a madman. Had any other brought the same message I really should not havebelieved it. "

"Then you heard nothing of a waiter from this hotel, a waiter namedSobieski?"

"Nothing, your Majesty. Bosko was undoubtedly the first to arrive withthe news, and all was quiet at the President's as I rode past. I notedthat especially. By the way, Prince Michael is here; came this morning, I am told. The Princess accompanied him. Does your Majesty intend goingto them at once? I have already sent an orderly to announce yoursafety. "

Alec looked at his watch. "Five minutes past four, " he said. "No, General, I am due at the university. I like to be punctual; but thisslight delay was unavoidable. I shall see you at dinner to-night, and Isuppose you will clear the city of these idiots of the Seventh Regimentbefore sunset. By the way, a word before we part. You saw the lady whomI brought from the hotel and placed in the carriage?"

"Saw her, your Majesty? Judas! Thirty years ago I should have striven torescue her myself. "

"It was she who rescued me, General, she and the little humpbacked man. Exactly how they managed it I do not know as yet; but to-night you shallhear the whole story. At present, it is enough that you should be toldthe one really important fact. She is my promised wife. "

With a smile and a farewell hand-wave, Alec mounted a troop horse androde away with Beaumanoir in the direction of the university. 

Stampoff looked after him with an expression of utmost dismay on hisweatherbeaten face. "Gods!" he muttered. "A wife, and a pretty foreignertoo, that is a bird of another color! What will Prince and PrincessDelgrado say now, I wonder? What will Kosnovia say, when it is in everyman's mind that you should marry a Serb? And what mad prank of fortunesent her here to-day? By thunder! I thought things were quieting down inDelgratz; but I was wrong--they are just beginning to wake up!"

CHAPTER IX

MUTTERINGS OF STORM

Before Joan's carriage had traveled a hundred yards it was halted by aloud command. An officer, galloping at the head of a detachment ofcavalry, sought news of the King, and an escorted vehicle coming fromthe upper end of Fürst Michaelstrasse promised developments. Joan wasstartled back into consciousness by the sudden stoppage. The excitedbabble going on without was incomprehensible and therefore alarming, nordid the polite assurances of the officer, as he bent in the saddle andpeered in at the window while he aired his best French, serve to stillthis fresh tumult in her veins. 

"What is he saying?" she asked Felix, turning her frightened eyes fromthe urbane personage on horseback to Poluski's intent face. 

"He was sent to rescue the King, " was the explanation. "He says thebodyguard received warning less than two minutes ago. "

"Tell him the King is safe now. "

"Oh, he knows that already. What puzzled him is the fact that the troopsat the War Ministry, which lies beyond the President's house, shouldhave reached there before him. "

"What does it matter, since help came in time? Please bid the coachmango on. I--I would like to be the first to let Princess Delgrado knowthat her son has escaped from those horrid men. Who were they? Whyshould they want to kill Alec?"

Felix did not obey her bequest instantly. He exchanged some hasty wordswith the strange officer, who chanced to be Drakovitch, and answeredJoan's questions only when the cab resumed its journey. "Have youforgotten the part played by the Seventh Regiment in the recent historyof Delgratz?" he cried. 

"I remember something about them. Alec disbanded them. Oh--they were thesoldiers who revolted and murdered the late King and Queen. "

"Exactly. Do women ever read the newspapers intelligently, I wonder? Youstate a most remarkable fact, considering that this is Delgratz and yourfuture capital, as coolly as if it had happened in Kamchatka. "

"But still I do not understand why they should turn against Alec. I haveat least sufficient intelligence to recall the avowed object of theircrime, --the restoration of the Delgrado line. "

Felix smiled. If Joan was able to defend herself, she was certainlymaking a rapid recovery. "That is a mere hazy recollection of theirafterthought. Of all despotisms, save me from a military one, andsoldiers who slay Kings are the worst of despots. If there were noKings, there would be few soldiers, Joan. Put that valuable truism awayamong the other wise saws that govern your life. You will appreciate itstruth, and the even greater truth of its converse, when you are a Queen. But soldiers are stupid creatures, obviously so, since killing is noargument, or the word philosopher would mean a man armed with abludgeon. If they do away with a tyrant and elect his successor, theyare apt to acquire the habit. Soldiers are meant to obey, not to rule, and these Kosnovian Kingmakers were not patriots but cutthroats. "

Joan buried her face in her hands. The thought came unbidden that insome inexplicable way she shared with the infamous Seventh Regiment alarge measure of responsibility for Alec's dangerous kingship. 

"Mademoiselle is ill. Why trouble her with your silly chatter?" demandedPauline angrily. 

"Eh, what the deuce? My name isn't Balaam, " retorted Felix. 

"Nor am I a donkey, monsieur. If it wasn't for you, miladi would now behappy in her little apartment in the Place de la Sorbonne. I keep myears open, me!"

"I said nothing about your ears, Madame Pauline, " tittered Felix. 

The Frenchwoman's homely features reddened, and a vitriolic reply wasonly half averted by the lurching of the carriage through a gateway. Joan looked out, and her eyes were moist. 

"I possess two good friends in Delgratz, and I hope they will notquarrel on my account, " she said, with a piteous smile that silenced thewoman. Poluski's mouth twisted. 

"We are not quarreling, my belle, " he cried. "Pauline thinks I broughtyou here, whereas your presence is clearly an act of Providence. Being amodest person, I naturally protested. "

If Joan was not utterly bewildered by the whirligig of events, and morethan ever unnerved now at the near prospect of meeting Prince andPrincess Delgrado in the perhaps unwelcome guise of their son'saffianced wife, she would certainly have discovered that Felix wassaying the first thing that came uppermost in his mind. The outcome musthave been a quick mental review of the day's incidents in order to hitupon the special item he was trying to conceal, though it is probablethat no girl of Joan's candid nature would ever guess the suspicionrapidly maturing to a settled belief in the Pole's acute brain. 

For Captain Drakovitch, the officer who led the bodyguard in theirbelated ride to the King's aid, had told him that a waiter, JohnSobieski by name, had arrived breathless at the President's house manyminutes before the actual alarm was given. Sobieski had sobbed out someincoherent words about the King, and the Seventh Regiment; but PrinceMichael, who was in the courtyard, snapped up the man immediately, bidding him hold his tongue, and hurrying him inside the building. Oncethere, Sobieski became more confused than ever. Prince Michael obviouslyregarded him as a crazy rumor-monger until Nesimir appeared. The latter, by reason of his local knowledge, instantly appreciated the truesignificance of an attack on the King in a crowded thoroughfare by agang whom Sobieski was sure he had identified correctly. 

Nevertheless, precious time had been consumed by the elder Delgrado'sinterference. The President acted with promptitude; but the outcome wasclear. If it had not been for Bosko, the King must have fallen. 

"Gods!" vowed Drakovitch in his emphatic story to Felix, "there were welounging about smoking cigarettes while his Majesty was in a fair way tobe cut in pieces! A nice state of affairs! If some one had not warnedStampoff, we might have been too late!"

"Better not mention it in public, " was Poluski's advice. "The merenotion of the resultant disaster would make Prince Michael seriouslyill. Moreover, such things grow in the telling, and the story will betraced back to you. "

The other had agreed, and Felix followed his own counsel by withholdingfrom Joan all knowledge of the unpleasant mischance that had nearly costthe lives of the King and his companions in the besieged hotel. But histhoughts were busy, and, when he found Sobieski detained in theentrance hall, he consigned Joan and her maid to the care of a servant, briefly explaining that they were to be taken to Princess Delgrado, andforthwith questioned his fellow countryman. 

Sobieski was quaking with fear. The scornful disbelief expressed byPrince Michael had discomfited him at the beginning, and now he waspractically under arrest until his connection with the outrage wasinvestigated officially. One of Stampoff's messengers had alreadyannounced the King's safety, or by this time Sobieski must have becomethe lunatic Prince Michael took him to be. 

"What then, my friend, they did not credit your tale, I hear?" saidFelix genially, and the sound of his voice drove some of the misery fromthe waiter's pallid cheeks. 

"It was my fault, monsieur. I ran so fast that I lost my breath and thegentleman could not understand me. "

"Ah, is that it? Did you speak Polish?"

"No, no, monsieur. I always speak Serbian here. "

"And what did you say?"

"Just what you told me to say, --that the King was in danger and that thePresident was to send troops instantly to the Fürst Michaelstrasse. Thenthe old gentleman, he whom they call Prince Michael, came up and said hedid not believe a word of it. "

"Mon Dieu! He understood you, it appears?"

"Perhaps not, monsieur. I made a hash of it, especially when I told himMonsieur Poluski sent me. "

"Sure you mentioned that?"

"Quite sure, monsieur. It was then he ordered me inside the house. Themention of your name seemed to annoy him. For a little while he couldsay nothing but 'Poluski, Poluski! Is he in it?' I swore you had nothingto do with the plot, monsieur, but had acted throughout as the King'sfriend; then he stormed at me again, and called me a blockhead forcoming to the palace with such a mad story. He asked me what I thoughtwould have been the consequence if the Princess heard me, and I said Iknew nothing about any Princess; I was only quite sure the King would beslain if some one did not hasten to his rescue. "

"But some one had more sense, some one listened?" said Felix dryly. 

"Ah, yes. When the President came down the stairs, Prince Michael wentto meet him, laughing all the time at my romancing, as he called it. ButI shouted out, being quite desperate then, and Monsieur Nesimir heardme. Of course, by that time, I was in such a state that my knees shook. I was certain the King would be found dead, and perhaps you, monsieur, and then would there be no one to prove that I was not mixed up in theaffair, so people would think I ran to the palace in order to save myown skin. I nearly dropped with fear, feeling that so many minutes werebeing lost, and that made me more nervous than ever when I wasanswering Monsieur Nesimir's questions. "

Poluski's worn face exhibited no more emotion than if he was a gravenimage, but his voice was sympathetic. "At any rate, everything has endedhappily, friend John, " said he. "The King is alive, you did your duty, and you will find him not unmindful of your services. By whose order areyou detained here?"

The excited waiter began to snivel. "I don't know, monsieur. Prayintercede for me and have me set at liberty, or I shall lose mysituation if it gets about that I have been arrested. My patron willhave nothing to do with politics. He says his business is to sell beerand coffee, and all parties are equally fond of his goods. "

Felix, who was already being eyed askance by the presidential hangers-onin the entrance lobby, returned to the courtyard and appealed to theofficer in charge of the escort. A brief conversation with an officialelicited the fact that Sobieski awaited Prince Michael's commands. 

"Then bring Prince Michael here, " said Poluski. 

"Monsieur!" An astounded flunky could say no more; but this impudenthunchback was in no wise abashed. 

"Exactly, Monsieur Felix Poluski wishes to see his Excellency at once. Tell him that, and it will suffice. "

The lackey was forced to yield, and, much to his surprise, PrinceMichael did not hesitate an instant in obeying that imperative summons. An expression of annoyance flitted across his florid features when hefound Poluski standing near the trembling waiter; but he tackled thesituation with nonchalance. 

"Have you been here long, Felix?" he inquired. "No one told me you hadarrived. Your young lady friend has been taken to the Princess--at herown request, I am given to understand. Dreadful business, thisunforeseen attack on my son, isn't it? I must confess that I didn'tcredit a word of it when this poor fellow rushed in with his brokentale. Ah, by the way, I gave some orders in my alarm that may have beenmisinterpreted. " He dug a hand into a pocket; but withdrew it, empty. 

"His Majesty will see to it that you are suitably rewarded, " he said toSobieski. "Meanwhile, you have my hearty thanks, and I regret that anyhasty words of mine should have caused you inconvenience. You can go atonce, of course. "

Sobieski made off, well pleased that his stormy career in the whirlpoolof state affairs was ended. But Felix shook hands with him and saidquietly:

"I will not forget. "

Prince Michael seized Poluski's arm with a fine assumption of dignifiedcordiality. "So it was really you who sent that stammering youth withsuch an astounding message? Come, then. Tell me all about it. Was Alecactually in peril?"

He drew Felix up the stairs, out of earshot of the servants andorderlies in the wide hall. Felix sniffed. 

"Odd thing, " he grinned. "You are a Prince and I am an anarchist, yetboth of us need a nip of brandy when we are disturbed. But I have thebetter of you in one respect, my dear Michael. My hand doesn't shake. Now, yours----"

The clasp on his arm loosened, lost some of its friendliness, and PrinceDelgrado stood for an instant on the stairs. 

"I tried to show a calm front before the others; but the predicament myson was in found the weak place in my armor, " he said. 

"My case exactly, " said Felix. "Joan diagnosed the symptoms, and dosedme with cognac. You, I imagine, were your own physician. "

"Ah, since you mention the lady, who is she?"

"Joan? A female divinity, one of the few charming women left in theworld. "

"Admirable! One can associate those qualities with residence in Paris;but in Delgratz, Felix, one finds them unusual--shall I say out ofplace?"

"If I were you, Monseigneur, I would learn to regard her in a totallydifferent light. Joan ought to be at home here, because she is yourprospective daughter in law. "

Michael Delgrado could govern his nervous system with some measure ofsuccess when words were the only weapons that threatened. He did notflinch now; but threw open the door of the nearest room on the upperfloor. It chanced to be the apartment in which President Nesimir hadreceived Alec and Stampoff on that memorable morning, barely a monthago, when the young King came to Delgratz to claim his patrimony. Neither man was aware of the coincidence that led Michael to slam thedoor, place his back against it, and gurgle a question:

"Are you jesting, Felix?"

"Quarter of an hour ago I was on the point of being introduced to a grimpersonage who would have squeezed the last joke out of me, " saidPoluski. "His name was Death, Pallida Mors, who steps with even stridefrom the huts of the poor to the palace of the King, and he gave me sucha fright that I shall be in no mood all day for any display of humor. Why, man, don't you realize that I have been under this roof fully fiveminutes without experiencing the slightest desire to sing?"

"But, Felix, do be in earnest for once. What is this you tell me? Howcan Alexis III. Marry this woman, this adventuress?"

Poluski's big gray eyes narrowed into slits, and the hump on hisshoulders became more pronounced as his head drooped forward a little;but his smooth tones did not falter, and his uneasy hearer thought hefound a note of friendly commiseration in them. 

"A hard word, Michael, hard and unjust. Joan is no adventuress, " hesaid. "We old birds are too ready to condemn a young and pretty womanwho falls in love with a King; but in the present instance criticism isdisarmed, since Joan was in love with Alec when he had no more worldlywealth than the endowment of your princely name, and when his chance ofbecoming King of Kosnovia was as remote as--what shall I say?--well, asyour own. "

Michael came away from the door and stood looking out at the window. Itafforded a partial view of the courtyard and the fairly wide streetbeyond the gate. "I know, of course, that your ideas and mine on thesesubjects differ very greatly, " he said after a pause, and with aperceptible return to his grandiose manner; "but as you say rightly, both of us are old enough to realize that a reigning King can marry nonebut a Princess of some royal house. Again, the King of Kosnovia mustmarry a Serb. There you have two fixed principles, so to speak, each ofwhich renders it impossible for a lady who rejoices apparently in noother name than Joan----"

"Joan Vernon, " put in Felix, producing a cigarcase, an exact replica ofthat containing the bombs, and selecting one of the long thin cigars hefavored. 

"Ah, certainly. The Princess spoke to her in Vienna, and ascertained hername then. Well, Miss Joan Vernon cannot, by the very nature of things, become Queen of Kosnovia. It is not that I disapprove of the notion, Felix; it is simply impossible. "

Poluski struck a match and began to smoke furiously. Delgrado probablyexpected him to say something; but he waited in vain, since Felix seemedto be far more perturbed by the suspected existence of a hole in theouter wrapping of the cigar, and futile efforts to close it with the tipof a finger, than by the princely hinting at a morganatic marriage. 

Perforce, Prince Michael resumed the discussion. "I am stating the factscalmly and without prejudice, " he said. "I assume that you are notmisleading me or that some sort of lovers' vows exists between theseyoung people?"

He paused again. Poluski was triumphant. He had found the hole, appliedthe surgical method of a tourniquet by pressure, and the cigar wasdrawing perfectly. 

"Having said so much, Felix, you might be sufficiently communicative inother respects, " growled Delgrado, turning angrily from the window. 

"_Parbleu!_ I left you to do the talking, Monseigneur. This devil of acigar has been bored by a weevil, and was broken winded till I stoppedthe leak. You were saying?"

"That Alec Delgrado might have married your young friend; but KingAlexis III. Cannot. "

"He will, " said Felix, grinning complacently. 

"If he does, it will cost him his throne. "

"Poof! For a man of the world, Michael, you utter opinions that aresingularly inept. I think you were driving just now at the acceptedtheory of royal alliances? If it holds good for Alec, it affects you, his father. You didn't marry a Princess, but happily secured a good, honest American lady, sufficiently endowed with good, honest Americandollars to keep you in luxury throughout your useless life. If there issome law which says that Alec cannot make Joan a Queen, the same lawwould prevent him from being a King. But it doesn't. King he is, andKing he will remain as long as it pleases God to keep him in good healthand save him from the miserable rascals who tried to assassinate himto-day--and their like. What you want, Michael, is a friend who is notafraid to warn you. Now, for the hour, kindly regard me as filling thatuseful capacity. After twenty-five years of extravagance you havemanaged, I suppose, to exhaust your excellent wife's fortune. You cameto Delgratz this morning for the express purpose of drawing freshsupplies from the Kosnovian treasury. Well, you haven't met your sonyet; but when you suggest that he should begin to impoverish his peopleto maintain you in idle pomp in Paris, I fancy you will find himadamant. That is not his theory of governing. If it was, he wouldneither marry Joan nor be alive at this moment, since Heaven saw fit tointrust me with the control of both his bride and his life. 

"One thing more I have to say, Michael, and then I have finished, unlessyou press me too hardly. Let us suppose Alec had fallen in to-day'sattempt. Whom do you think would succeed him? Michael V. Not for fiveminutes! You know now, and I have known all along, that the realinstigator of the May outbreak was Julius Marulitch and his Greek bearleader, Constantine Beliani. You were inspired, Michael, when youresigned your claims in favor of your son. Those two meant to put youforward as their puppet and shove you to the wall as soon as theDelgrado line was restored and they were able to pull the strings herein safety. They never dreamed that Alec, the careless, happy-go-luckyboy, the polo player and haunter of studios, would prove a stumblingblock in the path of royal progress. You were a mere pawn, Michael. Theycounted on pushing you out of the way as easily as if you were a baby ina perambulator. What was true a month ago is more true now. Go down onyour knees and thank Heaven that it saw fit to preserve your son's lifethis afternoon; for his life alone stands between you and the abyss!

"Now, I have spoken, and--name of a good little gray man!--you don'tseem to like the hearing. But do not forget what I have said, Michael. Ihave poured forth a stream of golden words. It will be well for you ifyou are never called on to apply other test to their value than your ownjudgment; for as sure as the day dawns that you dream of reigning inDelgratz, so surely will you dig your own grave with a shovel lent bythe devil. "

Poluski ceased, and apparently expected no answer. He, too, went to awindow and gazed out at the sunlit vista of graveled courtyard andyellow buildings. 

Already there were long patches of shade; for the day was closing. Afoot regiment marched past the palace gates, and Prince Michael mighthave remembered that in Delgratz a sentry with a loaded rifle guardseach street after sunset. But his bloated face was curiously haggard, and his prominent eyes looked at the soldiers with the unconsciousaspect of a man whose castle in Spain had suddenly proved itself themost deceptive of mirages. Perhaps, for a brief space, he saw himself asFelix saw him, and a species of horror may have fallen on him at themere conceit that another man was able to peep into his heart andsurprise there the foul notion that had seized him when John Sobieskibrought the tidings of his son's desperate plight. 

Be that as it may, Prince Michael Delgrado offered no reply to thedecrepit, poverty stricken artist who had dared to unmask him in suchexceedingly plain terms. Not a word passed between them during manyminutes. The shuffling tramp and dust of the regiment died away, and thethoroughfare beyond the gates had resumed its normal condition when anew animation was given to the courtyard by a loud order and the hurriedassembly of the guard. 

"Good!" said Felix contentedly. "Here comes the King! Your Excellencywill now receive confirmation of some of my statements. As for the rest, if I am proved right in some respects, it will be a first rate idea toaccept the remainder without proof. "

Delgrado shot a baleful glance at the hunchback; but ignored hiscomment. "If it is not indiscreet of a parent to betray some interest ina son's prospective happiness, may I venture again to inquire who MissJoan Vernon is?"

"I think I answered you. "

"In general terms. Feminine divinity and charm should be thecharacteristics of all brides; but these delectable beings do not enterthe world fully formed, like Venus Aphrodite newly risen from the sea ofCyprus. "

"Oh, to me it suffices that she exists, and is Joan. I have known her awhole year, during her student life in Paris, in fact. Your simile waswell chosen, Monseigneur. Aphrodite came with the spring, and so cameJoan. "

"And before Paris?"

"The New England section of America, I believe. Her mother died whenJoan was a child; her father was in the navy and was drowned. "

"An artist, you say?"

"Artistic would be the better description. She is too rich ever to paintwell. "

"Rich!"

"As artists go. She has an income of two hundred pounds a year. "

"Ah, bah!"

"Don't be so contemptuous of five thousand francs. They go a longway--with care. I believe that my dear Joan spends all her money ondress, and keeps soup in the pot by copying pictures. But she will makea lovely Queen. _Saperlotte!_ I must paint her in purple and ermine. "

Yielding to the spell of the vision thus conjured up, Felix forgot hisracked nerves and sang lustily a stanza from "Masaniello. " PrinceMichael flung out of the room to meet his son; but the strains followedhim down the stairs. 

Yet Poluski was thinking while he sang, and the burden of his thoughtwas that this anxious father had asked him no word as to the scene inthat bullet swept room, nor the means whereby Alec and his friends weresnatched from death. 

Very different was the meeting between Joan and Princess Delgrado. Thepanic stricken mother, scarce crediting the assurance given her by thePresident's family that there were no grounds for the disquieting rumorsthat arose from Sobieski's appeal for help, was in an agony of dreadwhen the first undoubted version of the true occurrence was brought byStampoff's courier. 

The arrival of Joan, of one who had actually been in her son's companyuntil the danger was passed, though helping to dispel her terror, aroused a consuming desire to learn exactly what had happened. Joan, ofcourse, could only describe the siege and their state of suspense untilthe soldiers cleared the street of the would-be assassins. As to themotive of the outrage or the manner in which it reached its suddencrisis, she had no more knowledge than the Princess, and a quite naturalquestion occurred to the older woman when Joan told how Felix Poluskihad startled the King and herself by his warning cry. 

"My son had gone to visit you, then?" she said, not without a shadow ofresentment at the fact that he had discovered this girl's whereaboutsreadily enough, though seemingly there was none to tell him that hisfather and mother were in the city and longing to see him. 

Joan flushed at the words; but her answer carried conviction. "I do notyet understand just how or when Felix discovered that the King's lifewas threatened, " she said; "but there can be no doubt it was a ruse onhis part to distract the attention of the mob when he told his Majestythat I was in the hotel. --I chanced to be looking out--and I was veryangry with Felix when I saw that he had stopped the King and wasevidently informing him of my presence. "

"Then my son did not know you were in Delgratz?"

"He had no notion I was any nearer than Paris. "

"What an amazing chapter of accidents that you should be in Delgratzto-day, and, under Providence, become the means of saving Alec's life;for it is quite clear to me now that had he gone a few yards farther hewould have been shot down without mercy!"

Joan colored even more deeply. Her pride demanded that she should nolonger sail under a false flag, yet it was a seeming breach of maidenlyreserve that she should announce her own betrothal. It would have comeeasier if she could claim more consideration from this kind faced, pleasant voiced woman than was warranted by the casual acquaintance of arailway journey. But Alec had sent her to his mother, and Joan's naturewould not permit her to carry on the deception, though it might becapable of the most plausible explanation afterward. 

"I feel I ought to tell you, " she said, and the blood suddenly ebbedaway from her face to her throbbing heart. "Alec and I were friends inParis. We were fond of each other; but gave not much heed to it, since Iwas poor and he told me he had his way to make in the world. He wrote tome a few days ago, asking me to marry him. I did not know what to say, when chance threw in my way a commission to copy a picture in this verycity. Put in such words, it all sounds very mad and unconvincing; but itis true, and it is equally true that I should never have acknowledgedto-day that I returned his love if--if I did not think--for a few awfulminutes--that we should both be killed. And--and--I wanted to die in hisarms!"

Joan began to cry, and Princess Delgrado cried too, and it was in tearsthat King Alexis III. Found them when he had returned Prince Michael'sstately greeting and was told that the young American lady who had comefrom the shattered hotel was in his mother's room. 

CHAPTER X

WHEREIN THE SHADOWS DEEPEN

Joan was standing on the first floor veranda of the President's houseearly next morning, when her errant thoughts were brought back to earthfrom wonderland by a stir and clatter of hoofs in the courtyard. Sheknew, because Alec had told her the previous evening, that he was boundfor an experimental farm certain local magnates had established in therich alluvial plain that forms the right bank of the Danube some fewmiles from the capital city. 

"At present our country exports pigs and little else, " he had said. "Imean to change all that. Austria shuts and bolts her doors by hostiletariffs; but Turkey is open to trade with all the world, and who sofavorably situated as we, once the barriers of race prejudice are brokendown? So, behold in me a patron of agriculture and its allied arts!"

"The Turk is our hereditary enemy, " snarled Prince Michael, who was muchannoyed by the poor quality of the wine at the royal repast. "Fancy medrinking Carlowitz at my age!" he had growled to Stampoff when hediscovered that champagne was not supplied, by the King's order. 

"My dear Dad, I am trying hard to erase that word 'hereditary' from theSerbian language, " laughed Alec. "It opposes me at every turn; it mocksat my best efforts; it swathes me like the bandages of a mummy, --and Iam growing weary of its restraint. This is a question of self interest, too. Perhaps, if I can persuade our good Kosnovians to adopt some moreup-to-date fetish, they may drop the hereditary habit of carving theirchosen rulers into mincemeat whenever a change of Government seems goodto them. "

"The King of Kosnovia should never forget that the time may come when hewill be crowned Emperor at Constantinople, " said Prince Michael with aregal flourish of his plump hand. 

"Precisely. The ceremony should provide a picturesque spectacle for thecinematograph. Meanwhile, I want to enter the enemy's territory, and atpresent my skirmishers are pigs which are difficult to drive. We needstronger forces, such as hardware, agricultural implements, horses, cereals, even textile manufactures. "

"In sending your pigs, I hope you also get rid of your bores, Alec, " putin Felix, and Nesimir, who knew no English, wondered why so many of hisguests laughed. 

As for the elder Delgrado, he sulked until the President produced abottle of imperial tokay, a luxury which the stout Sergius explainedaway by the statement that his house had never before been honored by sodistinguished and brilliant a company. 

So Joan was prepared for her lover's departure from Delgratz soon afterdaybreak. The heat of the noon hours was so excessive that early risingbecame more of a necessity than a virtue; hence her appearance on theveranda. 

Alec had definitely promised his mother before retiring to rest that hewould not dispense with an escort until the city was thoroughly quieteddown after the day's excitement. The troopers paraded at six o'clock, and he did not keep them waiting a minute. Joan, delighting in themilitary display, watched him mount and ride off with that half-maternalsolicitude which is the true expression of a woman's love. She hoped hewould look up ere he quitted the courtyard--and she must havetelegraphed her wish; for Alec at once turned in the saddle, almost asthough some one had told him she was there. 

He waved a hand in gay greeting, and it would appear that a whim seizedhim at the sight of her, since he gave some instructions to an aid decamp, who came clanking back to the porch, dismounted, and entered thebuilding. 

Soon the officer was bowing low to Joan. "The King presents hiscompliments, Excellency, " he said in careful French, "and wishes to knowif you will accompany him for an hour's ride before sunset. "

 [Illustration: Joan laughed at Alec's masterful methods Page 199]

"Please convey my regrets to his Majesty; but I do not possess a ridinghabit, " said Joan. 

"The King told me to say that if your Excellency offers no objection, ahabit will be brought to the palace at four o'clock. "

Joan laughed whole heartedly; for Alec's masterful methods came as adistinct surprise. Yet, despite her independent spirit, she rejoiced inhis dominance. 

"Tell his Majesty that I have the utmost confidence in his judgment, "she said, and her face was still rippling with merriment at the hiddenmeaning Alec would surely extract from her message when Lord AdalbertBeaumanoir joined her. 

"Ah, that is better, Miss Vernon, " he cried. "Glad to find you in goodspirits, --'Hail, smiling morn, ' and that sort of thing, eh, what?"

"Why are you deserting Alec--the King--to-day?" she asked. "I thoughtyou two were inseparable. And please enlighten me, Lord Adalbert, as tothe correct way of alluding to royalty. Alec is every inch a King, ofcourse; but I find my tongue tripping every time I use his title. "

Beaumanoir seemed to weigh the point. "You are experiencing the samedifficulty as the sailor who acted as billiard marker in the naval messat Portsmouth, " he said. "One evening the Prince of Wales came in toplay pool, and Jack whispered to the mess president, 'Beg pardon, sir, but am I to call 'im Yer R'yal 'Ighness or Spot Yaller?'"

Joan shrieked at that, and the sound of her mirth brought PrincessDelgrado to them. 

"You are cheerful this morning, Joan, " she said. 

Her ready use of the girl's Christian name would have told Felix, if hehad been present, that Alec's mother did not by any means share herhusband's views as to the impossibility of a marriage between her sonand this bright faced American. At any rate, Joan's cheeks glowed, andthere was more than convention in the kiss the two women exchanged, eachmoved, as it were, by a spontaneous liking for the other. 

"It is impossible to be other than cheerful in Lord Adalbert's company, "said Joan. "Even yesterday, when bullets were showering in through thewindows of that wretched hotel, he made game of them. "

"So I did, --shouted 'Mark cock' when the first low one flew across. Bygad! that's rather clever of you, Miss Vernon, " he grinned. 

"I don't know how either of you can find it in your heart to jest aboutthat dreadful adventure, " said the Princess. "I lay awake for hours lastnight thinking of what might have happened if that man Bosko had notmanaged to get away and warn General Stampoff. "

"By the way, what became of the waiter Felix sent here from the hotel?"mused Joan aloud. "I forgot to ask him. Surely the man came and spoke tosome one?"

"Oh, yes, Prince Michael met him and questioned him. Then MonsieurNesimir took him in hand; but long before either of them could make uptheir minds that he was speaking the truth Bosko was clear of the moband Stampoff was bringing his hussars from the War Ministry. "

The Princess spoke hurriedly, and the younger people were quick toperceive a slight restraint in her words. It was quite natural. Amother, weighing the actions of others in a matter touching the safetyof her son, would hardly make allowance for the incredulity such amessenger as Sobieski would inspire, and Beaumanoir tactfully led thetalk to a less serious topic. 

"You charged me, a little while ago, Miss Vernon, with deserting oursovereign lord the King, whereas the exact opposite is true, " he said. "I am here on duty. 'Berty, ' said my liege, 'stop at home to-day andamuse my mother and Joan, ' his very words. Am I amusing you? No! Then Imust go and find that funny little Pole and beseech him to tell us hisbest before breakfast story. Gad! He has some rippin' after dinner ones. He had us all roaring last night, and the funniest thing was to hear himspinning the same yarn in the local lingo, so that Nesimir and the otherSerbs could share in the festivities. Prince Michael and Alec had thepull of me there, because they could laugh twice. By the way, Princess, Monsieur Poluski was well acquainted with your husband a good many yearsago. They first met in New York, it seems. Poluski coolly informed usthat he was obliged to leave Warsaw about that time because he hadinvented a new explosive specially adapted for removing crowned heads. Fancy him saying that when a real live King was sitting next to him. "

"Alec is very fond of Felix, " said Joan. "He knows quite well that ourfriend talks about things he has never done and never means to do. Why, Felix is the most tender hearted man living. His generosity isproverbial, and he would give away the last franc in his pocket if astarving woman begged of him. His anarchist notions are all nonsense. Hehas cared little about political affairs during the last ten years, andhis only real happiness now is to paint the portrait of a pretty womanand sing at his work. If it was not for the belief that he is mixed upwith dynamitards and other weird creatures, he would be one of the bestknown artists in Paris. "

Beaumanoir called to mind the quiet confidence in Poluski's voice whendescribing the potency of that curious cigar-shaped bomb which sonarrowly escaped being hurled at the mutineers during the fight. 

"There is a lot more in Poluski's make-up than one would give him creditfor at a glance, " said he. 

"I understand he was really a firebrand in his youth, " remarked thePrincess. "My husband and he disagreed so strongly at one period thattheir acquaintance ceased during many years. Indeed, I met him yesterdaypractically for the first time. "

She sighed. Joan realized that Princess Delgrado was perplexed to findher son with so many new interests in life, interests of which she hadno cognizance. He might have dwelt in some city a thousand miles removedfrom Paris, for all she knew of his associates or habits, and this onefact was eloquent of the gulf that yawned between his home and hispursuits. 

After breakfast, Joan insisted on beginning work in the Cathedral. Felixand Beaumanoir accompanied her there in a closed carriage, and the coolinterior of the heavy, ugly structure was not ungrateful in the middayheat. 

At four o'clock Joan was ready to don a riding-habit that fittedmarvelously well considering that the maker had never set eyes on thewearer till he brought the costume to the palace. At five she and Alecand Beaumanoir went for a ride on the outskirts of the town. The mentook her to a very fine turfed avenue that wound through three miles ofwoodland. At the close of a glorious canter a turn in the path revealeda rather pretty chateau situated on a gentle slope of lawns and gardensrising from the northern shore of a large lake. 

"Do you like it?" asked Alec. 

"It is a perfectly charming place, " she said enthusiastically. 

"I am glad you think so, " said he. "It is called the New Konak, incontradistinction to the old one, the Schwarzburg. It will be our summerresidence. I propose to occupy it as soon as it is properly furnished. "

He spoke lightly; but a quiet glance conveyed far more than the words. This, then, was their destined nest, their very own house, and for theirfirst ramble he had brought her there. Its seclusion gave a sense ofsecure peace that was absent from the President's gloomy palace. Thelovely park and its belt of forest shut out the noise and glare of thestreets. Joan sat on her horse and surveyed the scene with glisteningeyes. Her future home lay there, and the belief thrilled her strangely. If she could have peered into the future, how much more deeply would shehave been stirred; for if ever she was fated to be happy in thecompanionship of the gallant youth by her side, assuredly that happinesswas not so near or so easily attained as it seemed to be in that sylvanhour. 

Beaumanoir broke in on her reverie in his usual happy-go-lucky style. "Not a bad looking crib, is it, Miss Joan?" said he. "I have promisedAlec to remain in Delgratz until you are all settled down in it, niceand comfy. Then I wend my lonely way back to Paris. By Jove! I shall besomething of a hero there--shine with reflected glory--eh, what?"

"I can't spare you for many a day yet, Berty, " said Alec. "You canhardly realize how good he has been, Joan, " he continued. "I had afearfully hard time during the first week. More than once I wanted tocut and run; but he kept me to it, chaffing me out of the dumps wheneverything seemed to be going wrong. "

Beaumanoir winked brazenly at her. "He talks that way now, " he grinned. "It's the kingly habit, I understand. Alec has got it down to a finepoint. Make every fellow believe that he is It, and there you are, youknow. "

There was some substratum of sense in Beaumanoir's chaffing. Alec wastaking his kingship very seriously, and Joan was hard pressed to bridgethe gulf that lay between Paris and Delgratz. 

At first she found it almost impossible to realize that Alec had been inharness little more than a month. His talk was replete with localknowledge; he seemed to understand the people and their ways sothoroughly. He was versed even in the peculiarities of their methods oftillage, was able to explain distinctions of costume and racialappearance, and might have spent his life in studying all their customsand folklore. 

Fortunately, Joan herself was gifted with quick perception and aretentive memory. After a few days' residence in the White City shebegan to assimilate the rills of information that trickled in upon herfrom so many sources, and the feeling of bewildered surprise with whichshe regarded her lover's attainments during the first hours of realintimacy was soon replaced by an active sympathy and fullerunderstanding. She was helped in this by the King's mother, since therecould be no doubt that Princess Delgrado took her absolutely to herheart. 

Prince Michael, who was completely eclipsed not only by his son'sextraordinary versatility in all public affairs but by lack of thatopulent setting for his peculiar qualities which Paris alone couldsupply, seemed to accept the inevitable. He tolerated Joan, openlypraised her beauty, and became resigned in a more or less patronizingway to the minor distractions of local life. 

Felix and Joan gave up their mornings to art. The Pole discovered somequaint old frescoes in the cathedral which attracted him by theirremarkable freedom of design and simplicity of color. He valiantlyessayed their reproduction; but Joan suspected in her deepest heart thatPoluski's sudden conversion to Byzantine ideals was due far more to thefact that the lofty dome of the building produced musical effects of themost gratifying nature than to any real appreciation of the quaintcontours and glaring tints of a series of wall pictures that set forthsome long forgotten Bulgar artist's conception of the life and historyof John the Baptist. 

There was naturally a good deal of inquiry and speculation as to theidentity of the unknown connoisseur who had commissioned Joan to copythe Saint Peter. Felix resolutely declined to satisfy any one'squestioning on that topic. He had given his word, he said, not to betraythe confidence reposed in him; but he allayed Alec's professed jealousyby declaring that to the best of his knowledge the man who had sentJoan on this mysterious quest had never even seen her. Still, it wasimpossible to avoid a certain amount of interested speculation amongmembers of the small circle which was aware of the reason that laybehind Joan's visit to Delgratz. Both Alec and Joan believed that CountJulius Marulitch was in some way responsible, and their chief difficultywas to analyze the motive of such unlooked-for generosity on his part. 

The slight mystery underlying the incident was not cleared up untilBeliani reached the capital two or three days after Julius himself. Thelatter cleared the air by expressing his unbounded amazement at findinghis cousin engaged to a young American woman of whose existence he hadnot even heard before he was introduced to her. Under the conditions itseemed to savor of the ridiculous to ask if he was the hidden agent inthe matter of the picture. But Beliani was candor itself; not for amoment did he endeavor to conceal his responsibility. When Alec welcomedhim on the evening of his arrival, he drew the King aside and said, withall the friendliness of one apparently devoted to the Kosnovian cause:

"I am glad to see that my little scheme has worked well. Of course youguessed who it was that despatched Miss Vernon from Paris?"

"No, " said Alec, scanning the Greek's smiling yet subtle face with thosefrank eyes of his that had so quickly learned the secret of lookingbeneath the veneer of men's words to discover their motives. "No, Inever associated you with her appearance here. What inspired you to it?I may say at once that I regard it as the most friendly act you couldpossibly have performed so far as I am concerned; but I know you wellenough to be a little dubious. "

Beliani smiled and spread wide his hands with the deprecatory gesture ofthe Levantine. Long years of residence in the capitals of Europe had notwholly effaced the servile mannerisms of the Eastern money-lender. 

"That is because you know I am a Greek, your Majesty, " he said. "It isthe misfortune of my countrymen that we are seldom given credit fordisinterested motives. Well, I will be honest, quite frank in this, forthe excellent reason that if I was to endeavor to hoodwink you I think Ishould fail. I make it my business to know everything--I repeat, everything--about Kosnovian affairs, and when the rumor reached Paristhat you were to marry a Montenegrin Princess----"

Alec laughed so cheerily that Prince Michael, who happened to be in theroom, turned and looked at the two, wondering what Beliani could havesaid that so amused his son. 

"My dear fellow, " he broke in, "I have never set eyes on the lady. Mytime has been far too occupied in learning my business to permit ofvisits to neighboring States. Moreover, as it happened, I had chosen mywife some days before I hit upon a career. "

"Exactly, your Majesty. I knew that also. "

"But how could you know?"

"I mean that I learned it afterward. An art student of the type of MissVernon, and a young gentleman so popular in Parisian society as AlexisDelgrado, could not meet day after day in the Louvre to conduct a classcomposed solely of two members without exciting a certain amount ofcomment. "

"But that doesn't explain why you should have decided upon theextraordinary step of sending her to Delgratz. "

"No, it shows only how readily I availed myself of existingcircumstances. You see, sitting there in Paris and reading of yourphenomenal progress, I pictured to myself the isolation, the lack ofsympathetic companionship, that you must be suffering here despite allthe brave fireworks of your achievements. We Greeks are poets andphilosophers as well as financiers, and I gratified those higherinstincts of my race by rendering possible a visit to Delgratz of thelady whom you had chosen as a bride, while at the same time I hope to domyself a good turn in winning your favor; for I have money at stake onyour success. Please do not forget that, your Majesty. I supported theDelgrado cause when it was at the lowest ebb of failure, and I naturallylook forward now to recoup myself. "

"All this is new to me, " said Alec, "new and somewhat puzzling. In whatway are you bound up with the fortunes of my house, Monsieur Beliani?"

The Greek shrugged his shoulders expressively. "There are so many waysin which interest in a fallen monarchy can be kept alive, " he said. "Monseigneur your father is well acquainted with the turns and twists ofevents ever since he was driven forth from Kosnovia as a young man. Formany years I remained here, working steadily and hopefully in hisbehalf, and you yourself are aware that when you were a boy of fourteen, Stampoff and I escaped death only by the skin of our teeth because of anabortive attempt to place your father on the throne. "

"Of course, " said Alec thoughtfully, "you must be repaid with interestthe sums you have expended in our behalf; but I warn you that a new eraof economy has been established here. My father and I have alreadyagreed to differ on that point. He seemed to think that the chiefbusiness of a King was to exploit his subjects, whereas my theory isthat the King should set an example of quiet living and industry. Don'tforget that I have seen some of my brother potentates stranded in Paris, mostly because they were so ready to gratify their own appetites at theexpense of their people. I need hardly tell you, Beliani, that Kosnoviais a poverty stricken State. We have suffered from three generations ofself seeking and rapacious rulers. That is all ended. I mean to rendermy people happy and contented. It shall be the one care of my life tomake them so, and if it is the will of Providence that a Delgradoshould reign in the next generation, my legacy to him will be, notmillions of pounds invested in foreign securities, but a nation strong, self contained, and prosperous. "

Beliani listened with a rapt attention. "I agree most fully with everyword that has fallen from your lips, " he said; "but your Majesty cannotachieve these splendid aims single handed. You must be surrounded byable men; you need officials of ripe experience in every department. Now, the first consideration of a small State like this, hemmed in as itis by powerful Kingdoms which the least change in the politicalbarometer may convert into active enemies, is a strong and progressivesystem of finance. I am vain enough to think that you may find myservices useful in that direction. There is no man in Delgratz who hashad my training, and so assured am I of the success that will attendyour Majesty's reign that I purposely delayed my arrival here so that Imight not come empty handed. I passed a week in Vienna, working andthinking twenty hours out of each twenty-four. I felt my way cautiouslywith the leading financial houses there. Of course, I could not saymuch, because I was unauthorized; but I have obtained guarantees thatwill command the certain issue of a loan sufficient to give a start tosome, at least, of the many projects you have already foreshadowed inyour public speeches. Without a shadow of doubt I declare that as soonas I am able to open negotiations with your approval, a loan of severalmillions will be at your service. "

Though the Greek was putting forward an obvious bait, it was evidentthat the King was astonished by his outspoken declaration. "Do Iunderstand that you are applying for the post of Minister of Finance?"he said in his straightforward way. 

"Yes, your Majesty, " replied Beliani. 

"You appreciate, of course, that I occupy a somewhat peculiar positionhere, " said Alec. "I am a constitutional monarch backed by aconstitution that is little more than a name. This country reallydemands an autocracy, whereas I have sworn to govern only by the will ofthe people. In those circumstances I do not feel myself at liberty toappoint or dismiss Ministers at my own sweet will. I assure you that Iam grateful for the offer of help you bring; but I cannot give you theappointment you seek until, in the first place, I have consulted mycouncil and obtained its sanction. "

Beliani bowed. "I will leave the matter entirely in your Majesty'shands, " he said, and by no sign did his well governed face betray hissatisfaction; for, with the King on his side, the astute Greek well knewthat he could pull the strings of the puppets in the Assembly to suithis own ends. 

"May I venture to suggest to your Majesty, " he went on, "that there isone thing that demands immediate attention? Your position cannot beregarded as assured until you have received the recognition of thechief European States. Has Austria made any move in that direction? Haveyou been approached by Russia? One of those two will take theinitiative, and the others will follow. "

"So far, " said Alec, smiling, "I have been favored with a telegram fromthe German Emperor, which his chargé d'affaires tried to explain awaynext day. It was followed by a protest from Turkey on account of analleged disrespectful remark of mine about her position in the cosmogonyof Europe, and I have drawn a polite refusal from Austria to modifypassport regulations, which, by the way, I suggested should bealtogether done away with. Other Kings and Principalities have left meseverely alone. "

"But it would be a grave error to drop the passport system, " saidBeliani earnestly. "It is most important that your Majesty's policeshould be acquainted with the identity of all strangers; otherwise youwould never know what secret agents of your enemies you might beharboring here. "

"I trouble my head very little about the secret agents of enemies thatdo not exist, " said Alec lightly. "You are probably thinking of therevolt of the Seventh Regiment; but that is a domestic quarrel, a localphase of the war waged by all criminals against representatives of lawand order. To be sure, I shall devote every effort to keeping Kosnoviafree of external troubles; yet passports are useless there. I find thata stupid dream of a Slav Empire has drugged the best intellects ofKosnovia for half a century. That sort of political hashish must ceaseto control our actions. It has served only to cripple our commercialexpansion, and I have declined resolutely to countenance its continuanceeither in public or private. Let us first develop the land we own. Believe me, Monsieur Beliani, if our people are worthy of extendingtheir sway, no power on earth can stop them; but they must first learnto till the field with implements other than swords or bayonets, whichare quite out of date, either as plows or as reaping-hooks. "

Prince Michael, watching them furtively, and wondering much what topicwas engaging them so deeply, could no longer restrain his impatience. Hejoined them, saying with his jaunty, self confident air: "What newsurprise are you two plotting? You ought to make a rarecombination, --Alec with his democratic pose of taking the wide worldinto his confidence, and you, Beliani, burrowing underground like a molewhose existence is suspected only when one sees the outcome of hislabors. "

"Just what I was suggesting to his Majesty, " laughed Beliani, cursingPrince Michael under his breath for interfering at that moment. "I willsay, though, from what I have managed to glean of his projects, that thehumble rôle you have been good enough to assign to me will be utterlyout of place in his nobler schemes. Nevertheless, I hope to make myselfuseful. "

"Something to do with money, of course?" guffawed the Prince. 

"It is the only commodity I really understand, " was the suave answer. 

"That is why you refused me a loan a fortnight ago in Paris, I suppose?"

"A loan!" interposed Alec. "Were you hard up, father?"

"I have been telling you so without avail ever since I arrived inDelgratz, " said the Prince bruskly. 

"Ah, you have been asking me to impose on an empty exchequer an annualpayment that Kosnovia certainly cannot afford; but I certainly was notunder the impression that you had found it necessary to apply toMonsieur Beliani for help. Why should such a step be necessary? I havealways understood----"

"Oh, we need not discuss the thing now, " said Prince Michaeloffhandedly; for he dreaded a too close inquiry into his wife'sfinancial resources in the presence of the Greek. Princess Delgrado wasreputedly a rich woman, and her husband had explained his shortness ofcash during recent years by the convenient theory of monetary tightnessin America, whence, it was well understood, her income was derived. 

"Have you seen your mother recently?" he went on, striving to appear athis ease. "I was looking for her half an hour ago. Some letters thatreached me from Paris to-day ought to be answered by to-night's post, and I wish to consult her before dealing with them. "

"Joan will know where she is, I expect, " said Alec; but, seeing thatPrince Michael did not avail himself of Joan's presence to seek thedesired information, he strolled over to the corner of the room whereJoan was chatting with Beaumanoir and one of the Serbian officersattached to the royal suite. 

"Do you know where my mother is?" he asked. 

"Yes, " she said. "General Stampoff took her for a drive nearly an hourago. I offered to go with them; but the General explained that hisvictoria would hold only two. "

"Stampoff driving with my mother!" cried Alec with a laugh, "I must lookinto this. Stampoff is no lady's man as a rule. Now, what in the worlddoes he want my mother to do for him?"

Certainly there must have been some quality in the air of Delgratz thatproduced strange happenings. Stampoff could scarcely speak civilly to awoman, ever since a faithless member of the fair sex brought about hisdownfall in Delgratz a decade earlier. Small wonder, then, that Alecshould express surprise at such display of gallantry on his part!

And, indeed, the unprecedented action of the gruff old Serbian Generalin taking Princess Delgrado for a drive that evening was destined tohave consequences not to be foreseen by any person, least of all theyoung couple whose contemplated marriage was then in the mouths of allmen. It was the first step in the new march of events. Stampoff meantto prove to the King's mother that her son would be ruined in the eyesof his people if he married a foreigner, ruined instantly andirretrievably, no matter how gracious and pleasing Joan might seem to bein their eyes, and, true to his military caste, he wasted no time inmaking the Princess aware of his motive in seeking this tête-à-têteconversation. 

"I think I am right in assuming that you approve of the young Americanlady as your son's wife, " said he when the carriage was clear of thepaved streets and bowling smoothly along the south bank of the Danube onthe only good driving road outside the city. 

"The notion startled me at first, " confessed the Princess; "but the moreI see of Joan the more I like her. Alec and she are devoted to eachother, and I am sure she will be popular, for she is the type of womanwho will take her position as Queen seriously. "

"She is admirable in every respect, " interrupted Stampoff; "but shesuffers from one defect that outweighs all her virtues, --she is not aSerb. "

"Nor am I, " said the Princess quickly; "yet no one seems to find faultwith the King on that ground. "

"One cannot judge the conditions that hold good to-day by those whichexisted twenty-five years ago, " said Stampoff gravely. "When PrinceMichael married you, madame, he was an exile; but Alexis is thereigning King, and he will offend his people mortally if he brings in aforeigner to share his throne. "

Princess Delgrado was bewildered by this sudden attack. She turned andscanned the old man's impressive features with feverish anxiety. "Whatdo you mean?" she asked quickly. "Are you trying to enlist my aid in acampaign against my son's chosen wife? If so, you will fail, General. Iam weary to death of political intrigues and the never ceasing tacticsof wirepullers. I have been surrounded by them all my life, and Ithanked Providence in my heart when I saw that my son began his reign bysweeping aside the whole network of lies and artifice. He has notimposed himself on his people. He is here by their own free will, and ifthey are ready to accept him so thoroughly they will surely not think ofinterfering in such a personal matter as his marriage. "

"But they are thinking of it, " said Stampoff doggedly. "That is why youare here now with me. I felt that I must warn you of the trouble ahead. Alec, I admit, would be an ideal King in an ideal State; but he hasfailed absolutely to appreciate the racial prejudices that exist here. They are the growth of centuries; they cannot be uprooted merely becausea King is in love with an eminently desirable young woman. Among the tenmillions of our people, Princess, there are hardly ten thousand who haveany settled notions of government, whether good or bad, and those tenthousand think they have a prior right to control the destinies of theremainder of the nation. With the exception of a few of the youngerofficers, there is not a man among the governing class who doesn'tharbor more or less resentment against your son. He is putting down witha ruthless hand the petty corruption on which they thrived, and at thesame time reducing their recognized salaries. In season and out ofseason he preaches the duties of good citizenship, but these men havetoo long been considering self to yield without a struggle the positionsattained under a less scrupulous régime. 

"I speak of what I know when I tell you that, placid and contented asDelgratz looks, it is really a seething volcano of hate and discontent. Repressed for the hour, kept in check, perhaps, by the undoubted loyaltyof the masses, it is ready to spout devastating fire and ashes at theleast provocation, and that will be found in a marriage which seems toshut out all hope of realizing the long looked-for joining of Montenegroand Kosnovia. I have a bitter acquaintance with our history, madame, andam persuaded that if Alec is to remain King he must abandon forever thisnotion of marrying an alien. The Greek church would oppose it tooth andnail, and the people would soon follow the lead of their Popes. Thisyoung lady's appearance in Delgratz has come at a singularly inopportunemoment. She was brought here by some one hostile to your son. If shecame in obedience to Alec's wishes, he is his own worst enemy. "

The distressed Princess could hardly falter a question in response toStampoff's vehement outburst. "Why do you tell me these things?" shesaid brokenly. "I--I dare not interfere, even though I approved of whatyou say, which I do not. "

"Some one must act, and speedily too, or the resultant mischief cannotbe undone. I appeal to you because you are a woman, and we men are proneto bungle in these matters. "

"But what do you want of me?" wailed the tortured Princess. "Michaelprotested against the marriage----"

"I am thinking of Alec's welfare now, " said Stampoff gruffly. "You arehis mother, and you and I can save him. In a word, that girl must go, to-night if possible, to-morrow without fail. The talk of marriage mustbe dropped, and revived only when a Serb is the prospective bride. "

"You say she must go. What does that imply? It is not in my power tosend her away, even if I would. "

"It is, Princess, " was the grim answer. "If she loves Alec, she willsave him by leaving him. I am told women do these things occasionally. Perhaps she is one of the self sacrificing sort. At any rate, she mustbe given the chance, and by you. She must go away, and, in going, tellthe King she will never marry him. It is hard. Both will suffer; but, inthe long run Alec will come to see that by no other means can he retainhis Kingdom. "

CHAPTER XI

JOAN DECIDES

An odd element of fatality seemed to attach itself to the ByzantineSaint Peter in the cathedral of Delgratz. Joan nearly lost her lifewithin a few hours of the time when first she saw that remarkable workof art, and it was ordained that one of the last clear memories of thecheckered life in Kosnovia should be its round staring eyes, its stifflymodeled right hand, uplifted, it might be, in reproof or exhortation, the ornate pastoral staff, and the emblem of the crossed keys thatlabeled the artist's intent to portray the chief apostle. Poor Joan hadalready conceived a violent dislike of the reputed Giotto. It was nolonging to complete her work that drove her, at the end, to the solemncathedral, but the compelling need of confiding in Felix. For it hadcome to this: she must fly from Delgratz at once and forever. 

It chanced that morning that Alec had taken a holiday. He appearedunexpectedly at breakfast and sat by Joan's side, and his lover's eyeshad detected a pallor, a certain strained and wistful tension of thelips, signs of mental storm and stress that she hoped would not benoticeable. 

"Sweetheart, " he whispered in quick alarm, "you are not well. You arefeeling this wretched climate. I am minded to throw sentiment aside andsend my mother and you to the New Konak to-day. "

"I am quite well, " she said, with a forced composure that she felt didnot deceive him. It was necessary to invent some explanation, and shecontinued hurriedly, "I did not sleep soundly last night. Some wanderingnight bird flew in through my open window and startled me with itsfrantic efforts to escape from the room. That is all. After a littlerest I shall be myself again. "

"That gloomy old cathedral is not a healthy place, I am inclined tothink, " he said, scanning her face again with the anxious gaze of onewho could not endure even a momentary eclipse of its bright vivacity. "You go there too often, and now that we know from whom your commissionwas received it is straining a point of etiquette to continue your work. It will relieve any scruples you may have on that head if I tell youthat I paid Monsieur Beliani yesterday every farthing of the moneyadvanced to you by his agent in Paris. "

"I am glad of that, " she said simply. "I did not like the idea of beingindebted to him. Though he is a very clever man, I regard him as a gooddeal of a rogue. "

Alec was not to be switched off personal issues because Joan expressedher opinions in this matter of fact manner. "I am quite sure you areill, or at any rate run down, " he persisted. "What you need is a changeof air. I think I can allow myself a few hours' respite from affairs ofstate to-day. What say you if the two of us drive to our country housethis morning and find out for ourselves the progress made by theworkmen? I seem to remember that the contractor named a date, not fardistant now, when the place would be habitable. "

"There is nothing in the world that I should like better, " said Joan. 

Again Alec detected a strange undercurrent of emotion in her voice; buthe attributed it to the lack of sleep she had complained of, and withhis customary tact forbore from pressing her for any furtherexplanation. 

They took their drive, and to all outward semblance Joan enjoyed itthoroughly. Her drooping spirits revived long before the last stragglinghouses of Delgratz were left behind. She exhibited the keenest interestin the house and gardens. Although their inspection did not end untilthe sun was high in the heavens, she insisted upon entering every roomand traversing many of the paths in the spacious grounds. She talked, too, with a fluency that in any other woman would have aroused asuspicion of effort; but Alec was too glad that the marked depression ofthe morning had passed to give heed to her half-hysterical mood. Heentered with zest into her eager scrutiny of their future home, soughther advice on every little detail, and grew enthusiastic himself at theprospect of a speedy removal from the barnlike presidential palace tothat leafy paradise. He remembered afterward how Joan's eyes dweltlongingly on an Italian garden that had always attracted her; but it wasimpossible that he should read the farewell in them. 

They returned to the city in time for luncheon; then the King had tohurry away to try and overtake the day's engagements. 

His parting words were an injunction to Joan that she should not go outagain during the hot hours, but endeavor to obtain the rest of which shehad been deprived during the night. 

"Good-by, dear, " she said. "You may feel quite certain that when next wemeet I shall be a different person altogether to the pallid creaturewhom you met at breakfast this morning. "

Alec was still conscious of some strange detachment in her words. Hisearlier feeling that she was acting a part came back with renewed force;but he again attributed it to the reaction that comes to highly strungnatures after a surfeit of excitement in the midst of a new anddifficult environment. 

He kissed her tenderly, and Joan seemed to be on the verge of tears. Hewas puzzled; but thought it best to refrain from comment. "Poor girl!"he said to himself. "She feels it hard to be surrounded by people whoare all strangers, and mostly shut off by the barrier of language. "

But he was in no sense alarmed. He left the palace convinced that a fewhours of repose would bring back the color to her cheeks and the naturalbuoyancy to her manner. Then he meant to chaff her about her distractedair; for Joan was no neurotic subject, and she herself would be thefirst to laugh at the nervous fit of the morning. 

Poluski, hard at work at his frescoes since an early hour, andgrudgingly snatching a hasty meal at midday, was surprised when Joancame to him after the King's departure and told him that she meant tofinish her picture that afternoon. He made no comment, however, indeedhe was glad of her company, and the two drove away together in thecapacious closed carriage that brought them to and fro between cathedraland palace. During their working hours, they refused to be hampered bythe presence of servants. An old Greek, who acted as caretaker, tookcharge of canvases, easels, paintboxes, and other utensils of thepainter's craft, and he came out gleefully from his lodge as soon astheir vehicle rumbled under the deep arch of the outer porch. 

Usually, Joan had a word and a smile for him, though the extent of herGreek conversation was a phrase or two learned from Felix; but to-dayshe hardly seemed to see him, and lost not a moment in settling down towork. She had not much to do; in fact, so far as Felix took note of heraction, after adjusting the canvas and mixing some colors on thepalette, she sat idle for a long time, and even then occupied herselfwith an unnecessary deepening of tints in the picture, which alreadydisplayed an amazing resemblance to its stilted and highly coloredprototype. 

At last she spoke, and Felix, perched on a platform above her head, wasalmost startled by the sorrow laden cadence of her voice. 

"I did not really come here to-day to paint, " she said. "The picture isfinished; my work in Delgratz is ended. You and Pauline are the only twopeople in the world whom I can trust, and I have brought you here, Felix, to tell you that I am leaving Delgratz to-night. "

The hunchback slid down from the little scaffolding he had constructedto enable him to survey the large area covered by the frescoes. "Isuppose I have understood what you said, " he cried. "It is impossible tofocus one's thoughts properly on the spoken word when a huge dome addsvibrations of its own, and I admit that I am invariably irritated myselfwhen I state a remarkable fact with the utmost plainness and peoplepretend to be either deaf or dull of comprehension. "

That was Poluski's way. He never would take one seriously; but Joanmerely sighed and bent her head. 

"You say you are leaving Delgratz to-night! May one ask why?" he wenton, dropping his bantering manner at once. 

"No, " she said. 

Felix bassooned a few deep notes between his lips. "You have some goodreason for telling me that, I presume?" he muttered, uttering the firstwords that occurred to his perplexed brain. 

"Yes, the very best of reasons, or at least the most convincing. Icannot remain here unless I marry Alec, and as I have absolutelydetermined not to marry him, it follows that I must go. "

"Ah, you are willing to give some sort of reason, then, " he said. "Atpresent I am muddled. One grasps that unless you marry Alec you must go;but why not marry Alec? It sounds like a proposition of Euclid with themain clauses omitted. "

"I am sorry, Felix, but I cannot explain myself further. You came toDelgratz with me; will you return with me to Paris? If not, will you atleast promise to help me to get away and keep secret the fact that I amgoing?"

Felix grew round eyed with amazement; but he managed to control histongue. "You are asking a good deal, dear, " he said. "Do you know whatyou are doing? Do you realize what your action will mean to Alec? Whathas happened? Some lover's tiff. That is unlike you, Joan. If you runoff in this fashion, you will be trying most deliberately to break poorAlec's heart. "

Joan uttered a queer little choking sob, yet recovered her self controlwith a rapidity that disconcerted Felix far more than she imagined atthe moment. 

"He will suffer, I know, " she murmured, "and it does not console me tofeel that in the end I shall suffer far more; but I am going, Felix, whatsoever the cost, no matter whose heart may be broken. Heaven helpme! I must go, and I look to you for assistance. Oh, my friend, myfriend! I have only you in all the world. Do not desert me in my need!"

She had never before seen Felix really angry; but even in the extremityof her distress she could not fail to note a strange glitter in the grayeyes now fixed on her in a fiery underlook. The little man was deeplymoved; for once in his life he did not care how much he showed hisresentment. 

"_Saperlotte!_" he growled. "What has come to you? Is it you who speak, or the devil? You are possessed of a fiend, Joan, a fiend that istempting you to do this wrong!"

Joan rose, pale faced and resolute. Despite the flood of rage anddespair that surged in Poluski's quivering frame, she reminded him of aglimpse he caught of her in that last desperate moment when the door ofthe hotel was battered open by the insurgents and her mind was alreadyfixed on death as a blessed relief from the horror of life. 

"I only ask you to believe in my unalterable purpose, " she said with acalmness that stupefied him. "If no other means presents itself, Ishould wander out of the palace in the darkness and endeavor to reachAustria by the ferry across the Danube. I believe there are difficultiesfor the stranger if one goes that way; but again I throw myself on yourmercy, Felix, and appeal to you for guidance and help. This is my worsthour. If you fail me now, I shall indeed be wretched. "

Felix leaned against an upright of the scaffolding and passed atrembling hand over his forehead. "Forgive me, Joan, if I have spokenharshly!" he muttered in the dubious voice of a man who hardly knowswhat he is saying. 

"There is nothing to forgive. It is I, rather, who should seekforgiveness from you for imposing this cruel test of friendship. Butwhat can I do, Felix? I am a woman and alone, and, when I think of whatlies before me, I am afraid. "

With a great effort he steadied himself. Placing both hands on thegirl's shoulders, he turned her face to the light that fell from a smallrose window in a side aisle. In silence he looked at her, seeking towring the secret of this madness from her steadfast eyes. 

"_Ma belle_, " he cried suddenly, "I am beginning to believe that you arein earnest. "

"No matter how many years it may please God to leave me on earth, Ishall never be more resolved on anything than on my departure fromDelgratz to-night. "

"You place trust in me, you say in one breath, yet you deny it inanother. Tell me then, Joan, what is the obstacle that has arisen toprevent you from marrying Alec? It all hinges on that. Who has beenlying to you?"

She could not continue to meet his accusing eyes. It seemed to her thatif he urged her more her heart would burst. Yielding to the impulse ofthe hunted animal, she wrenched herself free and turned to runsomewhere, anywhere, so that she might avoid his merciless inquisition. A harsh laugh fell on her ears, and nothing more effective to put a stopto her flight could have been devised. 

"Name of a name!" he roared, "shall we not take our pictures? If we arefalse to all else, let us at least be true to our harmless daubs!"

The taunt was undeserved and glanced unheeded from the shield of thegirl's utter misery. Perhaps because that was so, the Pole's next wordswere tender and soothing. 

"Come, then, my Joan, " he growled, "never shall it be said against methat I deserted a comrade in distress. I hoped to see you happilywedded. It was my fantasy that Alec and you would inaugurate a new lineof monarchs and thus bring about the social revolution from anunexpected quarter. But I was mistaken. Holy blue! never was man so ledastray since Eve strolled into the wrong orchard and brought Adam withher!"

By this time he had caught her. He held her arm, and began to stroke oneof her hands softly as if she had shown symptoms of falling in a faint. "We will go, _mignonne_, " he soothed her, "you and I, and none hereshall know till we have crossed the frontier. Not even then will theyguess what has become of us, unless you find it in your heart to leavesome little word for Alec. You will do that? You will save him fromdespair, from the torture of doubt----"

"Oh, Felix, spare me!" she sobbed convulsively. 

"But one must look squarely at the facts, _mignonne_. If you run awayand give no sign, it can only be supposed that you have met with someevil fate. There are others than Alec who will think that disaster hasbefallen you, and they will have uneasy souls, and Alec will look intotheir guilty faces with the eyes of a wrathful lover, which at suchtimes can be superhuman, terrible, heart piercing. There is no knowingwhose blood will stain his hands then; for he will accept from no onebut yourself the assurance that you have left him of your own freewill. "

"That, at least, is true, " she said wearily. "I shall write a letterwhich must be given to him when I am gone. "

"_Grand Dieu!_ what a resolute will is yours, Joan! Have you counted thecost? Leave Alec out of it; but do you think his hog of a father, hiseasily swayed mother, Stampoff, the short sighted and patriotic, or thatscheming Greek and his puppet Marulitch, will gain the ends for which, between them, they have contrived your flight? Do you know Alec solittle as to believe that he will leave the field clear to that crew?Why, dear heart, he will sweep them aside like an angry god! They havebewitched your brain with some tale of the evil that will accrue to theKing if he weds the woman he loves. If that is all, it is a fiction fitonly to frighten a child. Hear me, Joan! You are not helping Alec bytearing yourself away from Delgratz; but condemning to the deepest hellnot him alone but some millions of people who have done no wrong. Theygave their honest affections to this boy, because he strikes theirimagination as a King sent straight from Heaven. It is a vile plot, dearheart, to drive Alec from Kosnovia. How can you, of all women, lendyourself to it?"

Felix could not guess how his words lacerated the unhappy girl's soul;but she did not falter in her purpose, and again endeavored to rush fromthe church. Poluski uttered a queer click with his tongue. It testifiedthat he had done his uttermost and failed. 

"Be it so, then!" he muttered. "Help me to pack up these masterpieces. Ican plan and scheme with any man living; but I cannot cope with heavyparcels of holiness. "

Joan, distraught though she was, felt that he had given way. Withoutanother word she assisted in packing the carriage with their canvasesand other belongings. The old Greek caretaker hobbled after them when hesaw that they were going without depositing their paraphernalia in thelodge as usual. 

"You will come back some day and copy another picture, I hope, Excellency, " he cried, doffing his cap to Joan. 

She opened her purse, since she did not understand what the old man wassaying. 

"No, no, Excellency, " he protested. "The King himself told me you werenot to be pestered by beggars. I have threatened to crack the skulls ofone or two who persisted in annoying you, and it would ill become me totake a reward for doing what the King ordered. "

"He will not accept anything, " said Felix. "I may not tell you what elsehe said, since he only put my arguments in simpler words. "

He shot a quick look at her, hoping to find some slight sign ofweakening; but her marble face wore the expression of one who hassuffered so greatly that the capacity for suffering is exhausted. Fromthat instant Felix urged her no more. He obeyed her without question orprotest, contriving matters so that when she quitted the palace, deeplyveiled, to walk to the station, the soldiers on guard imagined she was aserving maid going into the town. 

Pauline, though prepared to be faithful at any hazard, wept when she wastold that she must stay in Delgratz and face the storm that would ragewhen she delivered into the King's own hand the letter Joan intrusted toher care. But even Pauline herself realized that if her mistress was toescape from Delgratz unnoticed, she, the maid, must remain there tillthe following day. By that time there would be no reason why Joan's maidshould not leave openly for the west, and the Frenchwoman was only toothankful at the prospect of a speedy exit from "this city of brigands"to protest too strenuously against the rôle thrust upon her by Felix. 

As events unrolled themselves, the two travelers encountered nodifficulty in leaving Delgratz. It will be remembered that Beliani'sforesight had provided them with return tickets to Paris, and thiscircumstance aided them greatly. In those closely guarded lands wherekeen eyed scrutineers keep watch and ward over a frontier, theproduction of the return half of a ticket issued in the same city as apassport at once lulls any doubt that might arise otherwise. 

Moreover, Joan and Felix occupied separate carriages, and the Belgradeofficials, concerned only with the examination of tickets, gave no heedto them, though one man seemed to recognize Felix and grinned in afriendly way. Passport formalities did not trouble them till the trainhad crossed the Tave River and was already in Austrian territory. Thefrontier officers could not possibly know them. Their papers were inorder, and received only a passing glance. Even Joan, adrift in a sea oftrouble, saw that it was a far easier matter to leave the Balkan areathan to enter it. 

They arranged to meet in the dining saloon, when all necessity forfurther precaution would have disappeared. Felix was astounded at theself possession Joan now displayed. She was pale but quite calm. Hereyes were clear and showed no traces of grief. Even her very manner wasreverting to that good humored tone of frank camaraderie that theunavoidable ceremoniousness of the last fortnight had kept insubjection. Felix was secretly amazed at these things; but in the depthsof his own complex nature were hidden away, wholly unknown to the littlehunchback himself, certain feminine characteristics which enabled himdimly to understand that the woman who suffers most is she who has thestrength and the courage to carry her head most proudly before thestorm. 

"Well, " said he when the mail train had left Semlin far behind and theywere speeding northward through the night to Budapest, --"well, Joan, nowthat the severance is complete, do you still refuse me your confidence?"

Her luminous eyes dwelt on his with a sad smile. She had closed thegates of her paradise, and there was to be no faint hearted lookingbackward. 

"No, " she said, "I have attained my end. It is due to you, my friend, that I should tell you why I have abandoned the only man I shall everlove. It lay with me to choose between his success or failure; perhapsthere rested on my frail shoulders the more dreadful issues of life anddeath. If I had married Alec, I should have pulled him down to ruin, even to the grave. What else would you have me do but save him, nomatter what the cost to myself?"

He propped his chin on his hands and surveyed her quizzically. Felix, despite his protests, was not enamoured of Delgratz, and his mercurialtemperament rejoiced in the near approach of his beloved Paris. 

"All this sounds heroic and therefore unconvincing, " he said. "I do notwant to condemn your motives before I know them, Joan; but I hope youwill allow me to criticize false sentiment, " he added, seeing theexpression of pain that for an instant mastered her stoicism and threwits dull shadow across her face. 

"Say what pleases you, Felix, " she replied gently. "I shall not suffermore than I have already endured. I think I am benumbed now; but atleast I am sure that I have acted right. There were influences at workin Delgratz of which even you had no cognizance. Popular as Alec seemedto be, every prejudice of the Serb was arrayed against him. He appealedto the imagination of the people as a brave and gallant figure; but heis and will ever remain a foreigner among them. They are a race apart, and Alec is not of them, and it would have been a fatal error to givethem as a Queen another foreigner like himself. 

"Alone, he will win his way. In the course of years he cannot fail toidentify himself more and more with their interests; he will--someday--marry a Princess of the blood to which he belongs. That will helpKosnovia to forget that he was neither born nor bred in the country, andthe presence of a Serbian consort will tend to consolidate his reign. Itwould have been quite different if he and I were married within a fewweeks. Those who are opposed to him--and they are far more numerous thanyou may guess at this moment--would have been given a most powerfulargument by the refusal of the Greek archimandrite to perform theceremony. You see, Alec himself is not a member of the national church, nor am I, and a drawback that may be overlooked when a Slav Princessbecomes Queen of Kosnovia would have been a fatal thing for me. "

Poluski could not but admire Joan's splendid detachment in speaking ofAlec's hypothetical wife. His thin lips creased in a satirical grin. "Isthat it, " said he, "the everlasting religious difficulty? No, my belle, tell that to the marines, or, at any rate, to some guileless person notversed in Kosnovian history! There never yet was bloodstained conqueroror evil living Prince in that unhappy city of Delgratz who failed toobtain the sanction of orthodoxy for his worst deeds, whether inbeheading a rival or divorcing a wife. "

Joan hesitated. She was obviously choosing her words; but the burdenlaid upon her was too great for the hour to prevent her from adopting asubterfuge that would surely be detected by her shrewd companion. "I donot wish to lay too much stress upon that particular phase of thematter, " she said at last. "It was only one of many. In itself it mighthave been surmounted; but when the church, a large section of the army, and nearly all the higher officials of the State are ready to combineagainst Alec's uncompromising sincerity of purpose, it was asking toomuch of me knowingly to provide the special excuse for his downfall. "

There was silence for a little while, and Poluski's keen gray eyes stilldwelt searchingly on the girl's sorrow laden though resigned features. She did not flinch from the scrutiny, and there was a certain sadness inthe Pole's next comment. 

"What you say, _ma petite_, sounds very like the dry-as-dust utterancesof some podgy Minister of State; they are far from being the words of awoman who loves, and so they are not yours. "

"Perhaps you are right, Felix, " she said wearily. "Perhaps, had I toldAlec these things, he might have silenced my doubts and persuaded me todare everything for his sake. "

"Yet, knowing this, you are here!" he cried, his conscience stinging himat the memory of that forsaken King mourning his lost bride. 

"Yes, and no consideration would induce me to return. "

"Ah, then there is something that you have not yet told me. "

"Yes, and it can never be told, Felix. Be content, my friend, with thatassurance. There is nothing that can happen which has the power tochange my decision. Heaven help me, I can never marry Alec!"

"The true cause must remain a secret!"

"Yes. "

"A woman's secret?"

"Yes, my secret. "

His eyes sparkled. He bent nearer and sank his voice to a deep whisper, for there were others in the carriage, and that which he had to say mustreach her ears only. 

"Not yours, Joan. Oh, no! Not yours. Another woman's. Ha! Blind that Iwas--now I have it! So that is why you are running away. They threatenedto drag Alec headlong from the throne unless you agreed. My poor girl, you might have told me sooner. The knowledge has been here, lurking inthe back of my head for years; but I never gave a thought to it. Whyshould I? Who would have dreamed of such a tragicomedy? Joan, to-day inthe cathedral I could have bound you with ropes if that would haveserved to keep you in Delgratz; but now I kiss the hem of your dress. Mypoor girl, my own dear Joan, how you must have suffered! Yet I envyyou--I do, on my soul! Life becomes ennobled by actions such as yours. And Alec must never know what you have done for him. That is both thegrandeur and the pathos of it. Joan, my precious, your namesake wasburnt on the pyre for a King's cause, yet her deed would rank no higherthan yours if the world might be allowed to judge between you. But donot dream that your romance is ended. _Saperlotte!_ Old Dame Nature is abetter dramatist than that. If she has contrived so much for you in alittle month, what can she not accomplish in a year?"

And, in a perfect frenzy of excitement, he threw himself back in hischair and amazed another group of cosmopolitan diners by singing. 

But this time Joan did not care who stared or whispered. She sat there, a beautiful statue, sorely stricken, and not daring to believe that thehour of blessedness promised in Poluski's song would be vouchsafed aftermany years of pain. 

CHAPTER XII

THE STORM BREAKS

The King reached his temporary residence hot and tired after anexhausting day. It chanced that at a meeting of the Ministry, which heattended late in the afternoon, the question of Beliani's appointment asMinister of Finance came up for settlement. It was not determinedwithout some bickering, and an undercurrent of dislike if not ofpositive hatred of the man quickly made itself apparent. 

The Serb and the Greek differ in most essentials. The one is by habitand training a good soldier, a proverbial idler, an easygoing optimistendowed with genial temper and a happy-go-lucky nature, capable indeedof extremes, yet mostly inclined to the tolerant indifference thatleaves things as they are; the other, whose martial qualities havevanished in the melting pot of time, has developed the defensive traitsthat come to the aid of all races who can no longer maintain their causein the tented field. The Greek is the usurer of the East. He wins hisway by using his subtle wits, and the less adroit people on whom hepreys soon learn to regard him with distrust that often culminates inpersonal violence in those half-civilized communities where law andorder are not maintained with a heavy hand. 

The Kosnovian Ministry, of course, consisted of men of a much highertype than the rude peasantry that made up the bulk of the nation. But atheart they were anti-Greek, and some among them retained lively memoriesof Beliani's methods when he was in power a decade earlier. No onedisputed his ability, yet none, save the King, had a good word for him. It was recognized, however, that under the new dominion hisopportunities for peculation at the expense of the public would be fewand far between. 

Alexis III. Had already made his influence felt in each department ofState. He was ready to listen to every man's grievances, and to adjustthem if possible; he held the scales evenly between the bureaucracy andthe people. The official element knew full well that it had nothing tofear from the King's anger if a disputed action could be justified, while those traders and others who had occasion to deal with any of thegreat departments were beginning to understand that they need not dreadthe vengeance of an executive against whose exactions they had cause tocomplain. 

After some discussion, therefore, a guarded sanction was given toBeliani's appointment. It was probable that each man in the Council hadalready been approached in the Greek's behalf, and that the protestsuttered were rather by way of safety valves in view of possiblecriticism in the future than intended to exclude this dreaded candidatefrom office. 

The matter might have ended there for the moment had not the Presidentof the Assembly given a somewhat maladroit twist to the discussion whenthe King mentioned Beliani's efforts with regard to an Austrian loan. 

"That, at least, we should oppose most bitterly, " said Nesimir. "We ofthe Balkans should never accept favors from the hand of Austria. Ourtrue ally is Russia, and any outside aid received by Kosnovia shouldcome from Russia alone. "

Alec had learned the value of patience with mediocrities such as SergiusNesimir. He never argued with them. He contented himself with pointingout the facts, and left the rest to time; for he had soon discoveredthat the weak man talks himself into agreement with the strong one. 

"I would remind you that in this matter we are merely entering into anordinary business arrangement, " he said. "I have heard of no concessionsattached to the loan. We are merely going into the money market like anyother borrower, and will undertake to pay such reasonable interest asthe lenders deem compatible with the security we offer. "

"I think your Majesty will find that Austria will impose her own terms, "persisted the President. 

"Why do you harp on Austria in this connection?" asked the King. "Monsieur Beliani spoke of Viennese bankers. They are not Austria. Thisloan is not so much a matter of State as of sound finance. "

"I hope your Majesty is right in that assumption, " was the stubbornanswer; "but I have reason to believe that, under certain contingencies, not only would Russia assist us in this respect, but she would at oncetake steps toward recognizing your Majesty's accession to the throne. "

"Contingencies!" cried Alec, forced for the nonce to maintain thediscussion. "What are they? What is the difference between yoursuspected Austrian terms and your Russian contingencies?"

"In the first place, your Majesty, Russia is anxious to consolidate thegood feeling that exists among the Slav nations by following a settledpolicy in the matter of railway communication. Your Majesty's ownprojects favor the Russian proposals, whereas Austria will surelystipulate that any money of hers expended on railways shall be devotedto her rival plans. In the second----"

The President paused and looked round among his colleagues as though toseek their encouragement. He knew he was about to utter words of daringsignificance, and his nerve failed. An appreciative murmur ran throughthe room. It seemed to give the stout President a degree of confidence. 

"Well?" said the King, who noted the glance and the hum of approval, andwondered what lay behind it all. 

"The really vital question before us to-day is your Majesty'smarriage, " exclaimed the other, paling somewhat, now that the fatefultopic was broached. 

"I agree with you, " said Alec, smiling. "Its importance to myself isself evident; but I fail utterly to see how the appearance of a Queen inDelgratz will affect our political relations with our neighbors. I donot propose to borrow money from Austria to pay for my wife's weddingpresents. "

Nesimir was long in answering. He seemed to be waiting for some othermember of the Council to take part in the discussion; but each man satsilent and embarrassed, and it was incumbent on their leader to declarehimself anew. 

"It is far from my thoughts to wish to give any offense to your Majesty;but I am constrained to tell you, " he said, "that there is a growingsentiment among all classes of your subjects that when you look for aconsort you should seek her among our kith and kin. "

"Am I to understand, then, that the lady whom I am about to marry hasnot found favor among you?"

Alec spoke quietly; but there was a ring of steel in his voice thatmight have warned a bolder man than the President. His stern glancetraveled round the Council table; but he saw only downcast and somberfaces. One thing was abundantly clear, --this attack on Joan waspremeditated. He wondered who had contrived it. 

"It is not that the lady does not command our favor, " declared thespokesman, very pale now and drumming nervously with his fingers on theedge of a blotting pad. "Those of us who have met her are charmed withher manners and appearance, and our only regret is that Providence didnot ordain that her birthplace should be on the right side of theDanube. "

"Oddly enough, I was born in New York, " interrupted Alec, with a touchof sarcasm that was not lost on his hearers. 

"Your Majesty was born a Delgrado, " said the President, "and if MissJoan Vernon could claim even the remotest family connection with one ofthe leading houses of Kosnovia, Montenegro, or even Bulgaria, every manhere would hail your Majesty's choice in a chorus of approval. "

"Since when has the supposed drawback of my intended wife's nationalitycome into such prominence?" demanded the King sharply. 

"Since it became known that your Majesty meant to marry a lady whoseavowed object in coming to Delgratz was to follow her occupation as anartist. "

Stampoff's harsh accents broke in roughly on a discussion which hadhitherto been marked by polite deference on the part of its originator. 

"What! are you too against me, General?" cried Alec, wheeling round andmeeting the fierce eyes of the old patriot who sat glaring at him acrossthe Council table. 

"Yes, in that matter, " was the uncompromising answer. "We feel that ourKing must be one of ourselves, and he can never be that if his wifediffers from us in race, in language, in religion, in everything thatknits a ruler to his subjects. "

Alec arose with a good natured laugh. "Monsieur Nesimir spoke ofcontingencies, " he said, "and the word seems to imply that counterproposals to those of Monsieur Beliani have already been put forward. Has the Russian Ambassador been conducting negotiations with myMinisters without my knowledge--behind my back, as it were?"

"There is no taint of Muscovite intrigue about my attitude!" exclaimedStampoff with a vehemence that showed how deeply he was moved. "I havegiven the best years of my life to my country, and I am too old now tobe forced to act against my principles. Every man in this room is aSlav, and we Slavs must pull together or we are lost. I, at any rate, amnot afraid to register an emphatic protest against my King's marriagewith a lady, no matter how estimable personally, whose presence inDelgratz as our Queen would be a national calamity. If I speak strongly, it is because I feel so strongly in this matter. The rulers of Statessuch as ours cannot afford to be swayed by sentiment. When your Majestyweds, you ought to choose your wife among the Princesses of Montenegro. Had I the slightest inkling of any other design on your part, I shouldhave stipulated this before we left Paris. "

"Ah, " said Alec thoughtfully, "it is too late now, General, to talk ofstipulations that were not made. And, indeed, one might reasonably askwho empowered you to make them?"

"God's bones! who should speak for Kosnovia if not I?"

"Your patriotism has never been questioned, General, " said Alec with afriendly smile; but Stampoff was not to be placated, being of the fierytype of reformer who refuses to listen to any opinion that runs counterto his own. 

He too rose and faced the Council. "What has palsied your tongues?" hecried. "You were all ready enough to declare your convictions before theKing arrived. He is here now. Tell him, then, do you approve of hisproposed marriage--yes or no!"

Heads were shaken. A few cried "No. " Alec saw clearly that he could notcount on the support of one among those present. He did not shirk theissue. He determined that it should be dealt with at once if possible. If not, he had already decided on his own line of action. 

"I am sorry that in such a matter, affecting, as it does, the whole ofmy future life, " he said, "I should be so completely at variance withwhat is evidently the common view of my trusted friends in this Council;but I cannot forget that, for good or ill, I am King of Kosnovia, whileyou may rest assured, gentlemen, that no consideration you can urge willprevent me from marrying the lady of my choice. Of course, it isconceivable that my kingship and my marriage may clash. In that event Ishall take the consequences of my action; I must even justify myself tothe Assembly, if need be. It is well that the President should have mademe acquainted with the views you all hold with such apparent unanimity. It is also well that you should be aware of my decision. Very often, when men think they have reached absolute disagreement, a way opensitself unexpectedly whereby the difficulties vanish. In this instance, certainly, it is hard to see how any solution of our dispute can beattained that shall satisfy both you and me. 

"I shall marry Miss Vernon, probably within a fortnight. I shall marryher, gentlemen, even though it costs me my throne; but I would remindyou that we in this room are not Kosnovia. Let us keep our heads andguard our tempers. If an appeal is to be made to the nation, let it beby votes rather than by swords. I have never deviated from my fixedprinciple that I would sooner pass the remainder of my life poor andunknown than obtain an hour's extension of my rule by spilling the bloodof an unoffending people. But I ask from you the same concession that Iam willing to make myself. Until deposed, I retain the privilege of aKing. Is this matter to be regarded as a test of ministerial confidence?Do all you gentlemen resign your portfolios?"

The President, agitated and stuttering, sprang to his feet. "For mypart, " he declared, "I expressed my views in an informal manner. "

"Yes, yes, " agreed several voices. The turn given to the discussion byAlec was quite unforeseen and far from their liking. 

"It has ever been your Majesty's wish that we should state our opinionsfully and freely, " continued the agitated Nesimir. "I, for one, was onlyanxious to make known to you the sentiments that obtain currency in myown circle. I may be wrong. Delgratz is not Kosnovia----"

"Rubbish!" shouted Stampoff, hammering the table with a clenched fist. "That which has been said here to-day will be heard openly in thestreets of the capital to-night. To-morrow it will be preached far andwide throughout the confines of the country by every man who has itswelfare at heart. This marriage must not take place, I say! I came herefrom exile with the King and was prepared to give my life to establishhim on the throne. I am prepared now to offer the same poor sacrifice ifit will save my beloved land from a catastrophe--and this proposedmesalliance is nothing less!"

A curious thrill convulsed the Council. Every Serb there was stirred bythe General's bold avowal; but Alec stilled the rising storm by a calmannouncement:

"I suggest that we defer this discussion till to-morrow morning, " hesaid. "It has found me unprepared, and, if I am not very much mistaken, many of the gentlemen here did not anticipate that the question would beraised to-day in its present acute form. "

It was evident that the majority of ministers favored the adoption ofthe King's proposal; but Stampoff scowled at them angrily and drownedtheir timorous agreement by his resentful cry:

"God's bones! Why wait till to-morrow?"

Then, indeed, Alec was stung beyond endurance. "Perhaps, in thecircumstances, General, " he said, "it would be advisable that you shouldabsent yourself from to-morrow's Council. "

"Not while I am Minister for War!" came the fiery response. 

"That is for you to decide, " said the King. 

"Then I decide now! I resign!"

"Excellent! By that means you salve your conscience; whereas I hopestill to retain the friendship of Kosnovia's most faithful son byrefusing to accept your resignation. "

A shout of applause drowned Stampoff's vehement protest, and Alec seizedthe opportunity to hurry from the Council chamber. He did not try toconceal from himself the serious nature of this unexpected crisis, though he was far from acknowledging that the people at large attachedsuch significance to his wife's nationality as Stampoff and the othersprofessed to believe. Puzzle his wits as he might, and did, he failedutterly to account for Stampoff's uncompromising tone. The old Serb andhe were the best of friends. He had taken no single step without firstconsulting the man who had been his political tutor since his boyhood. Even when he ran counter to Stampoff's advice, he had always listened toit eagerly, and he invariably took the utmost pains to show why he hadadopted another course. 

Till that day there had never been the shadow of a breach between them. How, then, was the War Minister's irreconcilable attitude to beexplained? Was Cousin Julius pulling the strings in some unrecognizedmanner? Was Beliani a party to the scheme? These questions must beanswered, and speedily. Meanwhile, by hook or by crook, he must keep allknowledge of the dispute from Joan's ears until after the wedding. 

In the palace courtyard a man standing near the gates tried to pass thesentries when the King arrived. He was instantly collared. Undersized, poorly clad, and poverty stricken in appearance, he was hustledunmercifully by a stalwart Albanian policeman until Alec's attention wasdrawn to the scuffle. 

A white despairing face became visible for a moment, and a choking voicecried, "Save me, your Majesty! I am John Sobieski!"

"Sobieski!" thought Alec, ordering his carriage to stop and alightingquickly. "That is the Polish hotel waiter of whom Felix spoke to me somefew days ago. He said the man had done his best to bring assistance; buthis efforts were frustrated by some stupid blunder here, and he thoughtsomething ought to be done for him. I promised to attend to it; but thething slipped my mind. "

By this time he had reached the policeman, who, assisted by a soldier, was dragging the protesting waiter to the guardroom. 

"Release that man!" he said. 

The man saluted, and the trembling Sobieski fell on his knees on thepavement. 

"Oh, get up, " said the King, who felt a special aversion to such adisplay of abasement. "Recover your wits, man, and tell me what youwant!"

"I ask protection, your Majesty, " murmured the desperate Sobieski. "Mylife is in danger. I came here to see Monsieur Poluski; but they told mehe was not at home. I have been turned out of my situation; so I havenowhere to go. If I am found wandering in the streets to-night, I shallbe killed. "

"At any rate, you seem to be thoroughly frightened, " cried Alec with areassuring smile. "Take charge of him, " he said to the pandur, "and havehim sent to my bureau in five minutes!"

The bureau in question was that apartment on the first floor overlookingthe courtyard, in which Alec had preferred his claim to the throne ofKosnovia to the perplexed President of the embryo Republic. It wasthere, too, that Felix Poluski had spoken those plain words to PrinceMichael Delgrado, and its situation was so convenient for the King'sdaily comings and goings that he had utilized it temporarily as anoffice and private audience chamber. 

At the top of the stairs he happened to catch sight of Pauline, Joan'sstaid looking maid. Though he obtained only a casual glimpse of her, hefancied that she was distressed about something, and it occurred to himafter he was in the room and the door was closed that perhaps she wishedto give him a message. Bosko, the taciturn Albanian whom he had nowdefinitely appointed as his confidential attendant, was standing nearthe table with a bundle of documents that demanded the King's signature. 

Realizing that the Frenchwoman would meet Bosko in a minute or two whenhe went out with the signed papers, and could then make known her wishto speak to the King if such was her intention, Alec bent over the tableand began to peruse several departmental decrees hurriedly. He made it arule never to append his name to any State paper without mastering itscontents, and one of the palace guards brought in Sobieski before Alechad concluded his self imposed task. As it happened, the various itemswere mere formalities, and when he wrote "Alexis R. " for the last time, Bosko and the soldier left the room, and the frightened little Polefound himself alone with the King. 

"Now, " said Alec kindly, "tell me what you want and why you are soafraid?"

Sobieski at once plunged into a rambling statement. He spoke theKosnovian language with the fluent inaccuracy of his class; but Alec'salert ears had no difficulty in following his meaning. His story wasthat several customers of the café had denounced him to the proprietoras a spy in the King's service, while some of them went so far as tocharge him with responsibility for the deaths of those thirty-oneheroes of the Seventh Regiment whose bodies had been found on the stairsand first floor landing of the hotel. His master had no option but todischarge him, and Sobieski felt that he had good reason to fear thathis life was in danger. Alec pooh-poohed the notion; but the timidlittle waiter was so woebegone that the King pitied him. 

"Tell me exactly what you did on the day of the revolt, " he said. "Youcame here, I understand. How was it that no one listened to you?"

"Oh, they did, your Majesty, " protested Sobieski. "Your Majesty's ownfather brought me into the hall and kept me there nearly five minutes. He did not believe a word I said, and was very angry with me forbringing such an alarming story to the palace. At last, by good fortune, Monsieur Nesimir appeared; but even then I should have been taken awayin custody if Monsieur Poluski had not caused me to be released. "

Despite its sinister significance, Alec could not choose but credit thisamazing statement. He wondered why Felix had not told him the facts indetail afterward; but he knew that the hunchback's mind worked instrange grooves, and it was probable that his silence was dictated bysome powerful motive. In any event, the incident was an unpleasantreminder of certain nebulous doubts that he had striven to crush, and itwas better that this scared rabbit of a man should not remain inDelgratz and become the victim of some vendetta which might bring thewhole odd story into prominence. 

"You want to leave the city, I take it?" said he after a thoughtfulpause, in which he took a slow turn up and down the room. 

"I dare not remain here any longer, your Majesty. I came to-night to askMonsieur Poluski to be good enough to give me money to take me toWarsaw. "

"I think, " said Alec, smiling, "he promised you, in my name, thewherewithal to buy a café. "

"I fear I did not earn my reward, your Majesty, " stuttered the other. 

"Are cafés dear in Warsaw?" said the King, unlocking a drawer andproducing roubles to the equivalent of five hundred dollars. "Here, thissum should give you a fresh start in life. All I ask in return is thatyou shall keep a still tongue about your recent share in local events. "

Poor Sobieski's gratitude grew incoherent, especially when the Kinghanded him over to the care of the attendant who had brought him to thebureau, with instructions that he was to be taken to the railway stationand safeguarded there till the departure of the next train that crossedthe frontier. 

By that time the dinner hour was long past. Alec was disinclined for aheavy meal; so he went to his private suite, where he changed hisclothes, contenting himself with some sandwiches, which he ate in ahurry and washed down with a glass of red wine. 

Coming down stairs about an hour later, he passed the smoking-room. Thedoor was open, and he saw that the men had already ended dinner. He wasabout to enter the music salon, to which his mother and Joan usuallyretired with the President's wife and daughter, when he met Pauline forthe second time, and the Frenchwoman now approached him with the samemarked nervousness in her demeanor that he had noticed when he saw herstanding in the lobby. 

"May I have a word with your Majesty in private?" she asked. 

He was surprised; but again he believed she was probably bringing amessage from Joan. He threw open the door of his office. "Come in here, "he said. "What is it?"

She held out a letter, and he saw that her hand shook. "Mademoiselleasked me to give you this, your Majesty, " she said. "I was to take carethat you were alone when you received it. "

"Something important then, " he said with a laugh. 

Crossing the room to the table on which stood the lamp by whose light hehad scribbled "Alexis R. " on the papers intrusted to Bosko, he openedthe envelop, which bore in Joan's handwriting the simple superscription, "Alec, " and began to read:

 MY DEAR ONE:--When Pauline gives you this, I shall have left you forever. I am going from Delgratz, and I shall never see you again. I cannot marry you--but oh, my dear, my dear, I shall love you all my life! Try and forget me. I am acting for the best. Do not write to Paris or endeavor to find me. If it is God's will, we shall never meet again. I can scarcely see what I am writing for my tears. So good-by, my Alec! Be brave! Forgive me, and, in the years to come, try to forget our few days of happiness together. 

 Yours ever, JOAN. 

He stood there stricken, almost paralyzed with the suddenness of theblow, wondering dumbly why Joan's hand should have inflicted it. Thefrightened Frenchwoman dared not speak or move. She watched him withthat impersonal fear so readily aroused in one of her class by theterrifying spectacle of a strong man in his agony. At last he movedlistlessly, as though his limbs had just been released from the rack. Heheld the letter under the lamp again and read it a second time, word forword. He seemed to be forcing himself to accept it as truth. This youngKing, so valiant, so resourceful, so prompt in action and judgment, could devise no plan, no means of rescue from the abyss. After aninterval that neither the man nor the woman could measure, he turned hisstrained, staring eyes on the shrinking Pauline. 

"Have I ever done you any harm?" he said in the low voice of utmostdespair. 

"Me, monsieur?" she gasped. "You harm me? No, indeed, I was only tooproud to think my dear mistress should have won such a husband. "

"Then you will answer my questions truly, " he went on, his eyesdevouring the woman's homely features as though he would fain seek somecomfort therein. 

"Oh yes, indeed, monsieur. Ask me anything. It is not that I have muchto tell. Mademoiselle said, 'Give this letter to the King himself. Letit touch no other hand. ' That is all, monsieur. She was weeping when shewrote it. Monsieur Poluski told me what to do to-morrow about my ownjourney. See, here are my tickets. "

"Poluski!" said Alec, and the words came dully. "Has he too betrayedme?"

"He has gone with my mistress, " sobbed Pauline. "It is not that theyhave betrayed you, monsieur; for mademoiselle looked like to die, and Ihave never seen any one more disturbed than Monsieur Poluski. He ravedlike a maniac when I asked him for one word of explanation. "

"But what does it mean, woman? Do you understand what has happened? Mypromised wife has fled, bidding me not to dream of seeing her again, andwith her has gone one of the few men alive in whom I had confidence. What is that but betrayal?"

"I do not profess to understand the ways of courts, monsieur, " saidPauline, gathering a little courage, since the King appealed to her as afellow mortal. "But in your case I do not think I should blameMademoiselle Joan. She did not go because she had ceased to love you, monsieur. Sometimes a woman can love a man so well that she will leavehim if she thinks it is for his good. "

A light broke in on the darkness. Was Joan the victim of some deadlyintrigue such as had sullied too often the records of the Kosnovianmonarchy? How strange it was that he should come from that eventfulmeeting of the Cabinet and receive within the hour Joan's patheticmessage of farewell! He stood and thought deeply again for many minutes, striving to conquer his laboring heart and throbbing brain, exertingmanfully all his splendid resources of mind and body. Then he turned tothe trembling Frenchwoman and said with almost uncanny gentleness:

"You have done what your mistress asked, Pauline. Come to me to-morrowbefore you go, and I will reward you for your faithful service. Leave menow; but tell none what has happened. I must have time to think, and itwould help me if no other person in this house but you shares with methe knowledge of mademoiselle's departure. "

Pauline went out, glad of her dismissal, yet sobbing with sympathy. Alecbegan to pace the length of the long dimly lighted room. Back and forthhe went, thinking, knitting his brows in fierce effort to subdue hisstunned faculties. By degrees the sad significance of Joan's words andactions during their visit that morning to the New Konak began toestablish itself. He saw now that she was bidding farewell to her dreamof happiness, deliberately torturing herself with a burden of memories. Even their parting kiss must have given her a twinge of direst agony;for the one thing he would never believe of Joan was that she hadsacrificed him to some feminine whim, made him the sport of a woman'scaprice. 

She had been driven from him! By whom? He must discover that, and hegloated with almost insensate rage at the thought of strangling with hishands the wretch who had done this callous deed. Physical passionmastered him again, and it was not until he realized the folly of merelydreaming of vengeance that he forced himself anew into a semblance ofcalm. He knew that a man blinded with rage could not deal sanely withthis problem of love and statecraft. At first he thought of questioningindividually each person who, by the remotest chance, might beresponsible for Joan's flight. But not only did his impatient heartspurn that slower method of inquisition; but he realized that he wasmore likely to discover the truth by gathering instantly in one room allthose persons whose self interest pointed to his undoing. Somehow, Sobieski's disjointed narrative aroused a dreadful suspicion that wasnot to be quelled. 

He summoned an attendant. "Ask Prince and Princess Delgrado to comehere, " he said. "Send to General Stampoff and tell him that the Kingurgently desires his presence. I believe that Monsieur Beliani and CountJulius Marulitch are in the smoking-room with Monsieur Nesimir. Askthose three gentlemen also to join me. "

The attendant saluted and withdrew. Alec examined the door to make surethat the key was in the lock. Hardly conscious of his own purpose, helooked about for a weapon. In the place of honor, above the fireplace, hung the sword given him by his father in the Rue Boissière. It evokedbitter memories, and he swung on his heel with a curse, going to thewindow and staring out into the night. His brain seethed with strangeimaginings, and his breast was on fire. The sight of that ridiculoussword lying in its sheath of velvet and gold seemed to reveal thehollowness of life, its mock tragedies, its real agony of tears. All atonce the impulse seized him to look at the bright steel. With a savagelaugh he sprang back across the room and took down the sword. The bladeleaped forth at his clutch, and he kissed it in a frenzy. 

"You weep, my Joan, " he cried. "I know that you weep; but your tempter'slying heart shall shed drop for drop!"

CHAPTER XIII

WHEREIN A REASON IS GIVEN FOR JOAN'S FLIGHT

A knock sounded on the door. "Their Excellencies the Prince and PrincessDelgrado, " announced Bosko, whose jaws underwent strange contortions atbeing compelled to utter so many syllables consecutively. 

Alec thrust the sword into its scabbard. He did not put the weapon inits accustomed place; but hid it behind a fold of one of the heavycurtains that shrouded the windows. 

"On the arrival of the others whom I have summoned you can usher them inwithout warning, " he said to Bosko. "As soon as General Stampoff comeslet no other person enter, and remain near the door until I call you. "

"_Oui, monsieur_, " said Bosko. King or no King, he was faithful to hisscanty stock of French. 

Prince Michael had dined well, having induced his host to depart fromthe King's injunctions as to the wine supplied at meals. His puffed faceshone redly. It looked so gross and fat, perched on such a slenderframe, that he resembled one of those diminutive yet monstrouscaricatures of humanity seen on the pantomime stage. 

"What is the trouble now, Alec?" he asked, glancing quickly round thespacious ill lighted apartment. "Your man came to me most mysteriously. His manner suggested treasons, spoils, and stratagems. I met your motheron the stairs. She too, it seems, is in demand. "

Alec looked at the strange little creature whom he called father, andfrom the Prince's gargoyle head his gaze dwelt on his mother. She haduttered no word. Her eyes met his furtively for a second and thendropped. She was disturbed, obviously alarmed, and, with a curiouslydetached feeling of surprise, he guessed that she knew of Joan'sdeparture. Well, he would bide his time until all possible conspiratorswere present. Then, by fair means or foul, he would wring the truth fromthem. 

"I want to consult my mother and you as to a certain matter, " he said, answering Prince Michael with apparent nonchalance. "I shall not detainyou very long. Beliani, Julius, and Monsieur Nesimir are in thebuilding, and then we only await Stampoff--with whom, by the way, Ialmost succeeded in quarreling to-day. "

"A quarrel with Stampoff!" exclaimed the elder Delgrado, preening hischest and sticking out his chin in the exaggerated manner that warnedthose who knew him best of the imminent expression of a weighty opinion. "That will never do. Stampoff is the backbone of your administration. Were it not for our dear Paul, nothing would have been heard of aDelgrado in Kosnovia during the last quarter of a century. My dear boy, he has kept us alive politically. On no account can you afford toquarrel with Stampoff!"

Michael's big head wagged wisely; for champagne invariably made himtalkative. Nesimir entered; with him came Count Julius and the Greek. 

"Nice thing his Majesty has just told me!" cried Prince Michael, withowl-like gravity. "He says that Stampoff and he have disagreed. What hasgone wrong? Have you heard of this most unfortunate estrangement, Monsieur Nesimir?"

The President, of course, assumed that some allusion had been madealready to the scene in the Council chamber. 

"A serious position has undoubtedly arisen, " he said blandly. "HisMajesty did not see his way clear to adopt certain recommendations putforward by his Ministers to-day, --by myself, I may say, acting on behalfof my colleagues, " and he coughed deferentially, --"and General Stampofftook an active part in the debate. He set forth his views with--er--whatI considered to be--er--unnecessary vehemence. But there, " and aflourish of his hand indicated the nebulous nature of the dispute, "nothing was said that cannot be mended. His Majesty himself had thetact to adjourn the discussion till to-morrow, and I have little doubtthat we shall all be prepared to consider the matter then likereasonable men. "

"But what was it about?" broke in the Prince testily. "Was it withreference to Monsieur Beliani? I understood that his appointment to theMinistry of Finance was agreed to unanimously. "

Beliani coughed, with the modesty of a man who might not discuss his ownmerits. The President hesitated before he answered this direct question. He cast a doubtful glance on the King, who had turned to the windowagain and seemed to give little heed to the conversation. But Alecwheeled round. He had heard every word, and, oddly enough in his ownestimation, was already drawing conclusions that were not whollyunfavorable to Prince Michael. 

"I have sent for Stampoff, " he said, exercising amazing self control inconcealing his fierce desire to have done with subterfuge, "and mymessage was couched in such terms that he will hardly refuse to honor uswith his presence. Meanwhile, let me rescue you, Monsieur Nesimir, fromthe embarrassment of explaining away the difficulty you yourself broughtabout at to-day's meeting of the Cabinet. Monsieur Beliani had no rival;no one doubted his ability as a financier. 

"The dispute arose in connection with my forthcoming marriage. It wassuggested that I should contract an alliance with a Princess of somereigning house in the Balkans. The obvious corollary of that view wasthat Miss Joan Vernon could not be regarded as a suitable bride for theKing of Kosnovia. I declined to accept the recommendation put forward byMonsieur Nesimir, --to whom, by the way, I attribute the utmost goodfaith, --and Stampoff, whose patriotic ardor halts at nothing, practically threatened me with the loss of my Kingdom as the penalty ofdisobedience. I said that I was quite willing to leave the whole matterto the arbitrament of the people. If they decide against my choice of awife, it follows that there will be a vacancy in the Delgradosuccession. "

Princess Delgrado uttered a sigh that was almost a groan. She sank intothe chair that her son had offered her when she entered the room, butrose to her feet again in manifest anxiety when her husband thrusthimself in front of Alec. 

"Are we to credit, " he broke in furiously, "that you have actuallyplaced your marriage with this girl before every tie of family andpatrimony?"

"That is hardly a fair statement of the facts, " said Alec coldly, thoughit cost him a violent effort to sustain this unnatural calm when he wasaflame with desire to ascertain Joan's motive; "but it will serve. Atany rate, we can defer discussion of that point for the present. We aregathered here to deal with quite another phase of the dispute, and, withyour permission, I shall leave any further explanation until GeneralStampoff has arrived. "

Although his utterance was measured and seemingly devoid of any excessof feeling, three, at least, of those in the room were not deceived byhis attitude. Princess Delgrado seemed to be profoundly disquieted, while Beliani and Marulitch strove, not altogether with success, tocarry themselves with the indifference that cloaks uneasiness. Alecturned again to the window and looked out. 

A carriage drove into the courtyard and, though its occupant wasinvisible, he guessed rightly that Stampoff had not failed him. Some lowconversation went on behind his back, and, although he was nowmarshaling his forces for the impending struggle, he became aware thatthe President was giving in greater detail an account of the afternoon'sproceedings. But he listened only for the opening of the door. From thatinstant war should be declared, ruthless war on each and every personpresent who had reft him of his promised bride. 

Stampoff entered. His keen old eyes instantly took in the significanceof the gathering; but he saluted the King in silence, bowed to PrincessDelgrado, and stood stockstill, not a yard from the door, in theattitude of one who awaits an order, or, it might be, a denunciation. 

Alec approached, and the others, including Stampoff himself, thoughtthat he meant to make some private communication to the newcomer beforebeginning a debate in which all might share. But he walked pastStampoff, locked the door, and put the key in his pocket. 

 [Illustration: Stampoff saluted the King in silence Page 268]

"Now, " he said, "I am free to explain why we seven are gathered hereto-night. Joan Vernon, who was to have become my wife within a few days, left Delgratz two hours ago by the mail train for Paris. She wasaccompanied by Felix Poluski, and the only reason for this clandestinejourney is contained in a few lines of farewell addressed to me by thelady herself. In that letter she speaks of a barrier that rendersimpossible a marriage between her and me. I want to know what thatbarrier is and who erected it, and I shall discover both those thingshere and now, if I have to tear the knowledge from the heart of each manpresent!"

"A strange threat, Alec, " panted Prince Michael, whose prominent eyeswere bulging in semi-intoxication, though indeed he seemed suddenly tohave realized the tremendous import of the King's statement, --"a strangethreat to be uttered before your mother!"

"My mother loved Joan, " came the impassioned cry. "She took her to herheart from the first hour, and she will bear with me now in my agony. Yet it may be that even my mother has deceived me. I cannot tell. Someof you here know, perhaps all; but I vow to Heaven I shall not flinchfrom my resolve to extract the truth, no matter with whom theresponsibility rests!"

Princess Delgrado, trembling and ghastly pale, tottered to the chairagain and gripped its back to prevent herself from falling. Under lessstrained conditions, it must have seemed bizarre in a company of menfor whom polite attentions to the opposite sex were a fixed convention, that she should seek such support when her husband was standing by herside; but in that startled gathering small heed was given to aught elsethan the King's thrilling statement. 

Though aware of his mother's distress, Alec did not move from theposition he had taken up, facing all of them, and with that hidden swordwithin easy reach. Ever a dutiful and devoted son, he continued now toglower at the half-fainting woman as though she alone held the key ofthe mystery that resulted in Joan's disappearance. His impassioned eyessought to peer into her very soul, and his nostrils quivered with thefrenzied eagerness of one who awaited an answer to the implied question. In some indefinable way he had already begun to suspect the truth; forwhen the poor woman made no reply, though more than once her terrorladen eyes met his in mute appeal, he whirled round on Marulitch. 

"Perhaps this is an occasion when it is a woman's privilege to remainsilent, " he said bitterly. "So I begin with you, Julius. Save myself, you are the youngest here, and it would be fitting that you and I shoulddetermine this business. I warn you there will be no half measures! Mylife, at least, goes into the scale, and I care not who else adjusts thebalance. "

The pink and white tints had long fled from the Parisian dandy'scomplexion. In the dim light he looked livid, and his forehead borebright beads of perspiration. But even Alec's fiery eyes discerned thathe was not only afraid, but bewildered, and his voice cracked withexcitement when he spoke. 

"I declare by everything I hold sacred that I had no hand in thisaffair!" he said shrilly. "It is natural perhaps that you should suspectme, since I seem to have most to gain by any ill that befalls you; but, even in your anger, Alec, you should be just. No matter how fierce youremotions, you ought to realize that Miss Vernon's departure fromDelgratz retards rather than helps any possible scheming on my part tosucceed you on the throne. "

"Now you, Beliani!" said Alec, striving to penetrate the mask thatcovered the one impassive face in the room. "It was you who contrivedthat my promised wife should come here from Paris. I can see yourpurpose now. At to-day's meeting of the Cabinet, while I was urging youradvancement to power and dignity in the State, your hand was revealed inthe opposition manifested to my marriage. Your cunning brain conceivedthe notion that I would not abandon the woman I loved for the sake offifty Kingdoms. You read my mind aright; but, if it was you who broughtabout her flight, for what devilish reason did you depart from thesubtle plot that might well have achieved your ends by means which you, at least, would consider fair?"

The Greek spread wide his hands in that characteristic gesture of his. As it happened, for once in his life he could afford to be sincere. "Ican only assure your Majesty in the plainest possible terms, " he said, "that until I heard the news from your own lips, I had no knowledgewhatsoever of Miss Vernon's journey. Were I asked outside that lockeddoor to state to the best of my belief where she might be found, Ishould have said that the slight illness of which she complained thismorning had probably confined her to her room. "

For an instant Alec scowled at the President; but Sergius Nesimir'svacuous features so obviously revealed his condition of speechlesssurprise and distress that there remained only Stampoff, PrinceMichael--and his mother. 

Adhering rigidly to his scheme of narrowing the field of inquiry byputting the same straight question to each individual in turn, Alec nextappealed to the man who had helped him to gain a throne. 

"Paul, " he said, "you who were my friend and have become my enemy, you, at least, will speak the truth. Tell me, then, who has done this thing!"

Stampoff strode forward. He feared no one, this determined advocate ofhis country's cause, and he alone knew the real menace of the impendingtornado. "Your mother ought not to be here, Alec, " he muttered. "Alittle more of this and she will faint. Look at her! Have you no pity inyour heart? This is no place for a woman. Unlock the door and let her betaken away!"

Alec moistened his dry lips with his tongue. He felt that he was finallytouching sure ground in the morass through which he was floundering. "She and all of you must remain!" was his grim reply. "Answer myquestion! Was it you who drove Joan from Delgratz?"

"I counseled it, " said Stampoff, folding his arms defiantly, andapparently careless whether or not the King sprang at his throat thenext instant. 

"Ah! At last! Thank God for one man who is honest, though he seems tohave acted like a fiend! To whom did you counsel it? To Joan herself?"

"No. "

"Tell me, then, to whom?"

"I refuse. "

"Stampoff, I shall draw a confession from you even though you die undermy hands. "

"I have faced death many times for the King of Kosnovia, " said the harshSerbian voice, "and I shall not shrink from it now, whether at the handsof the King or his foes. Send your mother away; then, perhaps, I maytell you what you want to know. The thing is done, and I, for one, shallnot shirk the consequences. "

"My mother again! Must she be spared though you have sacrificed herson?"

With a quick movement that sent tremors through Julius and the Greek, since he was compelled to pass close to both, he strode to the quakingPrincess and caught her almost roughly by the shoulder. 

"I feared this from the outset, " he cried. "Did Stampoff make you theagent of his hellish work? Joan would trust you. Speak to me, mother!Was it you who wrought this evil?"

Her head was bent low, and she gasped something that sounded like anexcuse. Alec recoiled from her in sudden horror. His hands were pressedfeverishly to his forehead, and a hoarse cry of anguish came from hispanting breast. 

"I think I shall go mad!" he almost sobbed. "My own mother enter intothis league against me! My mother----Oh, it cannot be! Stampoff, you, Iknow, would not scruple to sacrifice my dearest hopes to further yourdesigns. Could you find none but my mother to aid you?"

He reeled as under a blow from an unseen hand, and at that unfortunatemoment Prince Michael Delgrado thought fit to assert his authority. 

"This ridiculous scene has gone far enough, " he cried. "I was not awarethat your pretty artist had quitted Delgratz; but it is quite evidentthat her departure is the best thing that could possibly happen for thegood of the Kingdom. If Stampoff advised it, and your mother saw fit topoint out to the girl the danger she was bringing to you and themonarchy, such action on their part has my complete approval. "

Alec gazed blankly at the pompous little man. It needed but PrinceMichael's outburst to stamp the whole episode with the seal of ineffablemeanness and double dealing. He recalled the cowardice displayed by thePrince when Stampoff urged him to seize the vacant throne, and his gorgerose at the thought that Joan had been driven from his arms in orderthat this pygmy might secure the annual pittance that would supply hislusts in Paris. At that moment Alec was Berserk with impotent rage. Hismother's complicity in the banishing of Joan denied him a victim on whomto wreak his wrath. 

But there still remained a vengeance, dire and far reaching, which wouldteach a bitter lesson to those who had entered into so unworthy aconspiracy. 

Leaping to the curtain which concealed the sword, he snatched it up andsmashed it across his knee. "See, then, how I treat the symbol of mymonarchy, " he cried with a terrible laugh. "I shall soon demonstrate toyou what a pricked balloon is this Kingship of which you prate. Ibelieve that you, my own father, are ready to supplant me, I know thatJulius, my cousin, is straining every nerve to procure my downfall; butyou shall learn how a man who despises the pinchbeck honors of a thronecan defeat your petty malice and miserable scheming. Monsieur Nesimir, Iproclaim Kosnovia a Republic from this hour! Here and now I abdicate!Summon a meeting of the Assembly to-morrow, and I shall give its membersthe best of reasons why the State will prosper more under the people'srule than under that of either of the men who are so anxious to succeedme. "

"Abdicate! Republic! What monstrous folly!" cried Prince Michael, hisplethoric face convulsed with anger at this unexpected counterstroke. 

"I am saying that which, with God's help, I shall perform!" cried Alec, despair falling from him like a discarded garment as he realized whathis project would mean to Joan and himself. 

"You may abdicate, of course, if you choose, " came the scornful retort;"but you have no power to break the Delgrado line. "

"My power will be put to the test to-morrow, " said Alec. "I am notafraid to measure my strength against the pitiful cowards who struck atme through a woman's love. "

"Pay no heed to him, Monsieur Nesimir!" piped Prince Michael, whosevoice rose to a thin falsetto. "He is beside himself. If he chooses tovacate the throne, it reverts to me. "

"A Republic in Kosnovia!" snarled Stampoff. "That, indeed, will mark thebeginning of the end for the Slav race. A single year would wipe us outof existence. What say you, Beliani, and you, Marulitch? Why are youdumb? Was it for this that we have striven through so many years? Shallour country be wrecked now because a hot headed youth puts his vows to awoman before every consideration of national welfare?"

"The notion is preposterous!" growled Julius, gaining courage fromStampoff's bold denunciation; but Beliani tried to temporize. 

"We are far too excited to deal with this vexed affair to-night, " hesaid. "The King is naturally aggrieved by a trying experience, and ishardly in a fit state of mind to consider the grave issues raised byhis words. Let us forget what we have just heard. To-morrow we shall allbe calmer and saner. "

"Monsieur Nesimir, " said Alec sternly, fixing the hapless President withhis masterful eye, "while I remain King you must obey my orders. See toit that notices are despatched to-night to the members of the NationalAssembly summoning a special meeting for an early hour to-morrow. "

"Monsieur Nesimir will do nothing of the kind!" shrieked the infuriatedPrince Michael. "I forbid it!"

"And I command it, " cried Alec. "If he refuses, I shall take other stepsto insure my wishes being fulfilled. "

"Then I will tell you why your Joan has gone!" bellowed the Prince. "No, Marie, I will not be restrained!" he shouted to his wife, who had rushedto him in a very frenzy of alarm. She clutched at his shoulder; but heshook himself free brutally. 

"It is full time you knew what I have done for you, " he hissedvenomously at Alec. "Stampoff and your mother and I, alone of those inthis room, are aware of the fraud that has been perpetrated on thepeople of this country. You are not King of Kosnovia. You are not myson. Your father was a Colorado gold miner to whom your mother wasmarried before I met her, and who died before you were born. For thesake of his widow's money I gave her my name, and was fool enough tofall in with her whim of pride that you should be brought up as a PrinceDelgrado. I suppose Stampoff urged your mother to reveal the facts tothat chit of a girl who has addled your brain, and she, fortunately, hadsense enough to see that you can not continue to occupy the throne fiveseconds after it becomes known that you are a mere alien, that your nameis Alexander Talbot, and that I, Michael Delgrado, who married aforeigner in order that I might live, and permitted an American child tobe reared as a lawful Prince of my house, am the lawful King. "

The little man strutted up and down the room in a fume of indignation, and evidently felt fully justified in his own esteem. Ever selfish andvain, he fancied that he had been the victim of a cruel fate, and heread the sheer bewilderment in Alec's face as a tribute to the masterstroke he had just delivered. 

But his self conceit wilted under the contemptuous scorn of his wife'sgaze, which he chanced to meet when his posturing ceased. 

Alec looked to his mother for some confirmation or denial of theastounding statement blurted forth by her husband. But she had no eyesfor her son then. The wrongs and sufferings of a lifetime were wellingup from her heart to her lips. The agonized suspense of the last fewminutes had given way to the frenzy of a woman outraged in her deepestsentiments. 

She relinquished the chair to which she had been clinging, and faced thediminutive Prince with a quiet dignity that overawed him. 

"So that is how you keep your oath, Michael!" she said. "When I forgaveyour infidelities, when I pandered to your extravagance, when I allowedyou to fritter away the wealth bequeathed to me by a man whose finenature was so far removed from yours that I have often wondered why Godcreated two such opposite types of humanity, time and again you vowedthat the idle folly of my youth would never be revealed by you. Twiceyou swore it on your knees when I was stung beyond endurance by yourbaseness. No, Michael, " and her voice rose almost to a scream when herhusband tried to silence her with a curse, "you shall hear the truthnow, if I have to ask my son as a last favor to his unhappy mother tostill that foul tongue of yours by force!"

For an instant, she made a wild appeal to Alec. "Your father was anhonorable man, " she cried. "For his sake, if not for mine, since I haveforfeited all claim to your love, compel this man to be silent!"

The belief was slowly establishing itself in her son's mind that theincredible thing he was hearing was actually true. Nevertheless, he wastemporarily bereft of the poise and balance of judgment that might haveenabled him to adjust the warring elements in his bewildered brain. Itwas a new and horrible experience to be asked by his mother to usephysical violence against the man he had been taught to regard as hisfather. 

He had never respected Michael Delgrado, --he could acknowledge that nowwithout the twinge of conscience that had always accompanied theunpleasing thought in the past, --yet, despite the gulf already yawningwide between them, his soul revolted against the notion of laying a handon him in anger. 

But he did stoop over the spluttering little Prince and said sternly, "You must not interrupt my mother again! You must not, I tell you!"

Such was the chilling emphasis of his words that Delgrado's loudobjurgations died away in his throat, and the distraught Princess, withone last look of unutterable contempt at her royal spouse, faced theother occupants of the room. 

"I did harm to none by my innocent deception, " she pleaded. "I was veryyoung when I married Alec's father, who was nearly twenty years olderthan I. We were not rich, and we were compelled to live in a rude miningcamp, where my husband owned some claims that seemed to be of littlevalue. But from the day of our wedding our fortunes began to improve, and, in the year before my son was born, money poured in on us. Thatsmall collection of wooden shanties has now become a great city. Theland my husband owned is worth ten thousand times its original value;but, unfortunately, when wealth came, I grew dissatisfied with mysurroundings. I wanted to travel, to mix in society, to become one ofthe fashionable throng that flocks to Paris and London and the Rivierain their seasons. My husband refused to desert the State in which hisinterests were bound up. 

"We quarreled--it was all my fault--and then one day he was killed in amine accident, and I, scarce knowing what I was doing, fled to New Yorkfor distraction from my grief and self condemnation. My son was bornthere, and in that same year I met Prince Michael Delgrado in a friend'shouse. To me in those days a Prince was a wonderful creature. He quicklysaw that I was a prize worth capturing, and not many months elapsedbefore we were married. I had all the foolish vanity of a young woman, unused to the world, who was entitled to call herself a Princess, and itseemed to my flighty mind that the fact of my son bearing a differentname to my own would always advertise my plebeian origin; for I wasquite a woman of the people, the daughter of a storekeeper in Pueblo. Icast aside my old and tried acquaintances, placed my affairs intrustworthy hands, and, when we set up an establishment in Paris, myinfant son came to be known as a Prince of the Delgrado family. 

"Once such a blunder is made it is not easily rectified; but during manya sad hour have I regretted it, for Michael Delgrado did not scruple touse it as a threat whenever I resented his ill conduct. At first atrivial thing, in time it became a millstone round my neck. As Alec grewup, it became more and more difficult to announce that he was not PrinceAlexis Delgrado, but a simple commoner, Alexander Talbot by name. 

"There, then, you have the measure of my transgression. It was theknowledge of the truth that drove that dear girl, Joan Vernon, fromDelgratz this evening, because General Stampoff would not scruple toreveal the imposture if he failed to secure the King's adherence to hisprojects. "

"God's bones!" broke in Stampoff. "I made him King, though I was awarefrom the day of your wedding that he was not Michael's son. King he is, and King he will remain if he agrees to my terms. "

"Go on with your story, mother, " said Alec softly. "I think I ambeginning to understand now. "

"What more need I say?" wailed the Princess in a sudden access of grief. "I have squandered your love, Alec, I have ruined my own life, I havedevoted all these wretched years to a man who is the worst sort ofblackmailer, --a husband who trades on his wife's weakness. "

She turned on Prince Michael with a last cry. "I am done with you nowforever!" she sobbed. "I have borne with you for my son's sake; but nowyou and I must dwell apart, for my very soul loathes you!"

She sank into a chair in a passion of tears, and Alec bent over her. Hespoke no word to her; but his hand rested gently around her neck whilehis eyes traveled from Michael's gray-green face to Julius Marulitch'swhite one. 

"I think we have all heard sufficient of the Delgrado history to renderunnecessary any further comment on my decision to relinquish an honorthat, it would appear, I had no right to accept, " he said. "I havegained my end, though by a strange path. Will you please leave me withmy mother?"

The one man present who felt completely out of his depth in this sea ofdiscord took it upon himself to cry pathetically:

"The door is locked, your--your Majesty!"

"Ah, forgive me, Monsieur Nesimir, " said Alec, with a friendly smile. "Ihad forgotten that. And, now that I come to think of it, I still havesomething to say; but we need not detain my mother to hear anuninteresting conversation. Pardon me one moment, while I attend toher. "

CHAPTER XIV

THE BROKEN TREATY

Alec unlocked the door. The laconic Bosko returned his all sufficing"_Oui, monsieur_, " to the request that he would bring MademoiselleJoan's French maid to Princess Delgrado, since it was in Alec's mindthat Pauline might be discreet. 

Prince Michael, Beliani, Marulitch, and Nesimir had already formedthemselves into a whispering group. Stampoff was seated apart, moroseand thoughtful. The old man's elbows rested on his knees and his chinwas propped between his bony fists. Princess Delgrado had flung herselfforward on the table. Her face was hidden by her outstretched arms. Thisattitude of abandonment, the clenched hands, the convulsive heaving ofher shoulders, were eloquent of tempest tossed emotions. She looked soforlorn that her son was tempted to return to her side without delay;but instead he walked quietly toward the four men clustered in thecenter of the room. They started apart and faced him nervously. Itseemed that even yet they feared lest some uncontrolled gust of angermight lead Alec to fling himself blindly upon them. Had they but knownit, he despised them too greatly to think of mauling them. 

"Gentlemen, " he said, "I have one small request to make. Give me yourword of honor--I will take it for what it is worth--that to-night'shappenings shall remain unknown to the outer world, and that there willbe no interference with my mother or myself before we leave Delgratz. "

Prince Michael, who had recovered some of his jauntiness, looked at Alecwith the crafty eye of a cowed hyena; but he said coolly, "There isnothing to be gained by publishing our blunders to all the world. "

"Have I your promise?" insisted Alec. 

"Yes. "

"And yours?" he said to Marulitch. 

"Of course I agree, " came the ready answer. "I, like Prince Michael, feel that it would be folly----"

"Prince Michael!" snarled the royal Delgrado. "You must learn to schoolyour tongue, Julius! From this moment I am King of Kosnovia. Let therebe no manner of doubt about that!"

Alec might not have heard the blusterer. His calm glance fell onBeliani. "And what say you?" he asked. 

"I agree most fully and unreservedly, " murmured the Greek, conveying, with a deep bow, his respectful regret that such an assurance should benecessary. The greatly perturbed President had already quitted the room;so Alec turned to Stampoff. His manner was quite friendly. Well he knewthat this fiery soul was not to be judged by the Delgrado standard. 

"I will not inflict on you, my trusty comrade, " he said, "the indignityof a demand that I felt was imperative in the case of some otherspresent. Let us shake hands and think rather of what we have gonethrough together when I was King and you were my most loyal supporter, than of the poor climax to my brief reign that reveals me as animpostor. "

Those keen eyes were raised in a half-formed resolution. "Is it toolate, Alec?" he growled sullenly. 

"For what?"

Alec's smile of surprise was the only bit of affectation he had indulgedin that night. The fantasy flitting through Stampoff's brain was nothidden from him; but he wanted to dismiss it lightly. 

"God's bones! Need you ask? Say but the word, and you will be morefirmly established on the throne than ever. Trust me to find means tostill those babbling tongues!" and Stampoff flung out an arm in thedirection of the uncle and nephew, each manifestly anxious to hurryaway, yet each so distrustful of the other that he dared not go. 

"Paul, you are incorrigible, " said Alec. "You ought to have been amarshal under Napoleon, who would have had no scruples. No, you will notsee civil war in the streets of Delgratz as to whether a Delgrado or anAmerican adventurer shall reign in Kosnovia. Yet, I thank you for thethought. It shows that you, at least, do not rate me poorly, and it isnot in my heart to be vexed with you, though I owe this night'samazement to your striving. "

"Be just, Alec!" whispered the Serb hoarsely. "Condemn me if you will;but be just! While Michael Delgrado lived, your reign would never havebeen secure. I knew that all along. You will go away now and marry thegirl of your choice, and soon the memories of this downtrodden countrywill be dim in your soul; but think what would have happened to you, toyour wife, and perhaps to your children, if Michael one day blurted outthe truth in some fit of drunken rage, or if Beliani and that otherwhite faced hound obtained evidence of your birth. That is why I wasresolved to force you, if possible, to wed a Serbian Princess. Yourmarriage to a woman of our own race would have borne down opposition. And now what will happen? The future is black. Michael is unworthy to bea King; Marulitch, at the best, is a poor-spirited wretch; and afterthem there is no Delgrado. "

"Well, I am sorry, too, in a way, " said Alec. "I was beginning to lovethese Kosnovian folk, and I think I could have made something of them. Good-by, Paul. If we never meet again, at least we part good friends. "

Stampoff rose and silently wrung Alec's hand. He walked straight out ofthe room with bent head and slow uncertain steps. For the hour hisfierce spirit was chastened. He had done that which he thought wouldmake for good, and it had turned out ill. His single minded scheming hadgone awry. Another man in his position might have sought to curry favorwith the new régime, whether of Michael or Julius; but Stampoff was notof that mettle; he wanted Alec to be King, because he believed in him, and now the edifice for which he had labored so ardently had tumbled inpieces about his ears. 

Pauline came, and Alec went to his mother. He took her tenderly in hisarms. 

"Come, dear!" he said. "Joan's maid will help you to reach your room. Our train leaves at midnight, and Bosko and Pauline will give your maidany help she needs in collecting your belongings. "

The Princess raised her grief stricken face to his, and it wrung hisheart anew to see how that night of misery had aged her. 

"Oh, my son, my son!" she murmured. "Will you ever forgive me?"

He kissed her with a hearty and reassuring hug. "Forgive you, mother!"he cried. "It is not I, but you, who have suffered through all theseyears. Have no fear for the future! Joan and I will make you happy. "

"But she, Alec! What will she say when she learns the wrong I have doneyou?"

"What! Afraid of Joan?" cried he cheerfully. "Why, you dear old mother, Joan is taking all the blame on her own shoulders. You will find sheagrees with me that you are the one to be pitied. You made a mistakefor which you have paid very dearly; but in no possible way can itaffect the remainder of our lives. There now, cheer up and prepare foryour journey!"

The Princess left the room leaning on Pauline's arm, nor, in passing, did she bestow a glance on her husband. Prince Michael indulged in anostentatious shrug, and might have said something had not Alec's gazedwelt on him steadily. It is to be presumed that, not for the firsttime, discretion conquered Michael's valor. 

"A word with you, Beliani, " said Alec, going to the table and unlockingthe drawer from which he had taken the money given to Sobieski. "You arenow in charge of the State's finances, I presume. I have here a sum, roughly speaking, of one thousand pounds. To some extent, it is my ownmoney; but the greater part consists of instalments of the salary offive thousand dollars a year I allowed myself as King. Do you think Ihave earned it?"

The Greek could only mutter a surprised, "Yes. Who would deny your rightto a far larger amount?"

"Having your sanction, then, I take it, " said Alec coolly. "Here too ismy passport, issued in Paris, for which I believe I am indebted to you. It will now come in handy. May I ask in whose charge I leave the booksand papers on this table? Some of them may be of use to the State. "

"I am afraid I cannot answer that question, " muttered the Greek, with astealthy glance in the direction of the rival candidates. 

"Well, settle it among yourselves, " said Alec dryly. "Now I must beoff. "

Without another word he passed from the room that had witnessed histriumph and his fall. Yet his face was remarkably cheerful when he askedan attendant if Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir's whereabouts was known. Thequiet elation in his manner led the man to believe that some speciallypleasing news had transpired during the conclave in the royal bureau. 

It appeared that his Excellency, the English milord, had gone to themusic hall in the Königstrasse with a friend. 

"Then send some one to say that he is wanted here at once, " said Alec. 

"Yes, your Majesty. "

"Your Majesty!" How incongruous the two words sounded now in Alec'sears! By a trick of memory his thoughts flew back to the Montmartrereview wherein the stage prototypes of the Parisian band of exiledmonarchs addressed each other by high sounding titles and incidentallysought to borrow five-franc pieces. 

"If I possessed some literary skill, I could write a review that wouldset the world talking, " he mused, smiling to himself as he ascended thestairs to his own suite. 

"What is the matter, old chap?" demanded Beaumanoir, strolling into hisfriend's dressing room a few minutes later. Lord Adalbert never hurriedunless he was on horseback. He was in evening dress, and an opera hatwas set rakishly on the back of his head. He was smoking, his hands werethrust into his pockets, and the mere sight of him served again toremind Alec of the larger world in whose daily round Kosnovia and itstroubles filled so insignificant a part. 

In an oddly jubilant mood, Alec took a pencil and wrote in largecharacters on Beaumanoir's immaculate shirt front, "Paris--with care. "

His chum read. "The answer is?" he asked. 

"We are leaving Delgratz to-night, Berty. That is all. "

"You don't say!" He glanced down at the label. "Is this the address?"

"Yes. "

Beaumanoir screwed his cigar firmly into the corner of his mouth. "I ampretty rapid myself, Alec, " he grinned; "but you are too suddenaltogether. Tell me just what you mean, there's a dear fellow. "

"I take it you don't want to remain here without me, Berty, " said Aleccheerily, "and I am off. I chucked up my job half an hour ago. Joan andFelix started by the mail train that left here at half-past five. Wefollow at midnight. My mother goes with us. As Bosko is giving her maida hand in the packing, I must look after my own traps. Nesimir'sservants would talk, which is just what I want to avoid. The two daysin the train will give you plenty of time to learn the harrowingdetails. I have a pretty story for you; but it must wait. I am notcracked, nor sprung, nor trying to be funny; so you need not look at mein that way. I am out of business as a King, for good and all, and thesooner I cross the frontier, the better it will be for my health. "

"Honor bright, Alec?"

"Every syllable. Now, get a hustle on!"

There was a tap at the door, and a servant entered with a note for theKing. It was from Constantine Beliani, and written in French. 

 Prince Michael and Count Julius Marulitch have decided that, in the interests of the State, you ought to make a formal abdication of the throne, appointing the former as your successor, with special remainder to Count Julius. 

 I agree with them that this offers the best way out of an unfortunate situation, and I would respectfully point out the urgency that is attached to the proposal if you still contemplate leaving Delgratz to-night. 

Alec bent his brows over this curt missive, which was not couchedprecisely in the suave words that might be expected from the Greek. Readbetween the lines, its meaning was significant. Michael and his nephew, hungering for the spoils, had patched up a truce. They were alreadycontemplating another military pronunciamento, and Beliani, having madehis own terms, was lending his influence. 

If their demands were refused, Alec might find himself a prisoner, andthe country would be plunged into a revolution. Under differentconditions, he would gladly have measured his wits and his popularityagainst the triumvirate. A call to arms would win him the support of thegreat majority of the troops and of nearly all the younger officers. Buta fight for a throne to which he had no claim was not to be thought of;yet he was adamant in his resolve not to advance the schemes of theserogues by any written statement. 

He handed the note to Beaumanoir with a quiet laugh. "There you have thestory in a nutshell, " he said. "A few minutes ago I became aware that Iam not Prince Michael's son. Although I strove to act fairly, my worthystepfather is not content. He thinks to force my hand, because he fearsthe republican idea; but I may best him yet. 

"Where is Monsieur Nesimir?" he said to the servant, to whom the Englishconversation was a sealed book. 

"In his apartments, I believe, your Majesty. "

"Have instructions been given for mounted orderlies to be in readiness?"

"I heard his Excellency Prince Michael say something of the sort to theofficer of the guard, your Majesty. "

The random shot had told. Alec felt that he was spinning a coin withfortune. 

"That is right, " he said coolly. "Give my compliments to MonsieurBeliani, and ask him to oblige me by coming here for a moment; PrinceMichael and Count Marulitch, too. Tell all three that I am ready toattend at once to the matter mentioned in Monsieur Beliani's note. "

The servant disappeared. Beaumanoir, who, of course, did not understandthe instructions given to the man, was fumigating Beliani's letter withrapid puffs of smoke, and incidentally scratching the back of his rightear. 

"Rum go this, Alec!" he began. 

"Not a word now. You'll stand by me, Berty, I know. Go to my mother'ssuite and tell Bosko I want him instantly. Bid him bring a brace ofrevolvers, and see that they are loaded. Come here yourself with someropes, leather straps, anything that will serve to truss a man securely, as soon as you are sure that Michael, Julius, and the Greek are safelyin the room. "

Beaumanoir scented a row. Lest any words of his might stop it, hevanished. He must have hurried, too, since Bosko had joined his masterbefore Beliani's messenger reached the anxious conspirators with Alec'sanswer. There was no need to ask if the Albanian had brought theweapons. They were tucked ostentatiously in his belt. Alec looked himsquarely in the eyes. 

"I think I can depend on you, Bosko, " said he. 

"_Oui, monsieur. _"

"Understand, then, that I am no longer King of Kosnovia. I am not PrinceMichael's son. I mean to leave Delgratz to-night, and there is a ploton foot to prevent my departure except on terms to which I shall notagree. Will you help me to defeat it?"

"_Oui, monsieur. _"

"Within the next minute I shall probably have visitors. They may showfight, though I doubt it, I want you to place those two pistols amongthe clothes in that portmanteau, and be busy, apparently, in arrangingits contents. When I close the door, you must spring up and cover themwith both revolvers. Do not shoot without my command; but make it clearby your manner that their lives are at your mercy. Will you do this?"

"_Oui, monsieur_, " said Bosko. 

"Here they are, then. Be ready!"

The door was ajar, and footsteps sounded on the stairs. Some oneknocked. 

"Come in, " said Alec cordially. 

Beliani was the first to enter. He pushed the door wide open to assurehimself that he was not walking into a trap. He saw Bosko on his knees, rummaging in a trunk, and Alec standing in the middle of the room, lighting a cigarette. 

"Come in, " said Alec again. "My departure is rather hurried, as youknow, and I have not a minute to spare. Have you brought the necessarydocuments?"

"It is a simple matter, " said the Greek, advancing confidently. "Half asheet of notepaper with your signature and our indorsement as witnesseswill suffice. "

Prince Michael and Julius, reassured by Alec's manner, and thanking thepropitious stars that had rendered unnecessary the dangerous step theywere contemplating, entered the room with as businesslike an air as theycould assume at a crisis so fraught with import to their own future. 

"We ought to be alone, " said Beliani in English, with a wary glance atBosko. 

"Oh, for goodness' sake don't disturb my man! I have so little time andso much to do! Tell me exactly what you want me to sign, " and he strodeto the door and closed it behind Marulitch. 

The eyes of the three were on him and not on the harmless lookingattendant. During those few seconds they were completely deceived. 

Prince Michael, finding the path so easy, took the lead. "Just a formalrenunciation of the crown, " he said. "Give as your reason, if youchoose, your inability to fall in with the expressed desire of theCabinet that you should marry a Serbian lady. It is essential that youshould name me----"

The door opened and Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir came in leisurely. Hecarried an assortment of straps, rifled from leather trunks andhatboxes. He saw the three men facing Alec, and behind them Bosko'sleveled revolvers. 

"Not a bally rope to be had, dear boy; but here's leather enough to goround, " he grinned. "By gad! what a tableau! I suppose you mean to gag'em and then tie 'em back to back, eh, what?"

Alec picked up a chair. "Yes, " he said. "Begin with his ExcellencyPrince Michael. "

Julius Marulitch's right hand sought the pocket of the dinner jacket hewas wearing. 

"No, Julius, " said Alec pleasantly, "move an inch and you are a deadman. Bosko has my orders, and he will obey them. You may look at him ifyou doubt my word. "

Marulitch's well poised head had never before turned so quickly; but heshrank from a wicked looking muzzle pointed straight between his eyes. In such circumstances, the caliber of a revolver seems to becomemagnified to absurdly large proportions, and behind the fearsome weaponBosko's immovable face was that of an automaton. 

Beliani's olive complexion assumed a sickly green tint for the secondtime that evening. "I was right, " he muttered; "but you would notlisten. "

"It is a common delusion of the thief that an honest man has no brains, "said Alec coolly. "Now, Beaumanoir, get busy. Time is flying, and wehave little more than an hour to spare. "

Prince Michael, never noted for his courage, began to whimper some wordsof expostulation; but Beaumanoir's strong hands soon silenced him withan improvised gag, for the effeminate little rascal realized that hisjaw might be broken if he resisted the stuffing of a towel into hismouth. In a few minutes the three were seated on the floor, securelybound, and unable to utter more than a gurgling cry, which wouldcertainly not be heard by any one passing along the outer corridor. 

Alec's cheerful explanation of his action must have been particularlygalling. "You will remain here until such time as Stampoff decides thatyou may safely be set at liberty, " he said. "Not you, but he, mustprovide for the future good government in Kosnovia. "

"Thanks, Beaumanoir, " he added, turning from the discomfited trio with acarelessness that showed they gave him no further concern. "Better beoff now and get ready. Bosko, mount guard outside the door! Allow no oneto enter on any pretext whatsoever!"

 [Illustration: In a few minutes the three were securely bound Page 298]

Then he busied himself about the room, followed by vengeful eyes. He hadbrought little into Kosnovia, and he took little away. The extraordinarysimplicity of his life had rendered unnecessary the usual trappings of aKing. He had worn no uniform save the plainest of field servicegarments. He possessed no State attire. His clothes were mostly thosewhich came from Paris, and it amused him now to change rapidly into thevery suit in which he had entered Delgratz, an unknown claimant of theKosnovian throne. Bundling his trunks out into the corridor, he closedand locked the door, and the click of the moving bolt must have sent atremor through the stiff limbs of the three worthies who lay huddledtogether inside. 

Bidding Bosko hurry over his own preparations, he descended to thecourtyard. A number of troopers, standing by their horses' heads, sprangto attention when he appeared. 

"You can dismiss your men, " he said to the officer in charge. "They willnot be needed to-night. "

Then he told an attendant to order a couple of carriages for half-pasteleven. In the reception room he wrote a hasty note to Stampoff:

 MY DEAR PAUL:--The legitimate King of Kosnovia and his heir apparent, not contented with the arrangement entered into in your presence, planned with Beliani a _coup d'état_. I defeated it. You will find all three in my bedroom, the key of which I inclose. They are alive and well, and will stop there until it pleases you to release them. Perhaps you would like to consult with Sergius Nesimir, who by the time you receive this may have recovered the composure so rudely disturbed to-night. At any rate, the next move rests with you. Farewell and good luck. 

 Yours, ALEC. 

Outside his mother's apartments he came upon Prince Michael's valet inwhispered consultation with Pauline and Princess Delgrado's maid. In therush of events he had forgotten the two domestics from the RueBoissière. 

"His Excellency will not need your services to-night, " he said to theman, "and it will meet his wishes in every respect if nothing is said tothe other servants as to the departure of the Princess for Paris. "

"Precisely, your Majesty, " smirked the Frenchman. 

"You, of course, " he went on, addressing the maid, "will accompany yourmistress. "

"Yes, your Majesty, " she said, quite reassured by Alec's matter of factmanner. 

A glance at Pauline's honest face showed that nothing had been said ofthe curious scene witnessed in the bureau. To a certain extent, Joan'shumble friend shared his confidence, and it was evident that she had notbetrayed it. 

The departure of such a large party probably created some speculationamong the palace servants; but Nesimir did not put in an appearance, andno one dared to question the King's movements. Alec had purposelyallowed the barest time for the drive to the station. The midnighttrain, not being an important express, carried few passengers, mostlytraders returning to neighboring towns in Austria after conducting theday's business in Delgratz. The King and his companions, of course, wererecognized; but again it was not to be expected that any official wouldtrouble them with inquiries. 

Having secured a compartment for his mother and Beaumanoir, Alec madefor the station master's office, meaning to obtain a messenger who mightbe trusted to deliver Stampoff's letter, and he happened to notice apoliceman standing near a carriage door. 

A white face peered out through the window. It was Sobieski. The Kingand the waiter were quitting Delgratz by the same train!

Alec laughed, and the policeman saluted. "When the train has gone, " saidAlec, "I want you to deliver this letter to General Stampoff. "

"Yes, your Majesty, " replied the man. 

"It is important, remember. Here are ten rubles, and ask GeneralStampoff, with my compliments, for the like amount. Take no denial fromhis servants. If he is in bed, he must be awaked. Say that I sent you, and there should be no difficulty. "

Precisely at midnight the train started. Quickly gathering speed, it ranthrough the tumbledown suburbs of the city and rumbled across the ironbridge that spans the Tave River. In twenty minutes it was at Semlin, and Austrian officials were examining passports. It was almost ludicrousto find that they gave Alec and his mother a perfunctory glance; butLord Adalbert Beaumanoir excited their lively suspicion. One man, inparticular, mounted guard outside the carriage, and did not budge tillthe train moved on again. 

"That chap remembers me, " said Beaumanoir. "Did you notice how heglared? He was the johnny I slung through the window. "

At an early hour in the morning Joan was peering disconsolately throughthe window of a railway carriage at the life and bustle of Budapeststation. Felix had gone to purchase some newspapers, and the girl wasabsorbed in gray thought when an official thrust head and shoulders intothe compartment and asked if the Fräulein Vernon, passenger fromDelgratz to Paris, was within. 

"Yes, " gasped Joan, all the slight color flying from her cheeks andleaving her wan indeed. 

"Here is a telegram for you, fräulein, " said the man politely, and hiscivil tone, at least, assured her that she was not to be dragged fromthe train and subjected to some mysterious inquisition by Austrianpolice. "Sent care of the station master, " he explained, "and we wereurgently requested to find you. Kindly sign this receipt. "

She scribbled her name on a form, and the man carefully compared it withthe superscription on the telegram. 

"Yes, that is right, " he said, and at last the agitated girl was free toopen this message from the skies. It was written in German, probably toinsure accurate transmission, and it read:

 My mother and I, together with Beaumanoir, left Delgratz seven hours later than you. Pauline accompanies us. We are returning to Paris after having settled affairs satisfactorily in Kosnovia. Please await our arrival in Budapest, and accept the statement without any qualification that there is no reason whatever why you should not do this. 

 ALEC. 

The amazing words were still dancing before her eyes when Felix camerunning along the platform. He too had been identified by an official, and in his hand was another telegraphic slip. 

"We need have no secrets between us now, my belle, " he cried excitedly. "You guess what has happened. "

"Alec has left Delgratz--he and his mother--Oh, Felix! if he really sentthis telegram, why did he not explain things?"

"The explanation would be rather ticklish, when you come to think ofit, " said Felix dryly. "The Austrian Government might take too keen aninterest in it. Don't you understand, girl? He has wrung the truth fromsome one. He is no longer a King, but a very devoted lover. Come, we canpass the day pleasantly in Budapest. There is nothing else to be done. No sense in running away merely for the fun of the thing. If Alec is nota King, there is no immediate probability of your becoming a Queen. Youwill be plain Mrs. Somebody or other. Now I wonder what in the world hisnew name is. The son of an American father would hardly be calledAlexis. Horrible thought! You may have to learn to love him all overagain as Chauncey, or Hiram, or Phineas. Tell me, mignonne, could youtake him back to your heart as Phineas?"

Joan rose and stepped out on the platform. Poluski's chaffing outburstfailed in its intent, though, to his great relief, she did not breakdown as he feared. "Perhaps he will not want me now, Felix, " she said, and her eyes were shining. 

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" cried the hunchback. "Why did he telegraph from thefirst wayside station after leaving Semlin? Alec not want you! At thismoment he is more proud that he is a free born American than if amiracle almost beyond the powers of Heaven had made him a Delgrado. "

Felix, cynic that he was, was secretly delighted when Joan discoveredafter breakfast that a blouse which caught her eye in one of theBudapest shops was much more suitable for traveling than that which shehappened to be wearing. It was also significant that the dust which hadgathered in her hair during the long journey from Delgratz required avisit to a coiffeur. These straws showed how the wind blew, he fancied. 

And it was good to see the way Joan's face kindled when Alec clasped herin his arms. They said little then. The why and the wherefore of eventsthey left to another hour; but when Joan extricated herself from herlover's embrace she turned to Princess Delgrado. The two women exchangedan affectionate kiss; each looked at the other through a mist of tears. Words were not needed. They understood, and that sufficed. 

In a calmer moment Alec told Joan what had happened. He laid specialstress on the fact that his mother was quite determined to renounce hertitle and revert to the name she bore during her first marriage. 

"I never realized the tenth part of her suffering in Paris, " he said, "though I knew far more about Prince Michael's conduct than he guessed. We must make it our business, Joan, to bring some brightness into herdeclining years. I have been planning our future all day in the train. Shall I become the fortune teller this time?"

"Yes, " she murmured, "and perhaps I may forget that I have cost you aKingdom. "

He laughed gayly, just as he used to laugh on those bright May morningswhen he waited on the Pont Neuf in the hope that he might be permittedto escort her to the Louvre. 

"Never dream that I shall bring that up against you, dear heart, " hesaid. "Delgratz ought to advertise itself as a sure cure for ambition. Iliked the people; but I hated the job, and Kosnovia is already becominga myth in my mind. I am rejoicing in my new name, Alexander Talbot. Ihope you like it. My mother tells me that my father was one of thestrong men of the West. I am called after him, it seems, and although myown name sounds strange to me I like the purposeful ring in it. "

Joan laughed merrily. "Felix was teasing me this morning by suggestingthat you might have been christened Phineas, " she said. 

"The wretch! And what if I was?"

She looked at him with a delightful shyness. "No matter what name youbore, you would always be my Alec, " she whispered. 

They were leaning over the balcony of an open air restaurant at themoment; so Alec perforce contented himself with clasping her hand. 

"And now for my scheme, little girl, " he said. "We will get married atonce, of course. "

She made no reply; but he felt the thrill that ran through her veins. 

"Then, " he went on, so gravely that she raised her eyes to his, seekingto catch his slightest shade of meaning; for her heart was stilltroubled by the fear that she had wrought him evil, "I will take you toAmerica, my home. There is surely a nest for us out there. I have neverunderstood it before; but often, as a boy, I felt the call of the West. It was natural, I suppose. We had many American friends in Paris, and myblood tingled when they spoke of the great rivers, the prairies, theocean lakes, the giant mountain ranges, and the far flung plains of thatwondrous continent which they describe with a reverent humor as God'sown country. I feel that I shall win a place for myself in the land ofmy birth, and my poor mother is aching to go back there again. "

He paused, and perhaps he hardly realized why Joan sighed withhappiness; for she could believe, at last, that he had never a pang forhis lost kingship. 

 [Illustration: He felt the thrill that ran through her veins Page 306]

"It is my home, too, Alec, " she cooed. "I was born in Vermont. We aregoing home together. "

"Yes, dear, no more partings. We shall not be wealthy, Joan. It seemsthat the miserable little humbug whom I have regarded as my father haswasted the whole of my mother's fortune by his extravagance. The onlyscrap left is a small farm near Denver, and even that would have beensold had not the crisis in Delgratz offered a wider scope for Michael'splundering instincts. It is a strange thing, sweetheart, but on the daywe parted in Paris--the day the news came of the murder of Theodore andhis wife--Prince Michael quarreled with my mother because she refused tosanction the sale of that last shred of her inheritance. In order tovent his spite, he had actually decided to tell me the secret of mybirth in the very hour that Julius Marulitch announced the disappearanceof the Obrenovitch dynasty. "

"And the goddess sent you east instead of west, " she said softly. 

"Yes, my trial has been short and sharp; but she must have found meworthy, since she has given me--you. "

They reached Paris next evening; but by that time the newspapers werehot on the scent of the missing King. So far as could be judged from thereports telegraphed by French correspondents in Delgratz, Stampoff hadremained true to his dream of a monarchy. For lack of a better, Michaelwas King. Some one, Beliani probably, had issued a statement that theinfatuation of Alexis III. For a pretty Parisian artist had led him toabdicate, and as soon as it was discovered that the Delgrado flat in theRue Boissière was again occupied by Alec and his mother, they werebesieged by reporters anxious to glean details of a royal romance. 

They decided, therefore, to leave Paris for London, where, under thename of Talbot, they might hope to escape such unwelcome attentions. Itwas no easy matter to shake off the horde of eager pressmen; but theysucceeded at last, and when Alec and Joan were quietly married in a WestEnd church, no one, except the officiating minister, had the leastknowledge of their identity. 

After a brief honeymoon in Devon they rejoined Mrs. Talbot, and thethree sailed from Southampton, whither came Felix and Beaumanoir to bidthem farewell. Bosko and Pauline were on the same ship. The taciturnSerb had positively refused to leave his master, though Alec pointed outthat his fallen fortunes hardly warranted him in retaining a valet, while Pauline, whom recent circumstances had thrown a good deal inBosko's company, declared that Paris no longer had any attractions forher. Without consulting any one the two got married, and astounded Mrs. Talbot one fine morning by announcing the fact. 

At the last moment Joan almost persuaded Felix to go with her and herhusband; but he tore himself away. 

"I peeped into the Grande Galerie the other morning, " he said, with areal sob in his voice, "and my poor Madonna looked so lonely! There wasno one with her; just a few painted angels and a couple of gapingtourists. I must go back. Some day you will come to the Louvre, and youwill find me there, _le pauvre_ Bourdon, still singing and painting. "

He began to hum furiously. When the gangway was lowered, and the greatship sidled slowly but relentlessly away from the quay, he struck thetremendous opening note of "Ernani. "

Beaumanoir grabbed him by the collar. "Shut up, you idiot!" he said, notsmiling at all, for he loved Alec. "This is England. If you sing here, abobby will run you in. An', anyhow, blank it! why do you want to sing?This isn't a smoking concert. It's more like a bally funeral!"

CHAPTER XV

THE ENVOY

In the autumn of the following year, Joan was seated one day in thegarden of her pretty suburban house at Denver. Not far away glittered asilvery lake; beyond a densely wooded plain rose the blue amphitheaterof the Rocky Mountains; the distant clang of a gong told of street carsand the busy life of one of America's most thriving and picturesquecities. 

She was somewhat more fragile than when she crossed the Pont Neuf onthat fine morning in May eighteen months ago; but she looked and feltsupremely happy, for Alec would soon be home from his office, wherealready he was proving that the qualities which made him a good Kingwere now in a fair way toward establishing his position as a leadingcitizen of his native State. By her side in a dainty cot reposed anotherAlec, whose age might not yet be measured by many weeks, but whose sizeand lustiness proclaimed him--in his own special circle, at anyrate--the most remarkable baby that ever "occurred" in Colorado. 

Mrs. Talbot, Senior, tired of reading, was now dozing peacefully in aneasy chair on the other side of the cot. The day had been warm; but theevening air brought with it the crisp touch of autumn, and Joan wasabout to summon Pauline, who--with honorable mention of the unchangingBosko--had solved for the young couple the most perplexing problem ofAmerican life, --when the click of the garden gate caught her ear and sheheard her husband's firm step. He stooped and kissed her. 

"I hope you have passed the whole day in the garden, sweetheart, " hesaid. 

"Yes, " she replied, "I was just going to send baby indoors. Will youtell Pauline it is time he was in bed; but do not disturb your mother. She's asleep. "

"Baby can wait one minute, " he said. "He looks quite contented where heis. There is news from Delgratz, " he added in a lower voice. "KingMichael is dead. "

An expression of real sympathy swept across Joan's beautiful face. "I amsorry to hear that, " she said. Then, with the innate desire of everyhigh-minded woman to find good where there seems to be naught but evil, she added, "Perhaps, when he reached the throne, he may have mended hisways and striven to be a better man. Did he die suddenly?"

"Yes, " and a curious inflection in Alec's voice caused his wife toglance anxiously toward the sleeping woman. 

"Was there a tragedy?" she whispered. 

"Something of the sort. The details are hardly known yet, and thetelegrams published in our Denver newspapers are not quite explicit. There is an allusion to a disturbance in a local theater, during whichthe heir apparent, Count Julius Marulitch, was fatally stabbed. "

"Oh!" gasped Joan. 

"It would seem that this incident took place several days ago, butescaped notice in the American press at the time. Attention is drawn toit now by the fact that King Michael was found dead in his apartments atan early hour yesterday morning, and it is rumored that he waspoisoned. "

"How dreadful!" she gasped. "It will shock your mother terribly when shehears of it. "

"It is an odd feature of the affair, " went on Alec, "that the telegramdescribes the King as residing in the New Konak. I suppose he passed thesummer months there, and had not yet returned to Delgratz. Delightful asthe place was, I am glad now we never lived there, Joan. "

She rose and caught him by the arm. "Alec, " she murmured, "Heaven wasvery good to us in sending us away from that Inferno! You never regretthose days, do you? You never think, deep down in your heart, that if ithad not been for me you would still be a King?"

He laughed so cheerfully that the sound of his mirth woke both hismother and the baby. 

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Talbot, scanning the faces of her son and hiswife with a whole world of affection in her kindly eyes. 

"Well, nothing to laugh about, mother, " said he, "since I was justtelling Joan that the end has come for some one in Kosnovia; but----"

"Is Michael dead?" interrupted his mother, paling a little. 

"Yes, mother, he is. "

She bent her head in brief reverie, and when she looked up again sheseemed to be gazing at the smiling landscape. But they knew better. Herthoughts had flown many a mile from Colorado. 

"May Heaven be more merciful to him than he was to me!" she said atlast, and that was her requiem for the man to whom she had given herbest days. She forgave him; but she could not find it in her heart toregret his loss. 

When the New York papers reached Denver, the small household--whoseinterest in the affairs of far off Kosnovia was little dreamed of bytheir neighbors--gleaned fuller details of the tragedy that had againoverwhelmed the Delgrados. Many times did the conversation turn to thetiny Kingdom with which their own lives had been so intimately bound up. So far as the American press was concerned, the topic was soonforgotten; but Alec, having obtained a Budapest journal, found thatStampoff, Beliani, and Sergius Nesimir were taking steps to form aRepublic. 

"Sometimes, " said Alec during their talk that evening, "it is theexpected that happens. "

"I suppose, " said Joan musingly, "that the unlucky little Principalityought to prosper under a popular Government--unless----" She paused, andher husband was quick to interpret her thought. 

"Unless they obtain the right sort of King, " he cried. 

"Perhaps that is impossible since you are here, dear, " she said softly. 

"Is that bee still buzzing in your bonnet?" he laughed. "I agree withyou, Joan; it was a pity I let go so promptly. "

She lifted her startled eyes to his. "Oh, Alec!" she cried, "you don'tmean it!"

"I do, sweetheart, " he said with a marked seriousness that puzzled her. "It was sheer selfishness that drove me from Kosnovia. I honestlybelieve I should have cracked up under the weight of empire; but justfancy what a wonderful Queen you would have made!"

"Oh, don't be stupid, " she cried. "You almost frightened me. "

Alec's mother put in a gentle word. "If ever either of you is tempted toregret the loss of a throne, you ought to devote half an hour to readingthe history of Kosnovia, " she said. "You are happy, and that is what youwould never have been in the Balkans. A curse rests on that unluckyland. Never a Delgrado or Obrenovitch has reigned a decade in peace andsecurity. It was a red letter day for Alec when you brought him awayfrom Delgratz, my dear, " she continued, with a fond pressure of her handon Joan's brown hair. "None of us knew it at the time; but there areevents in life that, like certain short and sharp diseases, leave us allthe better when they have passed, though their severity may try uscruelly at the time. "

The Indian summer day was drawing to a close, and Bosko entered to closethe windows and pull down the blinds. The sight of him moved Alec tospeak in that sonorous Serbian tongue which was already foreign to hisown ears. 

"Do you like America, Bosko?" he said. 

The imperturbable one almost started; for it was long since he had heardany words in his own language. 

"_Oui, monsieur_, " he said. 

"And would you go back to Delgratz if you had the opportunity?"

"_Non, monsieur. _" For a wonder, he broke into an explanation. "I can goout here without expecting to be fired at from some hedge or ditcharound the next corner, monsieur. You did not know those rascals as Iknew them. They nearly got you once; but they tried a dozen times, andwould have succeeded too, if Stampoff had not been too sharp for them. "

"Good gracious, Bosko!" said his master. "This is news, indeed. Why wasI not told?"

"There was no need, monsieur. Each time we discovered a plot we putevery man in jail who might be suspected of the least connection withit. Moreover, had you heard of these things you would have interfered. "

"Then, in the name of goodness, why didn't my protectors find out aboutthe attack made by the Seventh Regiment? Surely there were enoughconcerned in that to supply at least one spy?"

Bosko hesitated. He glanced surreptitiously at Alec's mother. "Thingswent wrong that day, monsieur, " he said. "Information that ought to havereached the General was withheld. "

And Alec left it at that; for the man who might reasonably be suspectedof offsetting Stampoff's vigilance was dead, and no good purpose couldbe served by adding one more to his mother's host of bitter memories. 

A bell sounded, and Bosko went to the front door. He returned, hisstolid features exhibiting the closest approach to excitement that theywere capable of. Evidently he meant to announce a visitor; but before hecould open his mouth a high and singularly musical voice came from theentrance hall in the exquisite opening bars of the "Salve Dimora. "

With one amazed cry of "Felix!" Joan and Alec rushed to the door. Yes, there stood Felix, thinner, more wizened, more shrunken, than when lastthey saw him on the quay at Southampton. Joan, impulsive as ever, welcomed him with a hearty kiss. 

"You dear creature!" she said. "Why did you not tell us you were inAmerica?"

"An envoy always delivers his message in person, my belle. I am here onaffairs of state. The telegraph is but a crude herald, and I wasforbidden to write. "

Alec dragged him into the room. "Business first, Felix, " he said. "Thatis the motto of strenuous America. Now, what is it?"

"Beliani came to me in Paris, " said the hunchback, affecting the weightydelivery of one charged with matters of imperial import. "He broughtwith him letters from Stampoff and Nesimir, which I shall deliver. Healso intrusted me with a copy of a unanimous resolution of the KosnovianAssembly, passed in secret session. "

Joan's face suddenly paled, Mrs. Talbot's hands clenched the arms of thechair in which she was sitting, and the two women exchanged glances. None of this escaped Alec, who was seemingly unmoved. 

"Behold in me, then, " continued Poluski, "the Ambassador of Kosnovia. Delgratz wants again to see its Alexis, who is invited to reoccupy thethrone on his own terms, --wife, infant, mother, Bosko, Pauline, evenmyself and the domestic cat, all are welcome. There are no restrictions. At a word from the King even the Assembly itself will dissolve. "

Somehow, Poluski's manner conveyed that this was no elaborate jest, andJoan's lips trembled pitifully when, after one look at the youthfulAlec, who was lying on a cushion and saying "Coo-coo" to a rattle, sheawaited her husband's reply. He too looked at her in silence, and evenJoan became dematerialized for one fateful moment. In his mind's eye hesaw the sunlit domes and minarets of the White City. The blue Danubesparkled as of yore beneath its ancient walls. Through the peaceful airof that quiet Denver suburb he caught the sound of cheering crowds, thecrashing of bells, the booming of cannon, that would welcome his return. 

But he thought, too, of the fret and fume of Kingship, of the brave menand gracious women who had occupied an unstable throne and were nowcrumbling to dust in the vaults of that gloomy cathedral. He smiledtenderly at his wife, and his hand stole out to meet hers. 

"I refuse, Felix!" he said quietly. 

Poluski's piercing gray eyes peered at him under the shaggy eyebrows. "Is that final?"

"Absolutely final!"

Felix broke into a hearty laugh. "I warned Beliani, " he chuckled. "Noone could have written to me as Joan has done and yet want to return tothat whited sepulcher down there in the Balkans. Well, here are mycredentials, " and he threw a bundle of papers on the table. "I have donewhat I was asked to do, and thus earned my passage money; and now, whenI have kissed the baby and shaken hands all round, I will bring in mywedding present. "

A minute later he danced out into the hall and returned with a hugeroll of canvas. "I unpacked it at the station, " he said; "so it is readyfor inspection, " and he spread out on the table a replica of the famousMurillo. "There, " he cried, "since Joan would not come to the Louvre, Iam bringing the Louvre's chief treasure to her. As it is the last, so isit the best of my copies. My hand was losing its cunning, I felt myselfgrowing old, so I prayed to that sweet Madonna to give me one lastflicker of the immortal fire ere it left me a dry cinder. Well, shelistened, I think. _Ave Maria!_ the great Spaniard himself would rub hiseyes if he could see this. Now, I shall go back contented, and dream ofthe days that are gone. "

His voice broke. He was gazing at Joan, at the glory of maternity in herface. 

"You are not going back, Felix, " said Alec. "Kosnovia has now lost bothits King and its Ambassador. You are here, and here you shall stay. "

"Yes, dear Felix, " whispered Joan, "we have found our Kingdom. Our courtis small; but there is always room in it for you. "

So Denver heard wild snatches of song, and listened, and marveled, and ababy cultivated a strange taste in lullabies, and Pallas Athene forgotthat one of her chosen sons dwelt in Colorado, or, if she remembered, her heart was softened and she forbore. 

 THE END

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters errors andomissions, and to regularize usage of hyphens and other punctuation.