CHAPTER XVI
THE BALL AT THE PALACE
The count had good cattle, and the horse that carried me back to Munichanswered gamely to the calls I made on him. At any cost I must get backto the house at the earliest possible moment; and though I did not knowthe road, and could see scarce a dozen feet ahead of the horse's ears, Iplunged along at a hand-gallop, trusting to his instinct and my ownluck, that had already stood me in such good stead that night.
I had not much difficulty in finding the way, and I reined up twice toask it of people whom I met; and at last I chanced on a man onhorseback, who rode with me to within a few doors of my destination.
I kept a wary eye about me as I rode into the courtyard of the house,and my first act was to call a groom on whose discretion I knew I couldrely.
"Take this horse round at once to Count von Nauheim's stables," I toldthe man, "and say he has requested you to bring it. Don't mention myname. I wish you to find out whether the horse is one of his, but not tosay a word to show that I have sent you. Report to me immediately onyour return. I must have your news before I go out to-night."
The man mounted and was off instantly, and, as I had expected, hebrought me back word that the horse was one of the count's stud.
In the mean while my arrival allayed the very reasonable alarm which myprolonged absence had caused. It was long past the time at which we wereto have started for the ball, and all the others were dressed andwaiting for me impatiently.
Von Krugen came to me with a telegram which had arrived some timebefore, and as I tore open the envelope with feverish haste I told himthe pith of what had happened. The message was from Praga, and to myintense relief it was worded as we had agreed it should be if all wentwell.
"Caught mail. Arrive by first delivery."
Innocent words to read, but meaning much to me. The Duke Marx had beensecured, and Praga himself was coming on to Munich at the earliestmoment. I was glad enough of this. If these attacks were to continue,the stronger force we had the better.
"The countess is full of anxiety to see you, Prince," said von Krugenwhen I had told him the news.
"I will go to her directly, but I must dress at once. See that somethingfor me to eat is got ready directly. Is there any news of the BaronessGratz or of the girl?"
"None, there is not a suspicion of the trick."
My spirits were rising fast, for everything was going well. Despite alltheir devilment I was master of the position. I held their man in myclutches; and before the night was a couple of hours older they shouldsee openly enough that I had outwitted them. But it was exciting work.
Before hurrying to put on my fancy-dress costume--I was going as aFrench courtier, a dress in which I could wear a sword and could conceala revolver easily--I went to Minna's rooms to let her know I hadreturned.
She came to me looking so radiantly lovely that I gazed at her inrapture. We had chosen her dress with a care for the part she had toplay that night, and she wore a double costume. In the first place shewas to wear a plain dark domino covering her entirely from head to foot,the head, of course, to be hooded and the face entirely concealed by alarge mask. But underneath this she wore a gorgeously brilliant dress asMaria Theresa; the rich magnificence of the costume being further setoff by a profusion of jewels of all kinds, which sparkled and glitteredwith dazzling brilliance. On her head as crown she wore a splendid tiaraof magnificent pearls.
This was all arranged of set purpose. My object was that in the firstpart of the evening she should run no risk of recognition at all; andthat in the second when I led her forward as the actual Queen, she mightproduce the greatest possible impression of queenly wealth, grandeur,dignity, and loveliness.
If the impression on others were only half as striking as it was uponme, I should be more than satisfied; and if a beautiful and queenlypresence could win adherents there was not a man in the ball-room whowould not be on her side.
She enjoyed the effect of her loveliness upon me, and stood smiling withbright eyes as I gazed at her.
"Shall I do, cousin?" she asked, with a dash of coquetry.
"The most lovely vision I have ever seen," I cried.
"Not vision, cousin Hans," she said, shaking her head and shrugging hershoulders till the million facets of her jewels gleamed with iridescentlustre. "Only flesh and blood--and rather frightened flesh too. I wasbeginning to fear for you. What has happened?"
"All is going splendidly," I said; but I could not keep my eyes fromher. "You are a Queen indeed," I added. "If all Queens were like you,royalty would have no enemies. You will make a profound impressionto-night."
"I am satisfied if you are pleased," she answered. "But I am afraid ofto-night's work, Hans," she added, with a slight, movement of alarm,like a passing chill of fear. "I shall be glad when it is over, and weare all safe back here."
"If all goes well, you will sleep in the palace to-night as Queen-electof Bavaria--the Queen of us all."
"No, no; I don't wish that. I wish to be here among my friends. I feelsafe here; I should be frightened there."
"Your friends will be with you there also. You do not think we shoulddesert you; by to-morrow your friends will have multiplied to half anation."
"But my enemies--what of them? That is my fear."
"I hold the hostage that will silence them, and----But trust me and allwill be well, better, I hope, than you can think. We have played ahazardous game, I know; but I have just heard that the move which mustdecide it in our favor has been made successfully."
"I wish I could feel your enthusiasm," she said, rather sadly.
"I have you to enthuse me," I cried. "And for your sake----"
I stopped, I was losing my head in the craze of her beauty.
"You would what?" she asked, putting her hand on mine, and setting me onfire with a look which I thought and hoped I could read.
I thrust away the almost maddening temptation to say what was in myheart and thoughts.
"I would remember that there is yet much to do," I said stolidly,dropping my eyes.
She snatched her hand away, and turned away from me with a toss of thehead.
"I wish I had never gone on with this!" she exclaimed impetuously. "Itwas not my wish. I should not if you had not persuaded me----No, Idon't mean that at all. Forgive me, cousin, I am so thoughtless!" shecried, changing again quickly. "I know all you have done for me, and Iam not ungrateful. Forgive me." She came again and put her hands backinto mine. "I am such a poor Queen even for a sham one."
This was even more trying than before, and I had to fight hard to holdmyself in hand. But I succeeded.
"Don't speak of forgiveness; there is nothing to forgive. What liesbefore us to-night is enough to make any one anxious. I can understandyou."
"Can you?" she answered, peering with shining, eloquent eyes into mine."No, no, no, a hundred times no. But I am glad you like my dress and--Iwill try to bear myself to-night so as to be worthy of--of all you havedared for me."
"God grant we may all come safely through it, and that to-night may seeyou Queen indeed," I replied fervently; and I was putting my lips to herhand as a sign of my homage, though I meant more, when she drew her handhastily away.
"I am not Queen yet," she exclaimed; and I was wondering at the meaningof this little action all the time I was donning my courtier's garb. Herchangefulness puzzled me. Sometimes I hoped--well, I scarce know what Iwas not fool enough to think; and at others I feared. But my hopes werestronger than my fears on that account, and had there not been suchimportant work on hand that night I think I could not have resistedputting the ball to far other use than its promoters had projected.
I could not drive with her to the palace, as it was necessary that Ishould arrive alone, and I had procured an invitation for her in anothername. Von Krugen was to be in constant attendance upon her, with urgentinstructions never to let her out of his sight; and Steinitz, who wasalso garbed as a courtier and carried a sword, was to be an additionalguard, remaining a
t a distance and keeping in touch with me, so that Imight know where to find Minna at the instant I needed. In order thatthere might be no difficulty in my recognizing her, supposing there wereanother domino of the same color and shape, we had had a small cross ofred silk sewn on each shoulder.
I was very busy with my thoughts and full of anxiety as I drove away. Sofar as I could see now, my plans were complete. I had the Duke Marx inmy hands; I had outwitted my opponents and could produce Minna at thevery moment when they, reckoning on her absence, would have pledgedthemselves over the hilt in her cause; no one had breathed a hint toshow that my assumption of the part of the Prince was more certainlyknown than a few days previously; and I had a fairly accurate knowledgeof my opponents' tactics and aims, while they were ignorant of mine.
It was probable enough that my appearance at the ball safe and soundafter von Nauheim's attempt on me would cause some consternation, and nodoubt I must be well on my guard for the rest of the evening.
I was very late in entering, but that would only give color to thesupposition that I had been trapped by von Nauheim; and I thought Imight perhaps turn it to account by surprising something out of the menwho did not expect me.
With this object I fastened my mask very firmly--it was a large one, andhid my features successfully; and, taking a hint from my old stageexperiences, I humped up one of my shoulders, limped on one leg, and inthis way hobbled, with the gait of an old man, into the ball-room.
It was a brilliant scene indeed. The magnificent suite of rooms wasdecorated in the most lavish manner, each in a different style andperiod; and the garish blaze of light in places contrasting with thesoft, seductive tints of others, the artistic combination of decorativecoloring, the changing play of the electric fairy lamps of everyconceivable hue, the grouping of hundreds of palms and ferns withcontrasting masses of gorgeously colored flowers, a thousand guests inall the exuberant splendor of the most exquisite costumes, and thesparkling glitter of myriads of jewels, made up a scene of positivelygorgeous fascination.
To me it was a great stage, on which all the people present were butsupers, walking, dancing chatting, laughing, and love-making, to fill uptime until the really important characters should have their entrancescalled.
Near to the door, as I entered, a clown was fooling clumsily andawkwardly, and passing silly jests in a disguised voice with all whopassed him.
I knew him directly. It was the mad King, and on the sleeve of hisclown's tunic I saw the mark that told us who he was. Round him in busyhum I heard loud whispers about the greatness and cleverness of theKing, and every now and then he would stop his silly jesting to listento these comments.
"'Tis easy to see thou art a soldier, old hobbler," he called to me, andran and planted himself in my path, and peered up in my face.
"Why's that, clown?" I asked in an old man's voice.
"Because thou canst not help shouldering arms," he cried, humping up hisown shoulder in ridicule of mine; and at the silly jest the crowd roundburst into roars of loud Court laughter, with cries of "How excellent!""What wit!" "Who is this great jester?" and a hundred other notes ofpraise of his wonderful clowning.
I passed on, not ill pleased to have been mistaken for an old man, and Imade my way slowly round the grand rooms, looking for the men I had tomeet, and wondering why the King was still at large. I kept turning tolook back at the place where I had met him, and when at length I sawthat he had gone I judged that this meant he had left to change hiscostume, and that the occasion of that change would be seized for thepurposes of the plot. And just as I noticed that a voice which Irecognized as the Baron Heckscher's fell on my ear.
"It is long past the hour. Something may have happened."
"I have suspected him from the first. It spells treachery," saidanother.
It was Herr Kummell.
I had reached the far end of the suite of rooms, and at the back of mewas a deep alcove or small ante-room, at the mouth of which the two menwere standing, some others being farther inside. I guessed they werespeaking of me, and I stood concealed by one of the pillars whichsupported the domed roof, and kept my back to them, listening with allmy ears.
"I do not wish to think that," answered the baron in a tone of assumedreluctance. "But what you have told me is very extraordinary."
"He has purposely put her out of our reach. You will never find her. Iam for letting matters pass. If he were here I would tell him to hisface what I think."
It was certainly nothing less than a disaster that the two men who, ofall those in the scheme, were really loyal to Minna, and should havebeen of the utmost value in co-operating with me, were, through theunfortunate turn of things, suspicious of me and hostile. I could, ofcourse, do nothing now to undeceive them; but it was an additionalaggravation that Minna's supposed disappearance should have been made toappear as the result of my treachery.
"We cannot go back now," I heard the baron say. "Indeed the curtain hasdrawn up already. The King has gone for his change of dress."
They turned then into the alcove to join the rest, and I moved away.Soon afterward I dropped the shuffling gait of an old man and walked tothe alcove with quick, firm footsteps.
"Good evening, gentlemen," I said. "I am late, but that is no fault ofmy own."
My arrival produced an evident surprise, and even the astute BaronHeckscher showed some signs of it.
"You are indeed very late, Prince," he said. "We had begun to fear thatyou were going to fail us at the last moment."
"Have you found the Countess Minna?" asked Kummell. "Or perhaps you havebeen detained searching for her?"
His tone rang with contempt, and he made no attempt to hide hissuspicions of me.
"That is a question we should put to Baron Heckscher here," I answeredin a tone which made the latter start and look at me. "I mean, ofcourse, that he almost pledged his word to find her in time forto-night's work. Have you any news, baron?"
"I have every hope that all will yet be right," he said.
"Those who hide can find," said Kummell.
"They can, and I wish they'd be quick about it," I assented curtly. "Butwe have no time now for discussion. We have to act. And I shall be gladto be informed how matters stand. Are all the arrangements complete?"
Kummell and his friend Beilager, the baron, and I had been standingapart from the rest, who were grouped together, engaged in a low butanimated conversation, of which I did not doubt I was the subject. BaronHeckscher moved across to the larger group as I put the question, and Itook advantage of the moment to say to Kummell in a low, earnest tone:
"You have done me the ill turn to suspect me, and before the night isout you will have cause to admit your error. I shall rely upon youimplicitly to stand by your loyalty in what is to come to-night.Afterward we can have an explanation if necessary," and without givinghim time to reply I went after the baron.
A short and hurried statement of the present position of thingsfollowed, the pith of which was that all was in readiness, and we mightexpect the news at any moment that the final coup was to be made.
A few minutes later a messenger hurried into the alcove and spoke to thebaron, who then turned to us, and in a low tone said:
"Gentlemen, the King is ours. God bless the new ruler of Bavaria."
A murmured echo of the words from all present was drowned by a loudfanfare of trumpets and thumping of drums from the other end of thedomed hall, and these heralded, as we knew, the coming of the King'ssubstitute. We moved out at once to take our places for the big drama,and I looked round anxiously for the dark domino of Minna. As I caughtsight of her in the distance I found that my heart was beating withquite unusual violence and speed.