CHAPTER XVII
CHECKMATE
The entrance of the mad King's understudy had been arranged withscrupulous eye to effect. The King himself had ordered all details, andthey were carried out exactly as he had planned, on a scale ofostentatious and almost insane extravagance in which he was wont toindulge.
The supposed King was made up to represent a Chinese Emperor, the fullrobes offering effectual concealment of any difference between thefigures of the King and his substitute. His head was bald save for theornamental head-dress and the long, coal-black pigtail. His featureswere entirely concealed behind the skin mask of a painted Chinese facedrawn very tight, lifelike, yet infinitely grotesque; and his robes weregorgeous and most costly, embroidered with thousands of jewels in thequaintest and weirdest of Chinese designs.
He was seated in a royal palanquin, bore by eight bearers in mosthideous garbs, each wearing a skin mask of the same kind as the centralfigure; and as they put down their burden in the middle of the hall theyturned in all directions, and set their faces grinning and mouthing andgrimacing with a most weird effect. The palanquin itself was decoratedand bejewelled with the same lavish prodigality with which the lunaticKing was accustomed to squander his people's money in trifles andfooling.
So gorgeous and costly was every appointment of it, indeed, that evenwhile the spectators marvelled at its brilliance they cursed thewastefulness that made it practicable.
But it was quite impossible to mistake the whole thing for anything buta royal freak; and those present did not need the private mark that was,as usual, on the arm to reveal to them that the bowing, grinning,sumptuously apparelled figure that sat amid the cushions of thepalanquin, squeaking out gibberish in a high-pitched voice as thoughindulging in Chinese greetings, was their King.
The whole scene was too characteristic of him.
Behind the palanquin, grouped with clever regard to color effects, werethe members of a numerous suite, all attired in rich Chinese costumes,while musicians, playing upon all kinds of extraordinary instruments,clanged and clashed, trumpeted and drummed, squeaked and groaned, in amedley of indescribable discords and unrhythmic jangle. Yet in all thebabel and confusion there was the method of shrewd organization andcarefully thought out plan.
When the first effect of the dramatic entrance was over, the bearerstook up the palanquin, a procession was formed, and the courtiers andmusicians, reinforced by a number of dancing-girls and men, made aprogress round the ball-rooms, and at last grouped themselves about andaround a raised dais, on one side of which stood an improvised throne.
A programme of dancing was then gone through, followed by a number ofceremonial acts, all intended as a preface to the chief performance forwhich we were waiting so anxiously--the play of the formal abdication.
During the whole of this fantastic business my excitement had beengrowing fast. I knew that with comparatively few exceptions all thepeople present were dead against me and in favor of the Ostenburginterest. For months--for years, indeed--they had been working,striving, and plotting for the end which they now thought to be withintheir reach. Among them, as I had had abundant evidence, were mendesperate enough to stop short of no excesses to gain that end, and yetI was seeking to checkmate them in the very hour of success by a singlebold stroke.
All the men who had taken a leading part in the plot had dispersed amongthe audience, each having a definite part assigned to him. I myselfstood apart leaning against a pillar, with Steinitz not far from me, andwhen the procession had just passed me a deep voice close to my earsaid:
"A striking ceremonial, Prince."
I looked round, and thought I recognized the lithe, sinewy face of theCorsican Praga, whose dark, glittering eyes were staring at me throughhis mask.
"Very striking. Who are you?" I asked cautiously.
"I carry the tools of my trade," he replied, touching lightly his sword."And I am badly in want of work."
"Why are you here?"
"I am a sort of postman--I bring news of the mail."
I understood the play of the words, and knew him by it for certain.
"And what is the news?"
"Of the best, except for one thing."
His tone alarmed me somewhat. We drew away then from the crowd, and,standing apart together, he told me what had happened.
"That Clara is a devil, Prince, and we must beware of her. She hatesyou, and has been torn in two ways by this business."
"What do you mean, man? Speak out. Where is the Duke Marx?"
"Safe, and where no one will find him. Drunk as a Christian duke shouldbe, and the wine that was made from the water couldn't make him drunker.She lured him out to Spenitz; and, when she had got him separated fromhis servants, drove with him to the house at Friessen alone." This wasthe place we had secured for the purpose in a lonely spot some fiftymiles from the city. "He would have gone to the world's end in the moodshe worked him into, and I chuckled louder every fresh mile we covered."
"You! What were you doing there?" I asked in astonishment.
"I was the driver, of course. We wanted no servants--there was no placefor them--and, once we started from Spenitz, I vowed that he should goon if I had to brain him to get him there. Bacchus, but he's a fool!"
"Get on with the story, man," said I impatiently. "I want to know whatyou fear is wrong."
"He went out like a lamb, protesting only now and then that he must beback soon, and must be in Munich to-night; but she stopped his protestswith a kiss, and the fool was as happy as a drunken clown. We reachedFriessen, and then the play began. While they were billing and foolingin the house I slipped a saddle on the horse's back in place of hisharness, went out on to the road, and, after I had given him less thanhalf an hour with Clara, I came galloping up to the house at fullstretch, for all the world as if I had followed them every yard of theway from Spenitz, and I rushed into the room with my sword drawn,spluttering out oaths, and vowing I'd have his life on the spot."
"Well?"
"There's a good assortment of cowardice in that little body of his. Hehas too many good things in this life to wish to leave it, I suppose,for he could scarcely make enough show of fight to make it plausible forClara to rush in between us, throw herself on her knees, and, with aclever bit of acting, pray that there should be no bloodshed. Iblustered and raged, and at length consented to spare his wee chip of alife; but I forced him to swallow an opiate that made him as drunk as afool, and will keep him quiet for a dozen hours or more. Then I boundand gagged him to make doubly sure, and locked him up in an undergroundcellar. We can keep him there a close prisoner for a month if need beand not a soul will be the wiser, unless----"
"Unless what?" I cried.
"Unless the beloved Clara should choose to say what she knows."
"Do you suspect her?"
"I don't know what she means, or what she wants. She is torn between herdesire to help me and to hurt you; and which will win in the end I can'tsay. She has done this for me, but, having done it, she is singularenough to turn round and try to hit at you in some other direction. Ican't answer for her; and I thought it best to tell you so."
"If you think she means to tell of his whereabouts, we'll send outto-night at once and change it."
"I can't think that, because it would be treachery to me. In fact, I'msure she won't. She knows me pretty well by this time, and I swore toher that if she did anything of the kind I'd wreak a bitter vengeance onher and the duke. I'll do it too," he growled, with a deep gutturaloath.
"But what do you fear, then?"
"She is back to-night in Munich for some object; and as she is deep inwith the Ostenburg lot, trusted by them, too--it is through her thatmost things have leaked to me--we may look for her to fend off suspicionfrom herself for this decoy work by striking at you in some other way.So you know what to expect."
"But if she is helping you, why should she turn against me?" I said,perplexed.
"For the best of all reasons, Prince--she is a woman."
The fact that I could not solve the enigma did not decrease my disquietat the news, and had there been time I would have taken some measures ofprecaution. But it was too late now. We must go on, whether to succeedor to fail; for a glance at the dais showed me that the moment for theact of abdication had arrived, and we both turned to watch theproceedings.
This ceremonial was also very carefully planned to give it theappearance of formal reality. A loud flourish of trumpets was sounded,and the Court herald stepped forward and announced that his Majesty theKing had a weighty communication to make at once. Every one of the PrivyCouncillors present went forward and stood in a group about the throne,and among them were the Baron Heckscher, and five or six of the men whohad been associated as leaders in the scheme. To them the pseudo Kingmade many bows, and, choosing the Baron Heckscher as his mouthpiece,delivered by him a message to the rest. Then the trumpets blared again,and the supposed King, standing up, laid aside the outer Chinese robe hewore, and stood revealed in the ordinary Court dress of the Kinghimself; but he remained masked, of course. He next handed a paper tothe baron, who handed it to one of the heralds, and the latter, who hadbeen properly coached as to its contents, read it out in a loud, ringingvoice to all the people assembled.
This was the royal proclamation that his Majesty had resolved toabdicate, and that he had nominated the Countess Minna von Gramberg, thenearest heir, as his successor, and called upon the people to supporther. At this juncture I made my way to where Minna was standing in herhooded domino by von Krugen, and took my place beside her. She wastrembling violently, and I whispered a word or two of encouragement.
"You had better get ready to unmask, and throw aside the domino," Isaid, and her reply was drowned in the ringing cheers of the crowd.
There was no mistaking the heartiness which greeted the news of theabdication; but the question for us was whether there would be the samecheering when it was found that Minna herself was present to accept thehonor thus offered her.
At first those people who were not in the secret had been altogetherunable to grasp the meaning of the proceedings; but those in the plotsoon led the way, and as they scattered thickly all about the room, theyspread the news quickly and by assuming to take the whole thing asgenuine induced the rest to indorse an event they desired only tookeenly.
Then followed the Act of Abdication.
The crown was brought by a page to the King, and he took it and placedit on his head.
This was followed by a moment of silence.
The trumpets blared out again; and the herald announced that his Majestywould lay aside the crown in accordance with the proclamation and as asign that he renounced it forever in favor of his successor.
The action was watched in deep, dead silence; but no sooner had it beencompleted than the chorusing crowd, who had been carefully coached,broke out into loud and vociferous cries and shouts of "Long live QueenMinna!"
"Now, Minna," I whispered anxiously; for she seemed too anxious to makethe slightest attempt to prepare. "In another moment I must lead youforward."
As the cries died away the man on the throne, now uncrowned, movedaside, and, with a bow to those round him, walked quickly away out ofthe hall.
There was another blare of trumpets and a fresh call for the Queen.
"Come, Minna; you must come," I said firmly; and I myself unmasked,drawing the attention of many in the room upon me by this act.
But the girl at my side made no movement. She had ceased to tremble,however, as I found when she put her hand on my arm.
"Everything will be ruined, Minna, if you do not come," I said, and inmy excitement I touched her domino, as if to draw it away.
A low soft laugh was the answer I got.
I looked up in the deepest astonishment. I began to fear I knew notwhat. A glance at the secret mark on the domino told me there was nomistake. The little red cross on the shoulder next me was distinctlyvisible. But an instant later I knew what it all meant.
The mask was slipped off, but instead of Minna the face of Clara Weylinmet mine with a look of exasperating mockery in the insolent, triumphanteyes.
INSTEAD OF MINNA, THE FACE OF CLARA WEYLIN MET MINE.]
For the moment I was like a man bereft of his senses.