CHAPTER XXVIII
THE EMPEROR
When I entered the room the second time, old von Augener was stillsitting at the table, and the Emperor was standing at one of thewindows, his stern, strong profile showing to me clear cut and hardagainst the light. I halted just inside the door, and stood gazing athim. I was in a sense half fascinated by the crowd of emotions which hispresence roused. To me he was still what he had always been--the type ofmuch that is best and highest in mankind, while his actual greatness andnobility were magnified many times by the glamour of my old personalaffection for him. Had he known who I was, what, I wondered, would havebeen the manner of my reception? As I entered the room the two membersof the suite left it, and we three--the Emperor, von Augener, andI--were left alone. Ignorant though the harsh old man was of myidentity, yet the hate and hostility which he had felt for me originallyappeared to motive him now, for he scowled to the full as angrily as onthat day when he had come to my cabin to pass the virtual sentence ofdeath upon me.
"Now," he called suddenly, with a sharp, rasping jerk of his voice, forhe saw that my eyes were fixed on the Emperor, "stand here, if youplease," and he pointed to a spot in front of his table. "You refused tospeak a few minutes since, and to tell me what you know of this matter.Perhaps you will do so now since his Majesty has graciously vouchsafedto give you another chance."
The harshness of his manner did more than anything else could have doneto collect my somewhat scrambled wits.
"I did not refuse to say what I knew--I refused to submit toinsinuations that were insulting to me. I told you that if you wouldquestion me without insult I would reply. I am only too anxious to makeknown every fact in my possession, and it was my intention to solicit anaudience of his Majesty for that purpose."
The old bully listened with very ill grace to this, and would havefrowned me down had he dared; but I was not to be stopped by him.
"You have told me how you went to Gramberg, and you allege that youremained there to protect the Countess Minna from a plot against her.How came you as a stranger to know anything about such a plot?"
"I was told that the Count von Nauheim was the acknowledgedrepresentative of a powerful section of the Gramberg supporters here inMunich, and that it was a part of the compact that he should have thecountess as his wife; the alleged reason being the desire to secure tothat section a direct share of the influence which the throne wouldnaturally wield. As I knew that the count was already married, and a manof the vilest and most infamous character, the inference of treacherylay on the surface."
"The inference might affect the man himself, but how do you know thatothers were aware of his character?"
"The fact itself was a sufficient motive to induce me to try and savethe girl from such a man--the proofs that others were concerned withhim came afterward and gradually."
"What proofs?"
"That von Nauheim, at the instigation of others, had virtually murderedthe Countess Minna's brother at the moment when a former plot was rifeto carry the throne and put the Count Gustav upon it. The murder was inthis wise;" and I told the story of Praga's duel.
As I spoke, unfolding the story gradually and with such skill as I hadat command, I saw the face by the window growing darker and gloomier andsterner every minute.
"There is a nest of vermin here that needs clearing out," exclaimed vonAugener at the close. "How do you know all this?"
"From Praga himself, who extorted the confession of the whole plot fromvon Nauheim both in writing and afterward in the presence of theCountess Minna and myself. Praga was himself attacked in turn by theagents of these men, because he had refused to do what they wished--tomurder me. By a lucky stroke of fortune, it was I who chanced to come tohis help."
"What attempts have been made on you, and, in your opinion, why?"
For answer I described the means by which I had at the meeting managedto make my life necessary for the carrying on of their scheme.
"There was a plot within a plot," I said--"an open plot, of which thesecuring of the crown for the Countess Minna was the object ostensibly;and a secret one, which aimed at her ruin, to make her unfit to becomeQueen by mating her with a man already married, or to ruin her byputting her into his power for an object infinitely more foul and vile.It was against that I had to fight, and to fight almost single-handed;"and I went on to describe at length many of the incidents of the pastfew weeks.
"Why did you not come to Berlin, sir?"
The question came from the Emperor, who wheeled round on me as ifclinching an accusation, while he stared fixedly at me, those searching,piercing, wonderful eyes of his boring into my head.
"You would have spared us all this trouble."
"I should have spared myself also the humiliation of having nosufficient answer to your Majesty's question," was my reply. "I see itnow. My motive was that I feared the enmity of the Ostenburg familywould reach the Countess Minna wherever she might be. I was told, andbelieved that indeed, that they would suffer no Gramberg rival for thethrone to remain alive and at liberty. I knew that they had compassedthe death of the brother and had plotted a dishonor worse than deathagainst the countess herself, and I believed there were no limits totheir venom and hostility."
"But how could you hope to save her by allowing things to go on?" heasked again after a pause in the same sharp, indicting tone.
"I thought I had devised a scheme by which I could put the countess in aposition of such strength that she could dictate virtually her ownterms, and so secure that liberty which I feared they would neverotherwise concede. My plan was to allow the conspiracy to go forward forputting the countess upon the throne, to postpone the marriage with vonNauheim, and then to watch for and thwart the attempt I knew would bemade to get her into their power; and at the same time to deliver acounter-blow and to get the Ostenburg heir, the Duke Marx, into my ownhands. I calculated that then I could make my own terms in thecountess's interests."
"'Fore Heaven, sir, you don't lack daring to play fast and loose withthrones in this way," cried von Augener; while the Emperor stood sternlysilent, revolving what I had said.
"Tell me the rest," he said abruptly.
"My scheme broke in my hands, because I was myself betrayed to them. TheBaron Heckscher succeeded in gaining information of my plans, or ratherof that part of them which I had made for the safe-keeping of thecountess, and he outwitted me at the last moment," and I described thewhole ruse by which Minna had been carried off at the ball and ClaraWeylin put in her place.
The story was interesting enough to them, and both listened closely.When I ended, von Augener bent to read some of the papers on his desk,in order, as I saw, to compare what I had told him with what had beenpreviously reported to him.
But the Kaiser needed no notes; that extraordinary memory of his carriedevery detail, item, and particular, and as I was telling him my versionhe was comparing it link for link with what he already knew, in aprocess of subtle mental analysis.
"And your next step?" he asked sharply after a short pause.
"To make my possession of the Duke Marx perfectly secure, and then towarn Baron Heckscher that I held the duke as a hostage for the safety ofthe countess."
"Do you mean to admit that you openly threatened to use violence on theperson of the duke, the heir to the throne?" asked von Augener, as ifaghast at my temerity in venturing on such a confession.
"I threatened it, and I meant it too," I replied, in a voice firm enoughto prove that I was in earnest.
"You can see the heinousness of that offence?"
"It was not a tenth part so bad as the offences of the Ostenburg party.They had actually murdered one heir and threatened another. I had chosena course and was compelled to carry it out my own way. But I knew thebaron would never drive me to an extreme step of that kind. While I heldthe duke in pawn the baron was helpless and had no option but to yieldto me. And this I made him understand," and with that I gave them a fullreport of my last interview with Baron Heckscher, and
of the compact wethen made--that Minna should be given up to me and the Duke Marx set atliberty, the condition being that the former should go away and leavethe latter at liberty to come forward when called to the throne, andthat there should be a subsequent definite renunciation by Minna of allclaim to the crown.
"A pretty ring of king-makers, indeed!" exclaimed von Augener.
"And that 'compact,' as you term it, was carried out?" asked theEmperor.
"Yes, sire. But everything was jeopardized at the eleventh hour by thevillany of the man von Nauheim, who made a bold effort to break awaywith the countess, having as his confederate her aunt, the BaronessGratz."
"You scatter your charges with a free hand, young man. Every one appearsto be a rogue but yourself," ejaculated von Augener, whose maliceapparently prompted him to see and put my conduct in the worst light.
The Emperor lifted a protesting hand, however.
"Tell your tale," he said, addressing me curtly.
"Every word I say can be tested by independent inquiry," I answered."These people are accused not by my words, but by their own acts."
I described then my journey to Landsberg and what had happened there,though I said nothing of the love scenes.
"And by that time, I suppose, you thought you had done enough to warrantyou in running off with the countess herself?" said old von Augener.
I made no reply, but kept my face as though he had not spoken.
"How came you to attempt to fly the country?" asked the Emperor.
"I was not attempting to fly the country, sire," I replied readily. "Ihad told the countess of the interview with Baron Heckscher, and myadvice to her was that she should put the frontier between her and theenemies who had betrayed and persecuted her with such virulence. I wastaking her to Charmes, to the care of the man in whose place I stood,Herr von Fromberg, now known as M. Henri Frombe; and I had told her thatI should immediately return either here or to Berlin to lay her casebefore your Majesty, that her interests might be secured and herselfprotected from further violence."
"But you kept up your personation of the Prince," cried von Augener,seeing another point to be scored against me.
"I deemed that a necessary step until all could be explained. Thecountess was left at Landsberg without a friend to whom she could turn.The Baroness Gratz, who should have protected her, had first betrayedher to Baron Heckscher, and then connived at von Nauheim stealing awaywith her from Landsberg. What then was I to do? I had explained to herthat I was not the Prince, and it seemed that my only possible coursewas to take her to where she would at least be in the care of arelative, and, as I judged, safe. What else should I have done?"
"Is that all you have to say of your part in the plot?"
The question came from the Emperor as sharply as a pistol shot.
"I think I have told your Majesty everything of my share in it."
"You haven't told us what you hoped to gain by your work," said thevindictive old man, ruthless in his desire to injure me. "But I supposeit's no use to ask that," he added--this with a shrug of the shoulders,as if to suggest that I was no better than a paltry, unreliable rascal,who would tell any tale and any lie to serve his own ends.
I let the sneer pass unheeded.
"Could you form any opinion of the state of feeling in Munich or in thekingdom?" was the Emperor's next question.
"I know but little of either Munich or Bavaria, sire. The men I came incontact with were certainly men of influence, and as certainly weremoved by feelings of deep resentment against the conduct of the King,his extravagance in particular. But I was planning for the CountessMinna's safety, and not probing Bavarian politics."
The Kaiser's face gave no indication of the impression which my wordscreated, and after a moment's thought he dismissed that part of thematter with a sentence, and turned to another.
"You will write out a list of all the men whom you met. And now, whatof the Countess Minna? Speak as plainly of her part as you have of yourown."
The last words were welcome indeed. Like the wave of a brush, they wipedout the sneers of von Augener, and showed me they had produced noeffect.
"I thank you, sire," I answered, my pulse quickening. "The countess hashad no part or lot in all this, save that of passive acquiescence in mysuggestions. She was against the scheme when her brother was theclaimant for the throne; she remained hostile to it when he had beenkilled; and when the Prince, her father, died, she was resolute neverunder any circumstances to consent to take the crown. It was only theknowledge that her own personal safety was imperilled, and the beliefthat by this apparent agreement with the scheme she could best securethat safety, which induced her to consent--to even appear to consent--toany such plot being carried on in her name. For that belief I myselfaccept the responsibility. She left it to me to select the best road tosafety, and she is as innocent as any unborn babe of even an intentionto conspire against the King."
"You have taken a grave responsibility," he said sternly.
"And I trust your Majesty will visit on me alone the consequences," Ianswered earnestly. "This unfortunate girl had scarcely any one roundher but those who were plotting to betray her, and it will be a strangeirony if I, who at least was loyal to her, have brought her under theheavy lash of your Majesty's displeasure."
I spoke with warm feeling, and went on to put such reasons as my fearand love for Minna prompted why any penalty for what had been doneshould fall on me.
And as I spoke I watched the Emperor with eager, hungry keenness forsome sign that my pleading was likely to prevail. But not a feature wasrelaxed for an instant, not a sign or token did he give of feeling. Theface retained the same set, impassive, inflexible, gloomy sternnesswhich he had maintained throughout. He heard me to the end, but made noresponse or reply.
There remained then but one thing more for me to say, one more avowal tomake, and I thought of it with something like foreboding. He seemed socold, so unimpressionable, so infinitely removed from me, that I couldnot bring myself to hope that any good would result from my declaring myidentity. There appeared no chords of old friendship, no associations ofcomradeship to reawaken. But there was at least the chance that it wouldconvince him I had spoken the truth.
He appeared to me as the type and embodiment of cold, rarefied,unemotional intellectuality. Judgment founded on justice, butfeelingless; mind, not heart; the very presentment of retributiverighteousness without the warmth of charity. A man who had accepted thehigh mission of his rulership in a spirit of unshakable faith in theheavenly character of the mission, but who in accepting it had bounddown with the iron clamps of an implacable will the milder attributeswhich go to make humanity human.
Who was to say what would be the effect of an avowal like mine which,like a sudden sword-thrust, might pierce for once his armor ofinflexibility and set flowing again the blood of his older nature?
It was he who touched the subject first, and in the form which I hadanticipated. He broke a long pause to say:
"You have spoken freely enough, but what is the guarantee of yourtruth?"
I paused an instant, and, looking him straight in the face, I answered,with slow emphasis:
"I have never told your Majesty a lie in my life."
The unexpected character of the reply set him thinking, and he fixed hiseyes on mine.
"What do you mean by that? Who are you and what was your real motive inthis?"
Von Augener was also staring hard at me, and I could see that both werethinking hard in the effort to solve the puzzle I had evidently setthem.
I let a minute pass without a word, and then said in a low voice:
"I am a man who for years has been under a ban, condemned to live anempty, useless, purposeless life. I saw in this affair at once a meansof helping a helpless girl who was sorely beset by dangers; I longed forsome sphere of activity for myself again; and I hoped that possibly Imight even achieve an object that is never out of my thoughts."
I found myself speaking for the first t
ime with nervousness andhesitation; and I faltered, and then stopped.
The Emperor made no reply, but kept his eyes fixed piercingly on myface.
Old von Augener sneered.
"We are getting to the truth now, I suppose."
The sneer was just the tonic I needed. I found my voice again, and wenton in the same low tone.
"For years I have been one of the most pitiable and remorseful of yourMajesty's subjects, and I was fighting in this thing in the vague hopethat it might possibly in some means enable me to regain part of my oldcharacter."
I thought I could detect a faint symptom of concern on the tense, setface turned full on me--just a momentary dilation of the nostrils; butit passed before my pause ended, and in quite as brief, stern a tone ashe had before used he asked:
"Who are you?"
I took heart, and tried to brace myself for the final effort.
"Your Majesty, one day some years ago in one of the upper reaches of theElbe where the current was known to be fierce and dangerous two lads,who had stolen away from their companions, were bathing alone. The riverwas flooded and swollen, and the stream more than commonly perilous tothe swimmers. It proved too powerful for one of them, and he gave a cryand sank. His friend--for they were close friends then--himselfstruggling hard with the stream, was ahead, and had nearly reached thebank, but turned back and dived for his friend, and under the mercy ofGod was the means of saving his life."
I stopped. The Emperor was staring at me with a look of such intentnessas I have never seen on any human face before or since. He had drawnhimself to his full height; and every muscle of his sinewy, powerful,tireless frame was at full tension, while his breath was labored, andcame and went through his dilated nostrils as though the passing of itwere a pain.
But he made no answer.
"One of the lads, sire, the one whose life was in danger, was the futureruler of the mighty German empire; the other"--I paused again, and thensuddenly threw myself on one knee before him--"was your Majesty's mostmiserable subject, the Count Karl von Rudloff, whose shameful, violentdeed against you later has now been punished by five years of bitterremorse and hopeless solitude. I am that unhappiest of men."
"Von Rudloff?" cried the Emperor, now in amazement, while the older mansprang to his feet, and both stood looking down at me in unboundedastonishment.