CHAPTER XII
IN SERVICE
It was a drowsy day, and, besides, Baldos was not in a communicativeframe of mind. Beverly put forth her best efforts during the forenoon,but after the basket luncheon had been disposed of in the shade at theroadside, she was content to give up the struggle and surrender to thesoothing importunities of the coach as it bowled along. She dozedpeacefully, conscious to the last that he was a most ungracious creatureand more worthy of resentment than of benefaction. Baldos was notintentionally disagreeable; he was morose and unhappy because he couldnot help it. Was he not leaving his friends to wander alone in thewilderness while he drifted weakly into the comforts and pleasures of anenviable service? His heart was not in full sympathy with the presentturn of affairs, and he could not deny that a selfish motive wasresponsible for his action. He had the all too human eagerness to servebeauty; the blood and fire of youth were strong in this wayward noblemanof the hills.
Lying back in the seat, he pensively studied the face of the sleepinggirl whose dark-brown head was pillowed against the corner cushions ofthe coach. Her hat had been removed for the sake of comfort. The darklashes fell like a soft curtain over her eyes, obscuring the merry graythat had overcome his apprehensions. Her breathing was deep and regularand peaceful. One little gloved hand rested carelessly in her lap, theother upon her breast near the delicate throat. The heart of Baldos wastroubled. The picture he looked upon was entrancing, uplifting; he rosefrom the lowly state in which she had found him to the position ofadmirer in secret to a princess, real or assumed. He found himself againwondering if she were really Yetive, and with that fear in his heart hewas envying Grenfall Lorry, the lord and master of this exquisitecreature, envying with all the helplessness of one whose hope is blastedat birth.
The note which had been surreptitiously passed to him in Ganlook laycrumpled and forgotten inside his coat pocket, where he had dropped itthe moment it had come into his possession, supposing that the messagecontained information which had been forgotten by Franz, and was by nomeans of a nature to demand immediate attention. Had he read it at oncehis suspicions would have been confirmed, and it is barely possible thathe would have refused to enter the city.
Late in the afternoon the walls of Edelweiss were sighted. For the firsttime he looked upon the distant housetops of the principal city ofGraustark. Up in the clouds, on the summit of the mountain peakoverlooking the city, stood the famed monastery of SaintValentine. Stretching up the gradual incline were the homes of citizens,accessible only by footpaths and donkey roads. Beverly was awake andimpatient to reach the journey's end. He had proved a most disappointingcompanion, polite, but with a baffling indifference that irritated herconsiderably. There was a set expression of defiance in his strong,clean-cut face, the look of a soldier advancing to meet a powerful foe.
"I do hope he'll not always act this way," she was complaining in herthoughts. "He was so charmingly impudent out in the hills, sodeliciously human. Now he is like a clam. Yetive will think I am such afool if he doesn't live up to the reputation I've given him!"
"Here are the gates," he said, half to himself. "What is there in storefor me beyond those walls?"
"Oh, I wish you wouldn't be so dismal," she cried in despair. "It seemsjust like a funeral."
"A thousand apologies, your highness," he murmured, with a suddenlightness of speech and manner. "Henceforth I shall be a most amiablejester, to please you."
Beverly and the faithful Aunt Fanny were driven to the castle, where theformer bade farewell to her new knight until the following morning, whenhe was to appear before her for personal instructions. Colonel Quinnoxescorted him to the barracks of the guards where he was to share a roomwith young Haddan, a corporal in the service.
"The wild, untamed gentleman from the hills came without a word, I see,"said Lorry, who had watched the approach. He and Yetive stood in thewindow overlooking the grounds from the princess's boudoir, Beverly hadjust entered and thrown herself upon a divan.
"Yes, he's here," she said shortly.
"How long do you, with all your cleverness, expect to hoodwink him intothe belief that you are the princess?" asked Yetive, amused but anxious.
"He's a great fool for being hoodwinked at all," said Beverly, very muchat odds with her protege. "In an hour from now he will know the truthand will be howling like a madman for his freedom."
"Not so soon as that, Beverly," said Lorry consolingly. "The guards andofficers have their instructions to keep him in the dark as long aspossible."
"Well, I'm tired and mad and hungry and everything else that isn'tcompatible. Let's talk about the war," said Beverly, the sunshine in herface momentarily eclipsed by the dark cloud of disappointment.
Baldos was notified that duty would be assigned to him in themorning. He went through the formalities which bound him to the servicefor six months, listening indifferently to the words that foretold thefate of a traitor. It was not until his hew uniform and equipment cameinto his possession that he remembered the note resting in hispocket. He drew it out and began to read it with the slight interest ofone who has anticipated the effect. But not for long was he to remainapathetic. The first few lines brought a look of understanding to hiseyes; then he laughed the easy laugh of one who has cast care andconfidence to the winds. This is what he read:
"She is not the princess. We have been duped. Last night I learned thetruth. She is Miss Calhoun, an American, going to be a guest at thecastle. Refuse to go with her into Edelweiss. It may be a trap and maymean death. Question her boldly before committing yourself."
There came the natural impulse to make a dash for the outside world,fighting his way through if necessary. Looking back over the ground, hewondered how he could have been deceived at all by the unconventionalAmerican. In the clear light of retrospection he now saw how impossibleit was for her to have been the princess. Every act, every word, everylook should have told him the truth. Every flaw in her masquerading nowpresented itself to him and he was compelled to laugh at his ownsimplicity. Caution, after all, was the largest component part of hismakeup; the craftiness of the hunted was deeply rooted in his being. Hesaw a very serious side to the adventure. Stretching himself upon thecot in the corner of the room he gave himself over to plotting,planning, thinking.
In the midst of his thoughts a sudden light burst in upon him. His eyesgleamed with a new fire, his heart leaped with new animation, his bloodran warm again. Leaping to his feet he ran to the window to re-read thenote from old Franz. Then he settled back and laughed with a fervor thatcleared the brain of a thousand vague misgivings.
"She is Miss Calhoun, an American going to be a guest at thecastle,"--not the princess, but _Miss_ Calhoun. Once more thememory of the clear gray eyes leaped into life; again he saw her asleepin the coach on the road from Ganlook; again he recalled the ferventthrobs his guilty heart had felt as he looked upon this fair creature,at one time the supposed treasure of another man. Now she was MissCalhoun, and her gray eyes, her entrancing smile, her wondrous vivacitywere not for one man alone. It was marvelous what a change this suddenrealization wrought in the view ahead of him. The whole situation seemedto be transformed into something more desirable than ever before. Hisface cleared, his spirits leaped higher and higher with the buoyancy offresh relief, his confidence in himself crept back into existence. Andall because the fair deceiver, the slim girl with the brave gray eyeswho had drawn him into a net, was not a princess!
Something told him that she had not drawn him into his present positionwith any desire to injure or with the slightest sense of malice. To herit had been a merry jest, a pleasant comedy. Underneath all he saw thegoodness of her motive in taking him from the old life, and putting himinto his present position of trust. He had helped her, and she was readyto help him to the limit of her power. His position in Edelweiss wasclearly enough defined. The more he thought of it, the more justifiableit seemed as viewed from her point of observation. How long she hoped tokeep him in the dark he could not tell. T
he outcome would beentertaining; her efforts to deceive. If she kept them up, would beamusing. Altogether, he was ready, with the leisure and joy of youth, toawait developments and to enjoy the comedy from a point of view whichshe could not at once suspect.
His subtle efforts to draw Haddan into a discussion of the princess andher household resulted unsatisfactorily. The young guard was annoyinglyunresponsive. He had his secret instructions and could not be inveigledinto betraying himself. Baldos went to sleep that night with his mindconfused by doubts. His talk with Haddan had left him quite undecided asto the value of old Franz's warning. Either Franz was mistaken, orHaddan was a most skilful dissembler. It struck him as utterly beyondthe pale of reason that the entire castle guard should have beenenlisted in the scheme to deceive him. When sleep came, he wascontenting himself with the thought that morning doubtless would givehim clearer insight to the situation.
Both he and Beverly Calhoun were ignorant of the true conditions thatattached themselves to the new recruit. Baron Dangloss alone knew thatHaddan was a trusted agent of the secret service, with instructions toshadow the newcomer day and night. That there was a mystery surroundingthe character of Baldos, the goat-hunter, Dangloss did not question foran instant: and in spite of the instructions received at the outset, hewas using all his skill to unravel it.
Baldos was not summoned to the castle until noon. His sereneindifference to the outcome of the visit was calculated to deceive thefriendly but watchful Haddan. Dressed carefully in the close-fittinguniform of the royal guard, taller than most of his fellows, handsomerby far than any, he was the most noticeable figure in and about thebarracks. Haddan coached him in the way he was to approach the princess,Baldos listening with exaggerated intentness and with deep regard fordetail.
Beverly was in the small audience-room off the main reception hall whenhe was ushered into her presence. The servants and ladies-in-waitingdisappeared at a signal from her. She arose to greet him and he knelt tokiss her hand. For a moment her tongue was bound. The keen eyes of thenew guard had looked into hers with a directness that seemed topenetrate her brain. That this scene was to be one of the mostinteresting in the little comedy was proved by the fact that two eageryoung women were hidden behind a heavy curtain in a corner of theroom. The Princess Yetive and the Countess Dagmar were there to enjoyBeverly's first hour of authority, and she was aware of their presence.
"Have they told you that you are to act as my especial guard andescort?" she asked, with a queer flutter in her voice. Somehow this tallfellow with the broad shoulders was not the same as the raggedgoat-hunter she had known at first.
"No, your highness," said he, easily. "I have come for instructions. Itpleases me to know that I am to have a place of honor and trust such asthis."
"General Marlanx has told me that a vacancy exists, and I have selectedyou to fill it. The compensation will be attended to by the properpersons, and your duties will be explained to you by one of theofficers. This afternoon, I believe, you are to accompany me on my visitto the fortress, which I am to inspect."
"Very well, your highness," he respectfully said. He was thinking ofMiss Calhoun, an American girl, although he called her "your highness.""May I be permitted to ask for instructions that can come only from yourhighness?"
"Certainly," she replied. His manner was more deferential than she hadever known it to be, but he threw a bomb into her fine composure withhis next remark. He addressed her in the Graustark language:
"Is it your desire that I shall continue to address you in English?"
Beverly's face turned a bit red and her eyes wavered. By a wonderfuleffort she retained her self-control, stammering ever so faintly whenshe said in English:
"I wish you would speak English," unwittingly giving answer to hisquestion. "I shall insist upon that. Your English is too good to bespoiled."
Then he made a bold test, his first having failed. He spoke once more inthe native tongue, this time softly and earnestly.
"As you wish, your highness, but I think it is a most ridiculouspractice," he said, and his heart lost none of its courage. Beverlylooked at him almost pathetically. She knew that behind the curtain twoyoung women were enjoying her discomfiture. Something told her that theywere stifling their mirth with dainty lace-bordered handkerchiefs.
"That will do, sir," she managed to say firmly. "It's very nice of you,but after this pay your homage in English," she went on, taking a longchance on his remark. It must have been complimentary, she reasoned. Asfor Baldos, the faintest sign of a smile touched his lips and his eyeswere twinkling as he bent his head quickly. Franz was right; she did notknow a word of the Graustark language.
"I have entered the service for six months, your highness," he said inEnglish. "You have honored me, and I give my heart as well as my arm toyour cause."
Beverly, breathing easier, was properly impressed by this promise offealty. She was looking with pride upon the figure of her stalwartprotege.
"I hope you have destroyed that horrid black patch," she said.
"It has gone to keep company with other devoted but deserted friends,"he said, a tinge of bitterness in his voice.
"The uniform is vastly becoming," she went on, realizing helplessly thatshe was providing intense amusement for the unseen auditors.
"It shames the rags in which you found me."
"I shall never forget them, Baldos," she said, with a strangeearnestness in her voice.
"May I presume to inquire after the health of your good Aunt Fannyand--although I did not see him--your Uncle Sam?" he asked, with a faceas straight and sincere as that of a judge. Beverly swallowed suddenlyand checked a laugh with some difficulty.
"Aunt Fanny is never ill. Some day I shall tell you more of UncleSam. It will interest you."
"Another question, if it please your highness. Do you expect to returnto America soon?"
This was the unexpected, but she met it with admirable composure.
"It depends upon the time when Prince Dantan resumes the throne inDawsbergen," she said.
"And that day may never come," said he, such mocking regret in his voicethat she looked upon him with newer interest.
"Why, I really believe you want to go to America," she cried.
The eyes of Baldos had been furtively drawn to the curtain more thanonce during the last few minutes. An occasional movement of the longoriental hangings attracted his attention. It dawned upon him that thelittle play was being overheard, whether by spies or conspirators heknew not. Resentment sprang up in his breast and gave birth to a daringthat was as spectacular as it was confounding. With long, noiselessstrides, he reached the door before Beverly could interpose. She halfstarted from her chair, her eyes wide with dismay, her lips parted, buthis hand was already clutching the curtain. He drew it asiderelentlessly.
Two startled women stood exposed to view, smiles dying on their amazedfaces. Their backs were against the closed door and two hands clutchinghandkerchiefs dropped from a most significant altitude. One of themflashed an imperious glance at the bold discoverer, and he knew he waslooking upon the real princess of Graustark. He did not lose hiscomposure. Without a tremor he turned to the American girl.
"Your highness," he said clearly, coolly, "I fear we have spies andeavesdroppers here. Is your court made up of--I should say, they aredoubtless a pair of curious ladies-in-waiting. Shall I begin my service,your highness, by escorting them to yonder door?"