CHAPTER XX
LE ROI S'AMUSE
If Montgomery Brewster had had any misgivings about his ability todispose of the balance of his fortune they were dispelled very soonafter his party landed in the Riviera. On the pretext that the yachtrequired a thorough "house cleaning" Brewster transferred his guests tothe hotel of a fascinating village which was near the sea and yet quiteout of the world. The place was nearly empty at the time, and theproprietor wept tears of joy when Monty engaged for his party theentire first floor of the house with balconies overlooking the blueMediterranean and a separate dining-room and salon. Extra servants weresummoned, and the Brewster livery was soon a familiar sight about thevillage. The protests of Peggy and the others were only silenced whenMonty threatened to rent a villa and go to housekeeping.
The town quickly took on the appearance of entertaining a royalvisitor, and a number of shops were kept open longer than usual in thehope that their owners might catch some of the American's money. Onemorning Philippe, the hotel proprietor, was trying to impress Brewsterwith a gesticulatory description of the glories of the Bataille deFleurs. It seemed quite impossible to express the extent of his regretthat the party had not arrived in time to see it.
"This is quite another place at that time," he said ecstatically."C'est magnifique! c'est superbe! If monsieur had only seen it!"
"Why not have another all to ourselves?" asked Monty. But thesuggestion was not taken seriously.
Nevertheless the young American and his host were in secret session forthe rest of the morning, and when the result was announced at luncheonthere was general consternation. It appeared that ten days lateroccurred the fete day of some minor saint who had not for years beenaccorded the honor of a celebration. Monty proposed to revive thecustom by arranging a second carnival.
"You might just as well not come to the Riviera at all," he explained,"if you can't see a carnival. It's a simple matter, really. I offer oneprice for the best decorated carriage and another to the handsomestlady. Then every one puts on a domino and a mask, throws confetti atevery one else, and there you are."
"I suppose you will have the confetti made of thousand franc notes, andoffer a house and lot as a prize." And Bragdon feared that his sarcasmwas almost insulting.
"Really, Monty, the scheme is ridiculous," said DeMille, "the policewon't allow it."
"Won't they though!" said Monty, exultantly. "The chief happens to bePhilippe's brother-in-law, and we had him on the telephone. He wouldn'tlisten to the scheme until we agreed to make him grand marshal of theparade. Then he promised the cooperation of the entire force and hopedto interest his colleague, the chief of the fire department."
"The parade will consist of two gendarmes and the Brewster party incarriages," laughed Mrs. Dan. "Do you expect us to go before or afterthe bakery carts?"
"We review the procession from the hotel," said Monty. "You needn'tworry about the fete. It's going to be great. Why, an Irishman isn'tfonder of marching than these people are of having a carnival."
The men in the party went into executive session as soon as Monty hadgone to interview the local authorities, and seriously consideredtaking measures to subdue their host's eccentricities. But the humor ofthe scheme appealed to them too forcibly, and almost before they knewit they were making plans for the carnival.
"Of course we can't let him do it, but it would be sport," said"Subway" Smith. "Think of a cake-walk between gendarmes andblanchiseuses."
"I always feel devilish the moment I get a mask on," said Vanderpool,"and you know, by Jove, I haven't felt that way for years."
"That settles it, then," said DeMille. "Monty would call it off himselfif he knew how it would affect Reggie."
Monty returned with the announcement that the mayor of the town woulddeclare a holiday if the American could see his way to pay for therepairs on the mairie roof. A circus, which was traveling in theneighborhood, was guaranteed expenses if it would stop over and occupythe square in front of the Hotel de Ville. Brewster's enthusiasm wassuch that no one could resist helping him, and for nearly a week hisfriends were occupied in superintending the erection of triumphalarches and encouraging the shopkeepers to do their best. Although thescheme had been conceived in the spirit of a lark it was not soreceived by the townspeople. They were quite serious in the matter. Therailroad officials sent advertisements broadcast, and the local curecalled to thank Brewster for resurrecting, as it were, the obscuresaint. The expression of his gratitude was so mingled with flattery andappeal that Monty could not overlook the hint that a new altar piecehad long been needed.
The great day finally arrived, and no carnival could have been morebizarre or more successful. The morning was devoted to athletics andthe side shows. The pompiers won the tug of war, and the peoplemarveled when Monty duplicated the feats of the strong man in thecircus. DeMille was called upon for a speech, but knowing only tenwords of French, he graciously retired in favor of the mayor, and thatpompous little man made the most of a rare opportunity. References toFranklin and Lafayette were so frequent that "Subway" Smith intimatedthat a rubber stamp must have been used in writing the address.
The parade took place in the afternoon, and proved quite the feature ofthe day. The question of precedence nearly overturned Monty's plans,but the chief of police was finally made to see that if he were to bechief marshal it was only fair that the pompiers should march ahead ofthe gendarmes. The crew of the "Flitter" made a wonderful showing. Itwas led by the yacht's band, which fairly outdid Sousa in noise, thoughit was less unanimous in the matter of time. All the fiacres came atthe end, but there were so many of them and the line of march was soshort that at times they were really leading the processional despitethe gallant efforts of the grand marshal.
From the balcony of the hotel Monty and his party pelted those belowwith flowers and confetti. More allusions to Franklin and Lafayettewere made when the cure and the mayor halted the procession andpresented Monty with an address richly engrossed on imitationparchment. Then the school children sang and the crowd dispersed tomeet again in the evening.
At eight o'clock Brewster presided over a large banquet, and numberedamong his guests every one of distinction in the town. The wives werealso invited and Franklin and Lafayette were again alluded to. Each ofthe men made at least one speech, but "Subway" Smith's third addresswas the hit of the evening. Knowing nothing but English, he hadpreviously clung consistently to that language, but the third and finaladdress seemed to demand something more friendly and genial. With asweeping bow and with all the dignity of a statesman he began:
"Mesdames et Messieurs: J'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons,"--with amagnificent gesture, "vous avez." The French members of the companywere not equal to his pronunciation and were under the impression thathe was still talking English. They were profoundly impressed with hisdeference and grace, and accorded his preamble a round of applause. TheAmericans did their utmost to persuade him to be seated, but theiruproar was mistaken by the others for enthusiasm, and the applause grewlouder than ever. "Subway" held up his hand for silence, and his mannersuggested that he was about to utter some peculiarly important thought.He waited until a pin fall could have been heard before he went on.
"Maitre corbeau sur un arbre perche--" he finished the speech as he wasbeing carried bodily from the room by DeMille and Bragdon. TheFrenchmen then imagined that Smith's remarks had been insulting, andhis friends had silenced him on that account. A riot seemed imminentwhen Monty succeeded in restoring silence, and with a few tactfulremarks about Franklin and Lafayette quieted the excited guests.
The evening ended with fireworks and a dance in the open air,--a dancethat grew gay under the masks. The wheels had been well oiled and therewas no visible failure of the carnival spirit. To Brewster it seemed amad game, and he found it less easy to play a part behind the foolishmask than he expected. His own friends seemed to elude him, and thecoquetries of the village damsels had merely a fleeting charm. He wasstanding apart to watch the glimmering crowd when h
e was startled by asmothered cry. Turning to investigate, he discovered a little reddomino, unmistakably frightened, and trying to release herself from atoo ardent Punchinello. Monty's arrival prevented him from tearing offthe girl's mask and gave him an entirely new conception of thestrenuous life. He arose fuming and sputtering, but he was taken inhand by the crowd and whirled from one to another in whimsical mockery.Meanwhile Monty, unconscious that his mask had dropped during theencounter, was astonished to feel the little hand of the red domino onhis arm and to hear a voice not at all unfamiliar in his ear:
"Monty, you are a dear. I love you for that. You looked like a Greekathlete. Do you know--it was foolish--but I really was frightened."
"Child, how could it have happened?" he whispered, leading her away."Fancy my little Peggy with no one to look after her. What a beast Iwas to trust you to Pettingill. I might have known the chump would havebeen knocked out by all this color." He stopped to look down at her anda light came into his eyes. "Little Peggy in the great world," hesmiled; "you are not fit. You need--well, you need--just me."
But Mrs. Valentine had seen him as he stood revealed, and came up insearch of Peggy. It was almost morning, she told her, and quite time togo back to the hotel and sleep. So in Bragdon's charge they wanderedoff, a bit reluctantly, a bit lingeringly.
It was not until Monty was summoned to rescue "Reggie" Vanderpool fromthe stern arm of the law that he discovered the identity ofPunchinello. Manifestly he had not been in a condition to recognize hisassailant, and a subsequent disagreement had driven the first out ofhis head. The poor boy was sadly bruised about the face and his arresthad probably saved him from worse punishment.
"I told you I couldn't wear a mask," he explained ruefully as Monty ledhim home. "But how could I know that he could hear me all the time?"
The day after the carnival Brewster drove his guests over to MonteCarlo. He meant to stay only long enough to try his luck at the tablesand lose enough to make up for the days at sea when his purse wasnecessarily idle. Swearengen Jones was forgotten, and soon after hisarrival he began to plunge. At first he lost heavily, and it was withdifficulty that he concealed his joy. Peggy Gray was watching him, andin whispers implored him to stop, but Mrs. Dan excitedly urged him tocontinue until the luck changed. To the girl's chagrin it was the morereckless advice that he followed. In so desperate a situation he feltthat he could not stop. But his luck turned too soon.
"I can't afford to give up," he said, miserably, to himself, after atime. "I'm already a winner by five thousand dollars, and I must atleast get rid of that."
Brewster became the center of interest to those who were not playingand people marveled at his luck. They quite misunderstood his eagernessand the flushed, anxious look with which he followed each spin of thewheel. He had chosen a seat beside an English duchess whose practice itwas to appropriate the winnings of the more inexperienced players, andhe was aware that many of his gold pieces were being deliberatelystolen. Here he thought was at least a helping hand, and he was on thepoint of moving his stack toward her side when DeMille interfered. Hehad watched the duchess, and had called the croupier's attention to herneat little method. But that austere individual silenced him by sayingin surprise, "Mais c'est madame la duchesse, que voulez-vous?"
Not to be downed so easily, DeMille watched the play from behindMonty's chair and cautioned his friend at the first opportunity.
"Better cash in and change your seat, Monty. They're robbing you," hewhispered.
"Cash in when I'm away ahead of the game? Never!" and Monty did hisbest to assume a joyful tone.
At first he played with no effort at system, piling his money flat onthe numbers which seemed to have least chance of winning. But he simplycould not lose. Then he tried to reverse different systems he had heardof, but they turned out to be winners. Finally in desperation he begandoubling on one color in the hope that he would surely lose in the end,but his particular fate was against him. With his entire stake on thered the ball continued to fall into the red holes until the croupierannounced that the bank was broken.
Dan DeMille gathered in the money and counted forty thousand dollarsbefore he handed it to Monty. His friends were overjoyed when he leftthe table, and wondered why he looked so downhearted. Inwardly heberated himself for not taking Peggy's advice.
"I'm so glad for your sake that you did not stop when I asked you,Monty, but your luck does not change my belief that gambling is next tostealing," Peggy was constrained to say as they went to supper.
"I wish I had taken your advice," he said gloomily.
"And missed the fortune you have won? How foolish of you, Monty! Youwere a loser by several thousand dollars then," she objected withwhimsical inconsistency.
"But, Peggy," he said quietly, looking deep into her eyes, "it wouldhave won me your respect."