XII. A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Lorry was removed to another room before dinner, as she had promised.
After they had dined the two strangers were left alone for severalhours. Anguish regaled his friend with an enthusiastic dissertation onthe charms of the Countess Dagmar, lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Inconclusion he said glowingly, his cigar having been out for half an houror more because his energy had been spent in another direction.
"You haven't seen much of her, Lorry, but I tell you she is rare. Andshe's not betrothed to any of these confounded counts or dukes either.They all adore her but she's not committed."
"How do you know all this?" demanded Lorry, who but half heard throughhis dreams.
"Asked her, of course. How in thunder do you suppose?"
"And you've known her but a day? Well, you are progressive."
"Oh, perfectly natural conversation, you know," explained Anguish,composedly. "She began it by asking me if I were married, and I said Iwasn't even engaged. Then I asked her if she were married. You see, fromthe title, you can't tell whether a countess is married or single.She said she wasn't, and I promptly and very properly expressed myamazement. By Jove, she has a will and a mind of her own, that youngwoman has. She's not going to marry until she finds a man of theright sort--which is refreshing. I like to hear a girl talk like that,especially a pretty girl who can deal in princes, counts and all kindsof nobility when it comes to a matrimonial trade. By Jove, I'm sorry forthe Princess, though."
"Sorry for the Princess? Why?" asked the other, alert at once.
"Oh, just because it's not in her power to be so independent. TheCountess says she cries every night when she thinks of what the poorgirl has to contend with."
"Tell me about it."
"I don't know anything to tell. I'm not interested in the Princess, andI didn't have the nerve to ask many questions. I do know, however, thatshe is going to have an unpleasant matrimonial alliance forced upon herin some way." "That is usual.
"That's what I gather from the Countess. Maybe you can pump the Countessand get all you want to know in connection with the matter. It's apretty serious state of affairs, I should say, or she wouldn't beweeping through sympathy."
Lorry recalled a part of the afternoon's sweetly dangerous conversationand the perspiration stood cold and damp on his brow.
"Well, old man, you've chased Miss Guggenslocker to earth only to findher an impossibility. Pretty hopeless for you, Lorry, but don't let itbreak you up completely. We can go back home after a while and you willforget her. A countess, of course, is different."
"Harry, I know it is downright madness for me to act like this," saidLorry, his jaws set and his hands clenched as he raised himself to hiselbow. "You don't know how much I love her."
"Your nerve is to be admired, but--well, I'm sorry for you."
"Thanks for your sympathy. I suppose I'll need it," and he sank backgloomily. Anguish was right--absurdly right.
There was a rap at the door and Anguish hastened to open it. A servantpresented Count Halfort's compliments and begged leave to call.
"Shall we see the old boy?" asked Harry.
"Yes, yes," responded the other. The servant understood the sign made byAnguish and disappeared. "Diplomatic call, I suspect."
"He is the prime minister, I understand. Well, we'll diplome with himuntil bed-time, if he cares to stay. I'm getting rather accustomed tothe nobility. They are not so bad, after all. Friendly and all that--Ah,good evening, your excellency! We are honored."
The Count had entered the room and was advancing toward the couch, tall,easy and the personification of cordiality.
"I could not retire until I had satisfied myself as to Mr. Lorry'scondition and his comfort," said he, in his broken English. He seatedhimself near the couch and bent sharp, anxious eyes on the recumbentfigure.
"Oh, he's all right," volunteered Anguish, readily. "Be able to go intobattle again tomorrow."
"That is the way with you aggressive Americans. I am told. They nevergive up until they are dead," said the Count, courteously. "Your head isbetter?"
"It does not pain me as it did, and I'm sure I'll be able to get outto-morrow. Thank you very much for your interest," said Lorry. "May Iinquire after the health of the Countess Halfont? The excitement of lastnight has not had an unpleasant effect, I hope."
"She is with the Princess, and both are quite well. Since our war,gentlemen, Graustark women have nothing to acquire in the way of courageand endurance. You, of course, know nothing of the horrors of that war."
"But we would be thankful for the story of it, your excellency. War isa hobby of mine. I read every war scare that gets into print," saidAnguish, eagerly.
"We, of Graustark, at present have every reason to recall the last warand bitterly to lament its ending. The war occurred just fifteen yearsago--but will the recital tire you, Mr. Lorry? I came to spend a fewmoments socially and not to go into history. At any other time I shallbe--"
"It will please and not tire me. I am deeply interested. Pray goon," Lorry hastened to say, for he was interested more than the Countsuspected.
"Fifteen years ago Prince Ganlook, of this principality,--the fatherof our princess,--became incensed over the depredations of the Axphainsoldiers who patrolled our border on the north. He demanded restitutionfor the devastation they had created, but was refused. Graustark is aprovince comprising some eight hundred square miles of the best land inthis part of the world. Our neighbor is smaller in area and population.Our army was better equipped but not so hardy. For several months thefighting in the north was in our favor, but the result was that ourforces were finally driven back to Edelweiss, hacked and battered by thefierce thousands that came over the border. The nation was staggered bythe shock, for such an outcome had not been considered possible. We hadbeen too confident. Our soldiers were sick and worn by six months ofhard fighting, and the men of Edelweiss--the merchants, the laborersand the nobility itself--flew to arms in defense of the city. For over amonth we fought, hundreds of our best and bravest citizens going down todeath. They at last began a bombardment of the city. To-day you can seethey marks on nearly every house in Edelweiss. Hundreds of graves inthe valley to the south attest the terrors of that siege. The castle wasstormed, and Prince Ganlook, with many of the chief men of the land, metdeath. The prince was killed in front of the castle gates, from whichhe had sallied in a last, brave attempt to beat off the conquerors. Abronze statue now marks the spot on which he fell. The Princess, hiswife, was my sister, and as I held the portfolio of finance, it wasthrough me that the city surrendered, bringing the siege to an end.Fifteen years ago this autumn--the twentieth of November, to beexplicit--the treaty of peace was signed in Sofia. We were compelledto cede a portion of territory in the far northeast, valuable for itsmines. Indemnity was agreed upon by the peace commissioners, amountingto 20,000,000 gavvos, or nearly $30,000,000 in your money. In fifteenyears this money was to be paid, with interest. On the twentieth ofNovember, this year, the people of Graustark must pay 25,000,000 gavvos.The time is at hand, and that is why we recall the war so vividly. Itmeans the bankruptcy of the nation, gentlemen."
Neither of his listeners spoke for some moments. Then Lorry broke thesilence.
"You mean that the money cannot be raised?" he asked.
"It is not in our treasury. Our people have been taxed so sorely inrebuilding their homes and in recuperating from the effect of thatdreadful invasion that they have been unable to pay the levies. Youmust remember that we are a small nation and of limited resources. Yournation could secure $30,000,000 in one hour for the mere asking. To usit is like a death blow. I am not betraying a state secret in tellingyou of the sore straits in which we are placed, for every man in thenation has been made cognizant of the true conditions. We are all facingit together." There was something so quietly heroic in his manner thatboth men felt pity. Anguish, looking at the military figure, asked: "Youfought through the war, your excellency?"
"I r
esigned as minister, sir, to go to the front. I was in the firstbattle and I was in the last," he said, simply.
"And the Princess,--the present ruler, I mean,--was a mere child at thattime. When did she succeed to the throne?" asked Lorry.
"Oh, the great world does not remember our little history! Within a yearafter the death of Prince Ganlook, his wife, my sister, passed away,dying of a broken heart. Her daughter, their only child, was, accordingto our custom, crowned at once. She has reigned for fourteen years, andwisely since assuming full power. For three years she has been ruler defacto. She has been frugal, and has done all in her power to meet theshadow that is descending."
"And what is the alternative in case the indemnity is not paid?" askedLorry, breathlessly, for he saw something bright in the approachingcalamity.
"The cession of all that part of Graustark lying north of Edelweiss,including fourteen towns, all of our mines and our most productivefarming and grazing lands. In that event Graustark will be no largerthan one of the good-sized farms in your western country. There will benothing left for Her Royal Highness to rule save a tract so small thatthe word principality will be a travesty and a jest. This city andtwenty-five miles to the south, a strip about one hundred fifty mileslong. Think of it! Twenty-five by one hundred fifty miles, and yetcalled a principality! Once the proudest and most prosperous statein the east, considering its size, reduced to that! Ach,gentlemen--gentlemen! I cannot think of it without tearing out aheart-string and suffering such pains as mortal man has never endured.I lived in Graustark's days of wealth, power and supremacy; God hascondemned me to live in the days of her dependency, weakness andpoverty. Let us talk no more of this unpleasant subject."
His hearers pitied the frank, proud old man from the bottoms of theirhearts. He had told them the story with the candor and simplicity ofa child, admitting weakness and despondency. Still he sat erect anddefiant, his face white and drawn, his figure suggesting the famouspicture of the stag at bay.
"Willingly, your excellency, since it is distasteful to you. I hope,however, you will permit me to ask how much you are short of theamount," said Lorry, considerately yet curiously.
"Our minister of finance, Gaspon, will be able to produce fifteenmillion gavvos at the stated time--far from enough. This amount has beensucked from the people from excessive levy, and has been hoarded for thedreaded day. Try as we would, it has been impossible to raise the fullamount. The people have been bled and have responded nobly, sacrificingeverything to meet the treaty terms honorably, but the strain has beentoo great. Our army has cost us large sums. We have strengthened ourdefenses, and could, should we go to war, defeat Axphain. But we haveour treaty to honor; we could not take up arms to save ourselves fromthat honest bond. Our levies have barely brought the amount necessaryto, maintain an army large enough to inspire respect among those who areready to leap upon us the instant we show the least sign of distress.There are about us powers that have held aloof from war with us simplybecause we have awed them with our show of force. It has been oursafeguard, and there is not a citizen of Graustark who objects to themanner in which state affairs are conducted. They know that our armyis an economy at any price. Until last spring we were confident thatwe could raise the full amount due Axphain, but the people in the ruraldistricts were unable to meet the levies on account of the panic thatcame at a most unfortunate time. That is why we were hurrying home fromyour country, Mr. Lorry. Gaspon had cabled the Princess that affairswere in a hopeless condition, begging her to come home and do what shecould in a final appeal to the people, knowing the love they had forher. She came, and has seen these loyal subjects offer their livesfor her and for Graustark, but utterly unable to give what they havenot--money. She asked them if she should disband the army, and therewas a negative wail from one end of the land to the other. Then the armyagreed to serve on half pay until all was tided over. Public officersare giving their services free, and many of our wealthy people haveadvanced loans on bonds, worthless as they may seem, and still we havenot the required amount."
"Cannot the loan be extended a few years?" asked Lorry, angry with theruler in the north, taking the woes of Graustark as much to heart as ifthey were his own.
"Not one day! Not in London, Paris, nor Berlin."
Lorry lay back and allowed Anguish to lead the conversation into otherchannels. The Count remained for half an hour, saying as he left thatthe Princess and his wife had expressed a desire to be remembered totheir guests.
"Her Royal Highness spent the evening with the ministers of finance andwar, and her poor head, I doubt not, is racking from the effects ofthe consultation. These are weighty matters for a girl to have on herhands," solemnly stated the Count, pausing for an instant at the door ofthe apartment.
After he had closed it the Americans looked long and thoughtfully ateach other, each feeling a respect for the grim old gentleman that theyhad never felt for man before.
"So they are in a devil of a shape," mused Anguish. "I tell you, Gren, Inever knew anything that made me feel so badly as does the trouble thathangs over that girl and her people. A week ago I wouldn't have cared arap for Graustark, but to-night I feel like weeping for her."
"There seems to be no help for her, either," said Lorry, reflectively.
"Graustark, you mean?"
"No--I mean yes, of course,--who else?" demanded the other, whocertainly had not meant Graustark.
"I believe, confound your selfish soul, you'd like to see the nation,the crown and everything else taken away from this helpless, harrassedchild. Then you'd have a chance," exclaimed Anguish, pacing the floor,half angrily, half encouragingly.
"Don't say that, Harry, don't say that. Don't accuse me of it, for I'llconfess I had in my heart that meanest of longings--the selfish, base,heartless hope that you have guessed. It hurts me to be accused of itthough, so don't do it again, old man. I'll put away the miserablehope, if I can, and I'll pray God that she may find a way out of thedifficulty."
They went to sleep that night, Anguish at once, Lorry not for hours,harboring a determination to learn more about the condition of affairstouching the people of Graustark and the heart of their Princess.