XV
MAENCK BLUNDERS
After a hurried breakfast Peter of Blentz and Captain Ernst Maenckleft the castle of Blentz. Prince Peter rode north toward thefrontier, Austria, and safety, Captain Maenck rode south towardLustadt. Neither knew that general orders had been issued tosoldiery and gendarmerie of Lutha to capture them dead or alive. SoPrince Peter rode carelessly; but Captain Maenck, because of thenature of his business and the proximity of enemies about Lustadt,proceeded with circumspection.
Prince Peter was arrested at Tafelberg, and, though he stormed andraged and threatened, he was immediately packed off under heavyguard back toward Lustadt.
Captain Ernst Maenck was more fortunate. He reached the capital ofLutha in safety, though he had to hide on several occasions fromdetachments of troops moving toward the north. Once within the cityhe rode rapidly to the house of a friend. Here he learned that whichset him into a fine state of excitement and profanity. The king andthe Princess Emma von der Tann were to be wed that very afternoon!It lacked but half an hour to four o'clock.
Maenck grabbed his cap and dashed from the house before hisastonished friend could ask a single question. He hurried straighttoward the cathedral. The king had just arrived, and entered whenMaenck came up, breathless. The guard at the doorway did notrecognize him. If they had they would have arrested him. Insteadthey contented themselves with refusing him admission, and when heinsisted they threatened him with arrest.
To be arrested now would be to ruin his fine plan, so he turned andwalked away. At the first cross street he turned up the side of thecathedral. The grounds were walled up on this side, and he sought invain for entrance. At the rear he discovered a limousine standing inthe alley where its chauffeur had left it after depositing hispassengers at the front door of the cathedral. The top of thelimousine was but a foot or two below the top of the wall.
Maenck clambered to the hood of the machine, and from there to thetop. A moment later he dropped to the earth inside the cathedralgrounds. Before him were many windows. Most of them were too highfor him to reach, and the others that he tried at first weresecurely fastened. Passing around the end of the building, he atlast discovered one that was open--it led into the east transept.
Maenck crawled through. He was within the building that held theman he sought. He found himself in a small room--evidently adressing-room. There were two doors leading from it. He approachedone and listened. He heard the tones of subdued conversation beyond.
Very cautiously he opened the door a crack. He could not believethe good fortune that was revealed before him. On a couch lay thePrincess Emma von der Tann. Beside her her father. At the door wasLieutenant Butzow. The bishop and a doctor were talking at the headof the couch. Pacing up and down the room, resplendent in themarriage robes of a king of Lutha, was the man he sought.
Maenck drew his revolver. He broke the barrel, and saw that therewas a good cartridge in each chamber of the cylinder. He closed itquietly. Then he threw open the door, stepped into the room, tookdeliberate aim, and fired.
The old man with the ax moved cautiously along the corridor upon thesecond floor of the Castle of Blentz until he came to a certaindoor. Gently he turned the knob and pushed the door inward. Holdingthe ax behind his back, he entered. In his pocket was a great rollof money, and there was to be an equal amount waiting him at Lustadtwhen his mission had been fulfilled.
Once within the room, he looked quickly about him. Upon a great bedlay the figure of a man asleep. His face was turned toward theopposite wall away from the side of the bed nearer the menacingfigure of the old servant. On tiptoe the man with the ax approached.The neck of his victim lay uncovered before him. He swung the axbehind him. A single blow, as mighty as his ancient muscles coulddeliver, would suffice.
Barney Custer opened his eyes. Directly opposite him upon the wallwas a dark-toned photogravure of a hunting scene. It tilted slightlyforward upon its wire support. As Barney's eyes opened it chanced thatthey were directed straight upon the shiny glass of the picture. Thelight from the window struck the glass in such a way as to transformit into a mirror. The American's eyes were glued with horror uponthe reflection that he saw there--an old man swinging a huge ax downupon his head.
It is an open question as to which of the two was the most surprisedat the cat-like swiftness of the movement that carried Barney Custerout of that bed and landed him in temporary safety upon the oppositeside.
With a snarl the old man ran around the foot of the bed to cornerhis prey between the bed and the wall. He was swinging the ax asthough to hurl it. So close was he that Barney guessed it would bedifficult for him to miss his mark. The least he could expect wouldbe a frightful wound. To have attempted to escape would havenecessitated turning his back to his adversary, inviting instantdeath. To grapple with a man thus armed appeared an equally hopelessalternative.
Shoulder-high beside him hung the photogravure that had alreadysaved his life once. Why not again? He snatched it from itshangings, lifted it above his head in both hands, and hurled it atthe head of the old man. The glass shattered full upon the ancient'scrown, the man's head went through the picture, and the framesettled over his shoulders. At the same instant Barney Custer leapedacross the bed, seized a light chair, and turned to face his foeupon more even terms.
The old man did not pause to remove the frame from about his neck.Blood trickled down his forehead and cheeks from deep gashes thatthe broken glass had made. Now he was in a berserker rage.
As he charged again he uttered a peculiar whistling noise frombetween his set teeth. To the American it sounded like the hissingof a snake, and as he would have met a snake he met the venomousattack of the old man.
When the short battle was over the Blentz servitor lay unconsciousupon the floor, while above him leaned the American, uninjured,ripping long strips from a sheet torn from the bed, twisting theminto rope-like strands and, with them, binding the wrists and anklesof his defeated foe. Finally he stuffed a gag between the toothlessgums.
Running to the wardrobe, he discovered that the king's uniform wasgone. That, with the witness of the empty bed, told him the wholestory. The American smiled. "More nerve than I gave him credit for,"he mused, as he walked back to his bed and reached under the pillowfor the two papers he had forced the king to sign. They, too, weregone. Slowly Barney Custer realized his plight, as there filteredthrough his mind a suggestion of the possibilities of the trick thathad been played upon him.
Why should Leopold wish these papers? Of course, he might merelyhave taken them that he might destroy them; but something toldBarney Custer that such was not the case. And something, too, toldhim whither the king had ridden and what he would do there when hearrived.
He ran back to the wardrobe. In it hung the peasant attire that hehad stolen from the line of the careless house frau, and laterwished upon his majesty the king. Barney grinned as he recalled theroyal disgust with which Leopold had fingered the soiled garments.He scarce blamed him. Looking further toward the back of thewardrobe, the American discovered other clothing.
He dragged it all out upon the floor. There was an old shootingjacket, several pairs of trousers and breeches, and a hunting coat.In a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe he found many old shoes,puttees, and boots.
From this miscellany he selected riding breeches, a pair of boots,and the red hunting coat as the only articles that fitted his ratherlarge frame. Hastily he dressed, and, taking the ax the old man hadbrought to the room as the only weapon available, he walked boldlyinto the corridor, down the spiral stairway and into the guardroom.
Barney Custer was prepared to fight. He was desperate. He couldhave slunk from the Castle of Blentz as he had entered it--throughthe secret passageway to the ravine; but to attempt to reach Lustadton foot was not at all compatible with the urgent haste that he feltnecessary. He must have a horse, and a horse he would have if he hadto fight his way through a Blentz army.
But there were no armed retainers left at Blentz.
The guardroom wasvacant; but there were arms there and ammunition. Barneycommandeered a sword and a revolver, then he walked into thecourtyard and crossed to the stables. The way took him by thegarden. In it he saw a coffin-like box resting upon planks above agrave-like excavation. Barney investigated. The box was empty. Onceagain he grinned. "It is not always wise," he mused, "to count yourcorpses before they're dead. What a lot of work the old man mighthave spared himself if he'd only caught his cadaver first--or atleast tried to."
Passing on by his own grave, he came to the stables. A groom wascurrying a strong, clean-limbed hunter haltered in the doorway. Theman looked up as Barney approached him. A puzzled expression enteredthe fellow's eyes. He was a young man--a stupid-looking lout. It wasevident that he half recognized the face of the newcomer as one hehad seen before. Barney nodded to him.
"Never mind finishing," he said. "I am in a hurry. You may saddlehim at once." The voice was authoritative--it brooked no demur. Thegroom touched his forehead, dropped the currycomb and brush, andturned back into the stable to fetch saddle and bridle.
Five minutes later Barney was riding toward the gate. The portculliswas raised--the drawbridge spanned the moat--no guard was there tobar his way. The sunlight flooded the green valley, stretchinglazily below him in the soft warmth of a mellow autumn morning.Behind him he had left the brooding shadows of the grim oldfortress--the cold, cruel, depressing stronghold of intrigue,treason, and sudden death.
He threw back his shoulders and filled his lungs with the sweet,pure air of freedom. He was a new man. The wound in his breast wasforgotten. Lightly he touched his spurs to the hunter's sides.Tossing his head and curveting, the animal broke into a long, easytrot. Where the road dipped into the ravine and down through thevillage to the valley the rider drew his restless mount into a walk;but, once in the valley, he let him out. Barney took the short roadto Lustadt. It would cut ten miles off the distance that the mainwagonroad covered, and it was a good road for a horseman. It shouldbring him to Lustadt by one o'clock or a little after. The roadwound through the hills to the east of the main highway, and wasscarcely more than a trail where it crossed the Ru River upon anarrow bridge that spanned the deep mountain gorge that walls the Rufor ten miles through the hills.
When Barney reached the river his hopes sank. The bridge wasgone--dynamited by the Austrians in their retreat. The nearestbridge was at the crossing of the main highway over ten miles to thesouthwest. There, too, the river might be forded even if theAustrians had destroyed that bridge also; but here or elsewhere inthe hills there could be no fording--the banks of the Ru wereperpendicular cliffs.
The misfortune would add nearly twenty miles to his journey--hecould not now hope to reach Lustadt before late in the afternoon.Turning his horse back along the trail he had come, he retraced hisway until he reached a narrow bridle path that led toward thesouthwest. The trail was rough and indistinct, yet he pushedforward, even more rapidly than safety might have suggested. Thenoble beast beneath him was all loyalty and ambition.
"Take it easy, old boy," whispered Barney into the slim, pointedears that moved ceaselessly backward and forward, "you'll get yourchance when we strike the highway, never fear."
And he did.
So unexpected had been Maenck's entrance into the room in the easttransept, so sudden his attack, that it was all over before a handcould be raised to stay him. At the report of his revolver the kingsank to the floor. At almost the same instant Lieutenant Butzowwhipped a revolver from beneath his tunic and fired at the assassin.Maenck staggered forward and stumbled across the body of the king.Butzow was upon him instantly, wresting the revolver from hisfingers. Prince Ludwig ran to the king's side and, kneeling there,raised Leopold's head in his arms. The bishop and the doctor bentover the limp form. The Princess Emma stood a little apart. She hadleaped from the couch where she had been lying. Her eyes were widein horror. Her palms pressed to her cheeks.
It was upon this scene that a hatless, dust-covered man in a redhunting coat burst through the door that had admitted Maenck. Theman had seen and recognized the conspirator as he climbed to the topof the limousine and dropped within the cathedral grounds, and hehad followed close upon his heels.
No one seemed to note his entrance. All ears were turned toward thedoctor, who was speaking.
"The king is dead," he said.
Maenck raised himself upon an elbow. He spoke feebly.
"You fools," he cried. "That man was not the king. I saw him stealthe king's clothes at Blentz and I followed him here. He is theAmerican--the impostor." Then his eyes, circling the faces about himto note the results of his announcements, fell upon the face of theman in the red hunting coat. Amazement and wonder were in his face.Slowly he raised his finger and pointed.
"There is the king," he said.
Every eye turned in the direction he indicated. Exclamations ofsurprise and incredulity burst from every lip. The old chancellorlooked from the man in the red hunting coat to the still form of theman upon the floor in the blood-spattered marriage garments of aking of Lutha. He let the king's head gently down upon the carpet,and then he rose to his feet and faced the man in the red huntingcoat.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Before Barney could speak Lieutenant Butzow spoke.
"He is the king, your highness," he said. "I rode with him toBlentz to free Mr. Custer. Both were wounded in the courtyard in thefight that took place there. I helped to dress their wounds. Theking was wounded in the breast--Mr. Custer in the left leg."
Prince von der Tann looked puzzled. Again he turned his eyesquestioningly toward the newcomer.
"Is this the truth?" he asked.
Barney looked toward the Princess Emma. In her eyes he could readthe relief that the sight of him alive had brought her. Since shehad recognized the king she had believed that Barney was dead. Thetemptation was great--he dreaded losing her, and he feared he wouldlose her when her father learned the truth of the deception that hadbeen practiced upon him. He might lose even more--men had lost theirheads for tampering with the affairs of kings.
"Well?" persisted the chancellor.
"Lieutenant Butzow is partially correct--he honestly believes thathe is entirely so," replied the American. "He did ride with me fromLustadt to Blentz to save the man who lies dead here at your feet.The lieutenant thought that he was riding with his king, just asyour highness thought that he was riding with his king during thebattle of Lustadt. You were both wrong--you were riding with Mr.Bernard Custer, of Beatrice. I am he. I have no apologies to make.What I did I would do again. I did it for Lutha and for the woman Ilove. She knows and the king knew that I intended restoring hisidentity to him with no one the wiser for the interchange that hadtaken place. The king upset my plans by stealing back his identitywhile I slept, with the result that you see before you upon thefloor. He has died as he had lived--futilely."
As he spoke the Princess Emma had crossed the room toward him. Nowshe stood at his side, her hand in his. Tense silence reigned in theapartment. The old chancellor stood with bowed head, buried inthought. All eyes were upon him except those of the doctor, who hadturned his attention from the dead king to the wounded assassin.Butzow stood looking at Barney Custer in open relief and admiration.He had been trying to vindicate his friend in his own mind eversince he had discovered, as he believed, that Barney had trickedLeopold after the latter had saved his life at Blentz and ridden toLustadt in the king's guise. Now that he knew the whole truth herealized how stupid he had been not to guess that the man who hadled the victorious Luthanian army before Lustadt could not have beenthe cowardly Leopold.
Presently the chancellor broke the silence.
"You say that Leopold of Lutha lived futilely. You are right; butwhen you say that he has died futilely, you are, I believe, wrong.Living, he gave us a poor weakling. Dying, he leaves the throne to abrave man, in whose veins flows the blood of the Rubinroths,hereditary rulers of Lutha.
"You are the only rightful success
or to the throne of Lutha," heargued, "other than Peter of Blentz. Your mother's marriage to aforeigner did not bar the succession of her offspring. Aside fromthe fact that Peter of Blentz is out of the question, is the moreimportant fact that your line is closer to the throne than his. Heknew it, and this knowledge was the real basis of his hatred ofyou."
As the old chancellor ceased speaking he drew his sword and raisedit on high above his head.
"The king is dead," he said. "Long live the king!"
XVI
KING OF LUTHA
Barney Custer, of Beatrice, had no desire to be king of Lutha. Helost no time in saying so. All that he wanted of Lutha was the girlhe had found there, as his father before him had found the girl ofhis choice. Von der Tann pleaded with him.
"Twice have I fought under you, sire," he urged. "Twice, and onlytwice since the old king died, have I felt that the future of Luthawas safe in the hands of her ruler, and both these times it was youwho sat upon the throne. Do not desert us now. Let me live to seeLutha once more happy, with a true Rubinroth upon the throne and mydaughter at his side."
Butzow added his pleas to those of the old chancellor. The Americanhesitated.
"Let us leave it to the representatives of the people and to thehouse of nobles," he suggested.
The chancellor of Lutha explained the situation to both houses.Their reply was unanimous. He carried it to the American, whoawaited the decision of Lutha in the royal apartments of the palace.With him was the Princess Emma von der Tann.
"The people of Lutha will have no other king, sire," said the oldman.
Barney turned toward the girl.
"There is no other way, my lord king," she said with grave dignity."With her blood your mother bequeathed you a duty which you may notshirk. It is not for you or for me to choose. God chose for you whenyou were born."
Barney Custer took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.
"Let the King of Lutha," he said, "be the first to salute Lutha'squeen."
And so Barney Custer, of Beatrice, was crowned King of Lutha, andEmma became his queen. Maenck died of his wound on the floor of thelittle room in the east transept of the cathedral of Lustadt besidethe body of the king he had slain. Prince Peter of Blentz was triedby the highest court of Lutha on the charge of treason; he was foundguilty and hanged. Von Coblich committed suicide on the eve of hisarrest. Lieutenant Otto Butzow was ennobled and given theconfiscated estates of the Blentz prince. He became a general in thearmy of Lutha, and was sent to the front in command of the armycorps that guarded the northern frontier of the little kingdom.
I have made the following changes to the text:PAGE CHAPTER PARAGRAPH LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO 72 VIII 3 1 Ludstadt Lustadt 81 3 2 mier miter 83 7 3 Ludstadt Lustadt 86 3 2 him arm his arm 90 4 4 monarch, he monarch he 94 2 4 colums columns 98 2 2 imposter impostor 121 1 1 approaced approached 126 2 5 from from the 140 6 5 whom, appeared whom appeared 142 5 1 once side one side 143 4 8 knew drew 158 4 5 presumptious presumptuous 182 5 3 jeweler's shot jeweler's shop 189 8 2 ingrate?" ingrate? 193 5 3 oil panting oil painting 200 7 1 soldiers soldier 211 2 1 men and woman men and women 212 3 5 instruments instrument 217 4 1 The cheered They cheered 217 6 2 gril's face girl's face 218 1 magnamity magnanimity 218 7 2 him. Barney's him, Barney's 225 3 3 horseman horsemen 228 5 1 ajaculated ejaculated 233 8 6 king of Lustadt, king of Lutha, 234 6 2 You "You 251 9 Luthania army Luthanian army 252 2 3 poor, weakling poor weakling
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