XII
THE GRATITUDE OF A KING
At the cry silence fell upon the throng. Every head was turnedtoward the great doors through which the head of a procession wasjust visible. It was a grim looking procession--the head of it, atleast.
There were four khaki-clad trumpeters from the Royal Horse Guards,the gay and resplendent uniforms which they should have donned todayconspicuous for their absence. From their brazen bugles soundedanother loud fanfare, and then they separated, two upon each side ofthe aisle, and between them marched three men.
One was tall, with gray eyes and had a reddish-brown beard. He wasfully clothed in the coronation robes of Leopold. Upon his eitherhand walked the others--Lieutenant Butzow and a gray-eyed,smooth-faced, square-jawed stranger.
Behind them marched the balance of the Royal Horse Guards that werenot already on duty within the cathedral. As the eyes of themultitude fell upon the man in the coronation robes there were criesof: "The king! Impostor!" and "Von der Tann's puppet!"
"Denounce him!" whispered one of Peter's henchmen in his master'sear.
The Regent moved closer to the aisle, that he might meet theimpostor at the foot of the chancel steps. The procession was movingsteadily up the aisle.
Among the clan of Von der Tann a young girl with wide eyes wasbending forward that she might have a better look at the face of theking. As he came opposite her her eyes filled with horror, and thenshe saw the eyes of the smooth-faced stranger at the king's side.They were brave, laughing eyes, and as they looked straight into herown the truth flashed upon her, and the girl gave a gasp of dismayas she realized that the king of Lutha and the king of her heartwere not one and the same.
At last the head of the procession was almost at the foot of thechancel steps. There were murmurs of: "It is not the king," and "Whois this new impostor?"
Leopold's eyes were searching the faces of the close-packed nobilityabout the chancel. At last they fell upon the face of Peter. Theyoung man halted not two paces from the Regent. The man went whiteas the king's eyes bored straight into his miserable soul.
"Peter of Blentz," cried the young man, "as God is your judge, tellthe truth today. Who am I?"
The legs of the Prince Regent trembled. He sank upon his knees,raising his hands in supplication toward the other. "Have pity onme, your majesty, have pity!" he cried.
"Who am I, man?" insisted the king.
"You are Leopold Rubinroth, sire, by the grace of God, king ofLutha," cried the frightened man. "Have mercy on an old man, yourmajesty."
"Wait! Am I mad? Was I ever mad?"
"As God is my judge, sire, no!" replied Peter of Blentz.
Leopold turned to Butzow.
"Remove the traitor from our presence," he commanded, and at a wordfrom the lieutenant a dozen guardsmen seized the trembling man andhustled him from the cathedral amid hisses and execrations.
Following the coronation the king was closeted in his privateaudience chamber in the palace with Prince Ludwig.
"I cannot understand what has happened, even now, your majesty," theold man was saying. "That you are the true Leopold is all that I ampositive of, for the discomfiture of Prince Peter evidenced thatfact all too plainly. But who the impostor was who ruled Lutha inyour name for two days, disappearing as miraculously as he came, Icannot guess.
"But for another miracle which preserved you for us in the nick oftime he might now be wearing the crown of Lutha in your stead.Having Peter of Blentz safely in custody our next immediate taskshould be to hunt down the impostor and bring him to justice also;though"--and the old prince sighed--"he was indeed a brave man, anda noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle."
The king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of the"impostor," but at the old man's praise of the other's bravery aslight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of a scowl crossed hisbrow.
"Wait," he said, "we shall not have to look far for your'impostor,'" and summoning an aide he dispatched him for "LieutenantButzow and Mr. Custer."
A moment later the two entered the audience chamber. Barney foundthat Leopold the king, surrounded by comforts and safety, was a verydifferent person from Leopold the fugitive. The weak face now worean expression of arrogance, though the king spoke most graciously tothe American.
"Here, Von der Tann," said Leopold, "is your 'impostor.' But for himI should doubtless be dead by now, or once again a prisoner atBlentz."
Barney and Butzow found it necessary to repeat their stories severaltimes before the old man could fully grasp all that had transpiredbeneath his very nose without his being aware of scarce a singledetail of it.
When he was finally convinced that they were telling the truth, heextended his hand to the American.
"I knelt to you once, young man," he said, "and kissed your hand. Ishould be filled with bitterness and rage toward you. On thecontrary, I find that I am proud to have served in the retinue ofsuch an impostor as you, for you upheld the prestige of the house ofRubinroth upon the battlefield, and though you might have had acrown, you refused it and brought the true king into his own."
Leopold sat tapping his foot upon the carpet. It was all very wellif he, the king, chose to praise the American, but there was no needfor old von der Tann to slop over so. The king did not like it. As amatter of fact, he found himself becoming very jealous of the manwho had placed him upon his throne.
"There is only one thing that I can harbor against you," continuedPrince Ludwig, "and that is that in a single instance you deceivedme, for an hour before the coronation you told me that you were aRubinroth."
"I told you, prince," corrected Barney, "that the royal blood ofRubinroth flowed in my veins, and so it does. I am the son of therunaway Princess Victoria of Lutha."
Both Leopold and Ludwig looked their surprise, and to the king'seyes came a sudden look of fear. With the royal blood in his veins,what was there to prevent this popular hero from some day strivingfor the throne he had once refused? Leopold knew that the minds ofmen were wont to change most unaccountably.
"Butzow," he said suddenly to the lieutenant of horse, "how many doyou imagine know positively that he who has ruled Lutha for the pasttwo days and he who was crowned in the cathedral this noon are notone and the same?"
"Only a few besides those who are in this room, your majesty,"replied Butzow. "Peter and Coblich have known it from the first, andthen there is Kramer, the loyal old shopkeeper of Tafelberg, whofollowed Coblich and Maenck all night and half a day as they draggedthe king to the hiding-place where we found him. Other than thesethere may be those who guess the truth, but there are none whoknow."
For a moment the king sat in thought. Then he rose and commencedpacing back and forth the length of the apartment.
"Why should they ever know?" he said at last, halting before thethree men who had been standing watching him. "For the sake of Luthathey should never know that another than the true king sat upon thethrone even for an hour."
He was thinking of the comparison that might be drawn between theheroic figure of the American and his own colorless part in theevents which had led up to his coronation. In his heart of hearts hefelt that old Von der Tann rather regretted that the American hadnot been the king, and he hated the old man accordingly, and wascommencing to hate the American as well.
Prince Ludwig stood looking at the carpet after the king had spoken.His judgment told him that the king's suggestion was a wise one; buthe was sorry and ashamed that it had come from Leopold. Butzow'slips almost showed the contempt that he felt for the ingratitude ofhis king.
Barney Custer was the first to speak.
"I think his majesty is quite right," he said, "and tonight I canleave the palace after dark and cross the border some time tomorrowevening. The people need never know the truth."
Leopold looked relieved.
"We must reward you, Mr. Custer," he said. "Name that which it lieswithin our power to grant you and it shall be yours."
Barney thought of t
he girl he loved; but he did not mention hername, for he knew that she was not for him now.
"There is nothing, your majesty," he said.
"A money reward," Leopold started to suggest, and then Barney Custerlost his temper.
A flush mounted to his face, his chin went up, and there came to hislips bitter words of sarcasm. With an effort, however, he held histongue, and, turning his back upon the king, his broad shouldersproclaiming the contempt he felt, he walked slowly out of the room.
Von der Tann and Butzow and Leopold of Lutha stood in silence as theAmerican passed out of sight beyond the portal.
The manner of his going had been an affront to the king, and theyoung ruler had gone red with anger.
"Butzow," he cried, "bring the fellow back; he shall be taught alesson in the deference that is due kings."
Butzow hesitated. "He has risked his life a dozen times for yourmajesty," said the lieutenant.
Leopold flushed.
"Do not humiliate him, sire," advised Von der Tann. "He has earneda greater reward at your hands than that."
The king resumed his pacing for a moment, coming to a halt once morebefore the two.
"We shall take no notice of his insolence," he said, "and that shallbe our royal reward for his services. More than he deserves, we daresay, at that."
As Barney hastened through the palace on his way to his new quartersto obtain his arms and order his horse saddled, he came suddenlyupon a girlish figure gazing sadly from a window upon the drearNovember world--her heart as sad as the day.
At the sound of his footstep she turned, and as her eyes met thegray ones of the man she stood poised as though of half a mind tofly. For a moment neither spoke.
"Can your highness forgive?" he asked.
For answer the girl buried her face in her hands and dropped uponthe cushioned window seat before her. The American came close andknelt at her side.
"Don't," he begged as he saw her shoulders rise to the suddensobbing that racked her slender frame. "Don't!"
He thought that she wept from mortification that she had given herkisses to another than the king.
"None knows," he continued, "what has passed between us. None butyou and I need ever know. I tried to make you understand that I wasnot Leopold; but you would not believe. It is not my fault that Iloved you. It is not my fault that I shall always love you. Tell methat you forgive me my part in the chain of strange circumstancesthat deceived you into an acknowledgment of a love that you intendedfor another. Forgive me, Emma!"
Down the corridor behind them a tall figure approached on silent,noiseless feet. At sight of the two at the window seat it halted. Itwas the king.
The girl looked up suddenly into the eyes of the American bending soclose above her.
"I can never forgive you," she cried, "for not being the king, for Iam betrothed to him--and I love you!"
Before she could prevent him, Barney Custer had taken her in hisarms, and though at first she made a pretense of attempting toescape, at last she lay quite still. Her arms found their way aboutthe man's neck, and her lips returned the kisses that his wereshowering upon her upturned mouth.
Presently her glance wandered above the shoulder of the American,and of a sudden her eyes filled with terror, and, with a little gaspof consternation, she struggled to free herself.
"Let me go!" she whispered. "Let me go--the king!"
Barney sprang to his feet and, turning, faced Leopold. The king hadgone quite white.
"Failing to rob me of my crown," he cried in a trembling voice, "younow seek to rob me of my betrothed! Go to your father at once, andas for you--you shall learn what it means for you thus to meddle inthe affairs of kings."
Barney saw the terrible position in which his love had placed thePrincess Emma. His only thought now was for her. Bowing low beforeher he spoke so that the king might hear, yet as though his wordswere for her ears alone.
"Your highness knows the truth, now," he said, "and that after all Iam not the king. I can only ask that you will forgive me thedeception. Now go to your father as the king commands."
Slowly the girl turned away. Her heart was torn between love forthis man, and her duty toward the other to whom she had beenbetrothed in childhood. The hereditary instinct of obedience to hersovereign was strong within her, and the bonds of custom and societyheld her in their relentless shackles. With a sob she passed up thecorridor, curtsying to the king as she passed him.
When she had gone Leopold turned to the American. There was an evillook in the little gray eyes of the monarch.
"You may go your way," he said coldly. "We shall give youforty-eight hours to leave Lutha. Should you ever return your lifeshall be the forfeit."
The American kept back the hot words that were ready upon the end ofhis tongue. For her sake he must bow to fate. With a slightinclination of his head toward Leopold he wheeled and resumed hisway toward his quarters.
Half an hour later as he was about to descend to the courtyard wherea trooper of the Royal Horse held his waiting mount, Butzow burstsuddenly into his room.
"For God's sake," cried the lieutenant, "get out of this. The kinghas changed his mind, and there is an officer of the guard on hisway here now with a file of soldiers to place you under arrest.Leopold swears that he will hang you for treason. Princess Emma hasspurned him, and he is wild with rage."
The dismal November twilight had given place to bleak night as twomen cantered from the palace courtyard and turned their horses'heads northward toward Lutha's nearest boundary. All night theyrode, stopping at daylight before a distant farm to feed and watertheir mounts and snatch a mouthful for themselves. Then onward onceagain they pressed in their mad flight.
Now that day had come they caught occasional glimpses of a body ofhorsemen far behind them, but the border was near, and their startsuch that there was no danger of their being overtaken.
"For the thousandth time, Butzow," said one of the men, "will youturn back before it is too late?"
But the other only shook his head obstinately, and so they came tothe great granite monument which marks the boundary between Luthaand her powerful neighbor upon the north.
Barney held out his hand. "Good-bye, old man," he said. "If I'velearned the ingratitude of kings here in Lutha, I have foundsomething that more than compensates me--the friendship of a braveman. Now hurry back and tell them that I escaped across the borderjust as I was about to fall into your hands and they will think thatyou have been pursuing me instead of aiding in my escape across theborder."
But again Butzow shook his head.
"I have fought shoulder to shoulder with you, my friend," he said."I have called you king, and after that I could never serve thecoward who sits now upon the throne of Lutha. I have made up my mindduring this long ride from Lustadt, and I have come to the decisionthat I should prefer to raise corn in Nebraska with you rather thanserve in the court of an ingrate."
"Well, you are an obstinate Dutchman, after all," replied theAmerican with a smile, placing his hand affectionately upon theshoulder of his comrade.
There was a clatter of horses' hoofs upon the gravel of the roadbehind them.
The two men put spurs to their mounts, and Barney Custer gallopedacross the northern boundary of Lutha just ahead of a troop ofLuthanian cavalry, as had his father thirty years before; but aroyal princess had accompanied the father--only a soldieraccompanied the son.