A Son of the Immortals

  CHAPTER XIV

  THE BROKEN TREATY

  Alec unlocked the door. The laconic Bosko returned his all sufficing"_Oui, monsieur_," to the request that he would bring MademoiselleJoan's French maid to Princess Delgrado, since it was in Alec's mindthat Pauline might be discreet.

  Prince Michael, Beliani, Marulitch, and Nesimir had already formedthemselves into a whispering group. Stampoff was seated apart, moroseand thoughtful. The old man's elbows rested on his knees and his chinwas propped between his bony fists. Princess Delgrado had flung herselfforward on the table. Her face was hidden by her outstretched arms. Thisattitude of abandonment, the clenched hands, the convulsive heaving ofher shoulders, were eloquent of tempest tossed emotions. She looked soforlorn that her son was tempted to return to her side without delay;but instead he walked quietly toward the four men clustered in thecenter of the room. They started apart and faced him nervously. Itseemed that even yet they feared lest some uncontrolled gust of angermight lead Alec to fling himself blindly upon them. Had they but knownit, he despised them too greatly to think of mauling them.

  "Gentlemen," he said, "I have one small request to make. Give me yourword of honor--I will take it for what it is worth--that to-night'shappenings shall remain unknown to the outer world, and that there willbe no interference with my mother or myself before we leave Delgratz."

  Prince Michael, who had recovered some of his jauntiness, looked at Alecwith the crafty eye of a cowed hyena; but he said coolly, "There isnothing to be gained by publishing our blunders to all the world."

  "Have I your promise?" insisted Alec.

  "Yes."

  "And yours?" he said to Marulitch.

  "Of course I agree," came the ready answer. "I, like Prince Michael,feel that it would be folly----"

  "Prince Michael!" snarled the royal Delgrado. "You must learn to schoolyour tongue, Julius! From this moment I am King of Kosnovia. Let therebe no manner of doubt about that!"

  Alec might not have heard the blusterer. His calm glance fell onBeliani. "And what say you?" he asked.

  "I agree most fully and unreservedly," murmured the Greek, conveying,with a deep bow, his respectful regret that such an assurance should benecessary. The greatly perturbed President had already quitted the room;so Alec turned to Stampoff. His manner was quite friendly. Well he knewthat this fiery soul was not to be judged by the Delgrado standard.

  "I will not inflict on you, my trusty comrade," he said, "the indignityof a demand that I felt was imperative in the case of some otherspresent. Let us shake hands and think rather of what we have gonethrough together when I was King and you were my most loyal supporter,than of the poor climax to my brief reign that reveals me as animpostor."

  Those keen eyes were raised in a half-formed resolution. "Is it toolate, Alec?" he growled sullenly.

  "For what?"

  Alec's smile of surprise was the only bit of affectation he had indulgedin that night. The fantasy flitting through Stampoff's brain was nothidden from him; but he wanted to dismiss it lightly.

  "God's bones! Need you ask? Say but the word, and you will be morefirmly established on the throne than ever. Trust me to find means tostill those babbling tongues!" and Stampoff flung out an arm in thedirection of the uncle and nephew, each manifestly anxious to hurryaway, yet each so distrustful of the other that he dared not go.

  "Paul, you are incorrigible," said Alec. "You ought to have been amarshal under Napoleon, who would have had no scruples. No, you will notsee civil war in the streets of Delgratz as to whether a Delgrado or anAmerican adventurer shall reign in Kosnovia. Yet, I thank you for thethought. It shows that you, at least, do not rate me poorly, and it isnot in my heart to be vexed with you, though I owe this night'samazement to your striving."

  "Be just, Alec!" whispered the Serb hoarsely. "Condemn me if you will;but be just! While Michael Delgrado lived, your reign would never havebeen secure. I knew that all along. You will go away now and marry thegirl of your choice, and soon the memories of this downtrodden countrywill be dim in your soul; but think what would have happened to you, toyour wife, and perhaps to your children, if Michael one day blurted outthe truth in some fit of drunken rage, or if Beliani and that otherwhite faced hound obtained evidence of your birth. That is why I wasresolved to force you, if possible, to wed a Serbian Princess. Yourmarriage to a woman of our own race would have borne down opposition.And now what will happen? The future is black. Michael is unworthy to bea King; Marulitch, at the best, is a poor-spirited wretch; and afterthem there is no Delgrado."

  "Well, I am sorry, too, in a way," said Alec. "I was beginning to lovethese Kosnovian folk, and I think I could have made something of them.Good-by, Paul. If we never meet again, at least we part good friends."

  Stampoff rose and silently wrung Alec's hand. He walked straight out ofthe room with bent head and slow uncertain steps. For the hour hisfierce spirit was chastened. He had done that which he thought wouldmake for good, and it had turned out ill. His single minded scheming hadgone awry. Another man in his position might have sought to curry favorwith the new regime, whether of Michael or Julius; but Stampoff was notof that mettle; he wanted Alec to be King, because he believed in him,and now the edifice for which he had labored so ardently had tumbled inpieces about his ears.

  Pauline came, and Alec went to his mother. He took her tenderly in hisarms.

  "Come, dear!" he said. "Joan's maid will help you to reach your room.Our train leaves at midnight, and Bosko and Pauline will give your maidany help she needs in collecting your belongings."

  The Princess raised her grief stricken face to his, and it wrung hisheart anew to see how that night of misery had aged her.

  "Oh, my son, my son!" she murmured. "Will you ever forgive me?"

  He kissed her with a hearty and reassuring hug. "Forgive you, mother!"he cried. "It is not I, but you, who have suffered through all theseyears. Have no fear for the future! Joan and I will make you happy."

  "But she, Alec! What will she say when she learns the wrong I have doneyou?"

  "What! Afraid of Joan?" cried he cheerfully. "Why, you dear old mother,Joan is taking all the blame on her own shoulders. You will find sheagrees with me that you are the one to be pitied. You made a mistakefor which you have paid very dearly; but in no possible way can itaffect the remainder of our lives. There now, cheer up and prepare foryour journey!"

  The Princess left the room leaning on Pauline's arm, nor, in passing,did she bestow a glance on her husband. Prince Michael indulged in anostentatious shrug, and might have said something had not Alec's gazedwelt on him steadily. It is to be presumed that, not for the firsttime, discretion conquered Michael's valor.

  "A word with you, Beliani," said Alec, going to the table and unlockingthe drawer from which he had taken the money given to Sobieski. "You arenow in charge of the State's finances, I presume. I have here a sum,roughly speaking, of one thousand pounds. To some extent, it is my ownmoney; but the greater part consists of instalments of the salary offive thousand dollars a year I allowed myself as King. Do you think Ihave earned it?"

  The Greek could only mutter a surprised, "Yes. Who would deny your rightto a far larger amount?"

  "Having your sanction, then, I take it," said Alec coolly. "Here too ismy passport, issued in Paris, for which I believe I am indebted to you.It will now come in handy. May I ask in whose charge I leave the booksand papers on this table? Some of them may be of use to the State."

  "I am afraid I cannot answer that question," muttered the Greek, with astealthy glance in the direction of the rival candidates.

  "Well, settle it among yourselves," said Alec dryly. "Now I must beoff."

  Without another word he passed from the room that had witnessed histriumph and his fall. Yet his face was remarkably cheerful when he askedan attendant if Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir's whereabouts was known. Thequiet elation in his manner led the man to believe that some speciallypleasing news had transpired during the conclave in the royal bureau.


  It appeared that his Excellency, the English milord, had gone to themusic hall in the Koenigstrasse with a friend.

  "Then send some one to say that he is wanted here at once," said Alec.

  "Yes, your Majesty."

  "Your Majesty!" How incongruous the two words sounded now in Alec'sears! By a trick of memory his thoughts flew back to the Montmartrereview wherein the stage prototypes of the Parisian band of exiledmonarchs addressed each other by high sounding titles and incidentallysought to borrow five-franc pieces.

  "If I possessed some literary skill, I could write a review that wouldset the world talking," he mused, smiling to himself as he ascended thestairs to his own suite.

  "What is the matter, old chap?" demanded Beaumanoir, strolling into hisfriend's dressing room a few minutes later. Lord Adalbert never hurriedunless he was on horseback. He was in evening dress, and an opera hatwas set rakishly on the back of his head. He was smoking, his hands werethrust into his pockets, and the mere sight of him served again toremind Alec of the larger world in whose daily round Kosnovia and itstroubles filled so insignificant a part.

  In an oddly jubilant mood, Alec took a pencil and wrote in largecharacters on Beaumanoir's immaculate shirt front, "Paris--with care."

  His chum read. "The answer is?" he asked.

  "We are leaving Delgratz to-night, Berty. That is all."

  "You don't say!" He glanced down at the label. "Is this the address?"

  "Yes."

  Beaumanoir screwed his cigar firmly into the corner of his mouth. "I ampretty rapid myself, Alec," he grinned; "but you are too suddenaltogether. Tell me just what you mean, there's a dear fellow."

  "I take it you don't want to remain here without me, Berty," said Aleccheerily, "and I am off. I chucked up my job half an hour ago. Joan andFelix started by the mail train that left here at half-past five. Wefollow at midnight. My mother goes with us. As Bosko is giving her maida hand in the packing, I must look after my own traps. Nesimir'sservants would talk, which is just what I want to avoid. The two daysin the train will give you plenty of time to learn the harrowingdetails. I have a pretty story for you; but it must wait. I am notcracked, nor sprung, nor trying to be funny; so you need not look at mein that way. I am out of business as a King, for good and all, and thesooner I cross the frontier, the better it will be for my health."

  "Honor bright, Alec?"

  "Every syllable. Now, get a hustle on!"

  There was a tap at the door, and a servant entered with a note for theKing. It was from Constantine Beliani, and written in French.

  Prince Michael and Count Julius Marulitch have decided that, in the interests of the State, you ought to make a formal abdication of the throne, appointing the former as your successor, with special remainder to Count Julius.

  I agree with them that this offers the best way out of an unfortunate situation, and I would respectfully point out the urgency that is attached to the proposal if you still contemplate leaving Delgratz to-night.

  Alec bent his brows over this curt missive, which was not couchedprecisely in the suave words that might be expected from the Greek. Readbetween the lines, its meaning was significant. Michael and his nephew,hungering for the spoils, had patched up a truce. They were alreadycontemplating another military pronunciamento, and Beliani, having madehis own terms, was lending his influence.

  If their demands were refused, Alec might find himself a prisoner, andthe country would be plunged into a revolution. Under differentconditions, he would gladly have measured his wits and his popularityagainst the triumvirate. A call to arms would win him the support of thegreat majority of the troops and of nearly all the younger officers. Buta fight for a throne to which he had no claim was not to be thought of;yet he was adamant in his resolve not to advance the schemes of theserogues by any written statement.

  He handed the note to Beaumanoir with a quiet laugh. "There you have thestory in a nutshell," he said. "A few minutes ago I became aware that Iam not Prince Michael's son. Although I strove to act fairly, my worthystepfather is not content. He thinks to force my hand, because he fearsthe republican idea; but I may best him yet.

  "Where is Monsieur Nesimir?" he said to the servant, to whom the Englishconversation was a sealed book.

  "In his apartments, I believe, your Majesty."

  "Have instructions been given for mounted orderlies to be in readiness?"

  "I heard his Excellency Prince Michael say something of the sort to theofficer of the guard, your Majesty."

  The random shot had told. Alec felt that he was spinning a coin withfortune.

  "That is right," he said coolly. "Give my compliments to MonsieurBeliani, and ask him to oblige me by coming here for a moment; PrinceMichael and Count Marulitch, too. Tell all three that I am ready toattend at once to the matter mentioned in Monsieur Beliani's note."

  The servant disappeared. Beaumanoir, who, of course, did not understandthe instructions given to the man, was fumigating Beliani's letter withrapid puffs of smoke, and incidentally scratching the back of his rightear.

  "Rum go this, Alec!" he began.

  "Not a word now. You'll stand by me, Berty, I know. Go to my mother'ssuite and tell Bosko I want him instantly. Bid him bring a brace ofrevolvers, and see that they are loaded. Come here yourself with someropes, leather straps, anything that will serve to truss a man securely,as soon as you are sure that Michael, Julius, and the Greek are safelyin the room."

  Beaumanoir scented a row. Lest any words of his might stop it, hevanished. He must have hurried, too, since Bosko had joined his masterbefore Beliani's messenger reached the anxious conspirators with Alec'sanswer. There was no need to ask if the Albanian had brought theweapons. They were tucked ostentatiously in his belt. Alec looked himsquarely in the eyes.

  "I think I can depend on you, Bosko," said he.

  "_Oui, monsieur._"

  "Understand, then, that I am no longer King of Kosnovia. I am not PrinceMichael's son. I mean to leave Delgratz to-night, and there is a ploton foot to prevent my departure except on terms to which I shall notagree. Will you help me to defeat it?"

  "_Oui, monsieur._"

  "Within the next minute I shall probably have visitors. They may showfight, though I doubt it, I want you to place those two pistols amongthe clothes in that portmanteau, and be busy, apparently, in arrangingits contents. When I close the door, you must spring up and cover themwith both revolvers. Do not shoot without my command; but make it clearby your manner that their lives are at your mercy. Will you do this?"

  "_Oui, monsieur_," said Bosko.

  "Here they are, then. Be ready!"

  The door was ajar, and footsteps sounded on the stairs. Some oneknocked.

  "Come in," said Alec cordially.

  Beliani was the first to enter. He pushed the door wide open to assurehimself that he was not walking into a trap. He saw Bosko on his knees,rummaging in a trunk, and Alec standing in the middle of the room,lighting a cigarette.

  "Come in," said Alec again. "My departure is rather hurried, as youknow, and I have not a minute to spare. Have you brought the necessarydocuments?"

  "It is a simple matter," said the Greek, advancing confidently. "Half asheet of notepaper with your signature and our indorsement as witnesseswill suffice."

  Prince Michael and Julius, reassured by Alec's manner, and thanking thepropitious stars that had rendered unnecessary the dangerous step theywere contemplating, entered the room with as businesslike an air as theycould assume at a crisis so fraught with import to their own future.

  "We ought to be alone," said Beliani in English, with a wary glance atBosko.

  "Oh, for goodness' sake don't disturb my man! I have so little time andso much to do! Tell me exactly what you want me to sign," and he strodeto the door and closed it behind Marulitch.

  The eyes of the three were on him and not on the harmless lookingattendant. During those few seconds they were completely deceived.

  Prince Michael, f
inding the path so easy, took the lead. "Just a formalrenunciation of the crown," he said. "Give as your reason, if youchoose, your inability to fall in with the expressed desire of theCabinet that you should marry a Serbian lady. It is essential that youshould name me----"

  The door opened and Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir came in leisurely. Hecarried an assortment of straps, rifled from leather trunks andhatboxes. He saw the three men facing Alec, and behind them Bosko'sleveled revolvers.

  "Not a bally rope to be had, dear boy; but here's leather enough to goround," he grinned. "By gad! what a tableau! I suppose you mean to gag'em and then tie 'em back to back, eh, what?"

  Alec picked up a chair. "Yes," he said. "Begin with his ExcellencyPrince Michael."

  Julius Marulitch's right hand sought the pocket of the dinner jacket hewas wearing.

  "No, Julius," said Alec pleasantly, "move an inch and you are a deadman. Bosko has my orders, and he will obey them. You may look at him ifyou doubt my word."

  Marulitch's well poised head had never before turned so quickly; but heshrank from a wicked looking muzzle pointed straight between his eyes.In such circumstances, the caliber of a revolver seems to becomemagnified to absurdly large proportions, and behind the fearsome weaponBosko's immovable face was that of an automaton.

  Beliani's olive complexion assumed a sickly green tint for the secondtime that evening. "I was right," he muttered; "but you would notlisten."

  "It is a common delusion of the thief that an honest man has no brains,"said Alec coolly. "Now, Beaumanoir, get busy. Time is flying, and wehave little more than an hour to spare."

  Prince Michael, never noted for his courage, began to whimper some wordsof expostulation; but Beaumanoir's strong hands soon silenced him withan improvised gag, for the effeminate little rascal realized that hisjaw might be broken if he resisted the stuffing of a towel into hismouth. In a few minutes the three were seated on the floor, securelybound, and unable to utter more than a gurgling cry, which wouldcertainly not be heard by any one passing along the outer corridor.

  Alec's cheerful explanation of his action must have been particularlygalling. "You will remain here until such time as Stampoff decides thatyou may safely be set at liberty," he said. "Not you, but he, mustprovide for the future good government in Kosnovia."

  "Thanks, Beaumanoir," he added, turning from the discomfited trio with acarelessness that showed they gave him no further concern. "Better beoff now and get ready. Bosko, mount guard outside the door! Allow no oneto enter on any pretext whatsoever!"

  In a few minutes the three were securely bound Page 298]

  Then he busied himself about the room, followed by vengeful eyes. He hadbrought little into Kosnovia, and he took little away. The extraordinarysimplicity of his life had rendered unnecessary the usual trappings of aKing. He had worn no uniform save the plainest of field servicegarments. He possessed no State attire. His clothes were mostly thosewhich came from Paris, and it amused him now to change rapidly into thevery suit in which he had entered Delgratz, an unknown claimant of theKosnovian throne. Bundling his trunks out into the corridor, he closedand locked the door, and the click of the moving bolt must have sent atremor through the stiff limbs of the three worthies who lay huddledtogether inside.

  Bidding Bosko hurry over his own preparations, he descended to thecourtyard. A number of troopers, standing by their horses' heads, sprangto attention when he appeared.

  "You can dismiss your men," he said to the officer in charge. "They willnot be needed to-night."

  Then he told an attendant to order a couple of carriages for half-pasteleven. In the reception room he wrote a hasty note to Stampoff:

  MY DEAR PAUL:--The legitimate King of Kosnovia and his heir apparent, not contented with the arrangement entered into in your presence, planned with Beliani a _coup d'etat_. I defeated it. You will find all three in my bedroom, the key of which I inclose. They are alive and well, and will stop there until it pleases you to release them. Perhaps you would like to consult with Sergius Nesimir, who by the time you receive this may have recovered the composure so rudely disturbed to-night. At any rate, the next move rests with you. Farewell and good luck.

  Yours, ALEC.

  Outside his mother's apartments he came upon Prince Michael's valet inwhispered consultation with Pauline and Princess Delgrado's maid. In therush of events he had forgotten the two domestics from the RueBoissiere.

  "His Excellency will not need your services to-night," he said to theman, "and it will meet his wishes in every respect if nothing is said tothe other servants as to the departure of the Princess for Paris."

  "Precisely, your Majesty," smirked the Frenchman.

  "You, of course," he went on, addressing the maid, "will accompany yourmistress."

  "Yes, your Majesty," she said, quite reassured by Alec's matter of factmanner.

  A glance at Pauline's honest face showed that nothing had been said ofthe curious scene witnessed in the bureau. To a certain extent, Joan'shumble friend shared his confidence, and it was evident that she had notbetrayed it.

  The departure of such a large party probably created some speculationamong the palace servants; but Nesimir did not put in an appearance, andno one dared to question the King's movements. Alec had purposelyallowed the barest time for the drive to the station. The midnighttrain, not being an important express, carried few passengers, mostlytraders returning to neighboring towns in Austria after conducting theday's business in Delgratz. The King and his companions, of course, wererecognized; but again it was not to be expected that any official wouldtrouble them with inquiries.

  Having secured a compartment for his mother and Beaumanoir, Alec madefor the station master's office, meaning to obtain a messenger who mightbe trusted to deliver Stampoff's letter, and he happened to notice apoliceman standing near a carriage door.

  A white face peered out through the window. It was Sobieski. The Kingand the waiter were quitting Delgratz by the same train!

  Alec laughed, and the policeman saluted. "When the train has gone," saidAlec, "I want you to deliver this letter to General Stampoff."

  "Yes, your Majesty," replied the man.

  "It is important, remember. Here are ten rubles, and ask GeneralStampoff, with my compliments, for the like amount. Take no denial fromhis servants. If he is in bed, he must be awaked. Say that I sent you,and there should be no difficulty."

  Precisely at midnight the train started. Quickly gathering speed, it ranthrough the tumbledown suburbs of the city and rumbled across the ironbridge that spans the Tave River. In twenty minutes it was at Semlin,and Austrian officials were examining passports. It was almost ludicrousto find that they gave Alec and his mother a perfunctory glance; butLord Adalbert Beaumanoir excited their lively suspicion. One man, inparticular, mounted guard outside the carriage, and did not budge tillthe train moved on again.

  "That chap remembers me," said Beaumanoir. "Did you notice how heglared? He was the johnny I slung through the window."

  At an early hour in the morning Joan was peering disconsolately throughthe window of a railway carriage at the life and bustle of Budapeststation. Felix had gone to purchase some newspapers, and the girl wasabsorbed in gray thought when an official thrust head and shoulders intothe compartment and asked if the Fraeulein Vernon, passenger fromDelgratz to Paris, was within.

  "Yes," gasped Joan, all the slight color flying from her cheeks andleaving her wan indeed.

  "Here is a telegram for you, fraeulein," said the man politely, and hiscivil tone, at least, assured her that she was not to be dragged fromthe train and subjected to some mysterious inquisition by Austrianpolice. "Sent care of the station master," he explained, "and we wereurgently requested to find you. Kindly sign this receipt."

  She scribbled her name on a form, and the man carefully compared it withthe superscription on the telegram.

  "Yes, that is right," he said, and at last the agitated girl was free toope
n this message from the skies. It was written in German, probably toinsure accurate transmission, and it read:

  My mother and I, together with Beaumanoir, left Delgratz seven hours later than you. Pauline accompanies us. We are returning to Paris after having settled affairs satisfactorily in Kosnovia. Please await our arrival in Budapest, and accept the statement without any qualification that there is no reason whatever why you should not do this.

  ALEC.

  The amazing words were still dancing before her eyes when Felix camerunning along the platform. He too had been identified by an official,and in his hand was another telegraphic slip.

  "We need have no secrets between us now, my belle," he cried excitedly."You guess what has happened."

  "Alec has left Delgratz--he and his mother--Oh, Felix! if he really sentthis telegram, why did he not explain things?"

  "The explanation would be rather ticklish, when you come to think ofit," said Felix dryly. "The Austrian Government might take too keen aninterest in it. Don't you understand, girl? He has wrung the truth fromsome one. He is no longer a King, but a very devoted lover. Come, we canpass the day pleasantly in Budapest. There is nothing else to be done.No sense in running away merely for the fun of the thing. If Alec is nota King, there is no immediate probability of your becoming a Queen. Youwill be plain Mrs. Somebody or other. Now I wonder what in the world hisnew name is. The son of an American father would hardly be calledAlexis. Horrible thought! You may have to learn to love him all overagain as Chauncey, or Hiram, or Phineas. Tell me, mignonne, could youtake him back to your heart as Phineas?"

  Joan rose and stepped out on the platform. Poluski's chaffing outburstfailed in its intent, though, to his great relief, she did not breakdown as he feared. "Perhaps he will not want me now, Felix," she said,and her eyes were shining.

  "Oh, fiddlesticks!" cried the hunchback. "Why did he telegraph from thefirst wayside station after leaving Semlin? Alec not want you! At thismoment he is more proud that he is a free born American than if amiracle almost beyond the powers of Heaven had made him a Delgrado."

  Felix, cynic that he was, was secretly delighted when Joan discoveredafter breakfast that a blouse which caught her eye in one of theBudapest shops was much more suitable for traveling than that which shehappened to be wearing. It was also significant that the dust which hadgathered in her hair during the long journey from Delgratz required avisit to a coiffeur. These straws showed how the wind blew, he fancied.

  And it was good to see the way Joan's face kindled when Alec clasped herin his arms. They said little then. The why and the wherefore of eventsthey left to another hour; but when Joan extricated herself from herlover's embrace she turned to Princess Delgrado. The two women exchangedan affectionate kiss; each looked at the other through a mist of tears.Words were not needed. They understood, and that sufficed.

  In a calmer moment Alec told Joan what had happened. He laid specialstress on the fact that his mother was quite determined to renounce hertitle and revert to the name she bore during her first marriage.

  "I never realized the tenth part of her suffering in Paris," he said,"though I knew far more about Prince Michael's conduct than he guessed.We must make it our business, Joan, to bring some brightness into herdeclining years. I have been planning our future all day in the train.Shall I become the fortune teller this time?"

  "Yes," she murmured, "and perhaps I may forget that I have cost you aKingdom."

  He laughed gayly, just as he used to laugh on those bright May morningswhen he waited on the Pont Neuf in the hope that he might be permittedto escort her to the Louvre.

  "Never dream that I shall bring that up against you, dear heart," hesaid. "Delgratz ought to advertise itself as a sure cure for ambition. Iliked the people; but I hated the job, and Kosnovia is already becominga myth in my mind. I am rejoicing in my new name, Alexander Talbot. Ihope you like it. My mother tells me that my father was one of thestrong men of the West. I am called after him, it seems, and although myown name sounds strange to me I like the purposeful ring in it."

  Joan laughed merrily. "Felix was teasing me this morning by suggestingthat you might have been christened Phineas," she said.

  "The wretch! And what if I was?"

  She looked at him with a delightful shyness. "No matter what name youbore, you would always be my Alec," she whispered.

  They were leaning over the balcony of an open air restaurant at themoment; so Alec perforce contented himself with clasping her hand.

  "And now for my scheme, little girl," he said. "We will get married atonce, of course."

  She made no reply; but he felt the thrill that ran through her veins.

  "Then," he went on, so gravely that she raised her eyes to his, seekingto catch his slightest shade of meaning; for her heart was stilltroubled by the fear that she had wrought him evil, "I will take you toAmerica, my home. There is surely a nest for us out there. I have neverunderstood it before; but often, as a boy, I felt the call of the West.It was natural, I suppose. We had many American friends in Paris, and myblood tingled when they spoke of the great rivers, the prairies, theocean lakes, the giant mountain ranges, and the far flung plains of thatwondrous continent which they describe with a reverent humor as God'sown country. I feel that I shall win a place for myself in the land ofmy birth, and my poor mother is aching to go back there again."

  He paused, and perhaps he hardly realized why Joan sighed withhappiness; for she could believe, at last, that he had never a pang forhis lost kingship.

  He felt the thrill that ran through her veins Page 306]

  "It is my home, too, Alec," she cooed. "I was born in Vermont. We aregoing home together."

  "Yes, dear, no more partings. We shall not be wealthy, Joan. It seemsthat the miserable little humbug whom I have regarded as my father haswasted the whole of my mother's fortune by his extravagance. The onlyscrap left is a small farm near Denver, and even that would have beensold had not the crisis in Delgratz offered a wider scope for Michael'splundering instincts. It is a strange thing, sweetheart, but on the daywe parted in Paris--the day the news came of the murder of Theodore andhis wife--Prince Michael quarreled with my mother because she refused tosanction the sale of that last shred of her inheritance. In order tovent his spite, he had actually decided to tell me the secret of mybirth in the very hour that Julius Marulitch announced the disappearanceof the Obrenovitch dynasty."

  "And the goddess sent you east instead of west," she said softly.

  "Yes, my trial has been short and sharp; but she must have found meworthy, since she has given me--you."

  They reached Paris next evening; but by that time the newspapers werehot on the scent of the missing King. So far as could be judged from thereports telegraphed by French correspondents in Delgratz, Stampoff hadremained true to his dream of a monarchy. For lack of a better, Michaelwas King. Some one, Beliani probably, had issued a statement that theinfatuation of Alexis III. for a pretty Parisian artist had led him toabdicate, and as soon as it was discovered that the Delgrado flat in theRue Boissiere was again occupied by Alec and his mother, they werebesieged by reporters anxious to glean details of a royal romance.

  They decided, therefore, to leave Paris for London, where, under thename of Talbot, they might hope to escape such unwelcome attentions. Itwas no easy matter to shake off the horde of eager pressmen; but theysucceeded at last, and when Alec and Joan were quietly married in a WestEnd church, no one, except the officiating minister, had the leastknowledge of their identity.

  After a brief honeymoon in Devon they rejoined Mrs. Talbot, and thethree sailed from Southampton, whither came Felix and Beaumanoir to bidthem farewell. Bosko and Pauline were on the same ship. The taciturnSerb had positively refused to leave his master, though Alec pointed outthat his fallen fortunes hardly warranted him in retaining a valet,while Pauline, whom recent circumstances had thrown a good deal inBosko's company, declared that Paris no longer had any attractions forher. Without c
onsulting any one the two got married, and astounded Mrs.Talbot one fine morning by announcing the fact.

  At the last moment Joan almost persuaded Felix to go with her and herhusband; but he tore himself away.

  "I peeped into the Grande Galerie the other morning," he said, with areal sob in his voice, "and my poor Madonna looked so lonely! There wasno one with her; just a few painted angels and a couple of gapingtourists. I must go back. Some day you will come to the Louvre, and youwill find me there, _le pauvre_ Bourdon, still singing and painting."

  He began to hum furiously. When the gangway was lowered, and the greatship sidled slowly but relentlessly away from the quay, he struck thetremendous opening note of "Ernani."

  Beaumanoir grabbed him by the collar. "Shut up, you idiot!" he said, notsmiling at all, for he loved Alec. "This is England. If you sing here, abobby will run you in. An', anyhow, blank it! why do you want to sing?This isn't a smoking concert. It's more like a bally funeral!"