A Dash for a Throne

  CHAPTER IX

  MY PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

  The first effect upon me of Praga's story was to rouse and thrill everypulse of passion in my nature. I could not think connectedly, and as Iplunged along through the early morning to von Nauheim's house I wasimpelled by an overwhelming desire to call that villain instantly toaccount. Insane plans flitted through my head of dashing into his roomand making him fight me to the death; and I gloated in the belief that Icould kill him.

  But as the air cooled my fever my steps slackened their speed, myjudgment began to reassert its rule, and I saw that I should make a hugemistake if I allowed myself to be led in such a crisis by the mereimpulses of blind rage. I had another to think of beside myself. He waswaiting up for me, no doubt curious and anxious to learn what I had beendoing; but I dared not trust myself to be with him then; so I sent amessage that I was unwell, and I hurried at once to my rooms.

  Then I made the first practical admission that I felt myself in peril;for I searched the rooms carefully to see that no one was concealed inthem, and I looked carefully to the fastenings of the doors to makecertain that no one could get in while I slept. I resolved also to buymyself arms on the following day. I could not sleep, of course. I laytossing from side to side all through the hours of the dawn, thinking,puzzling, speculating, and scheming; striving my hardest to decide whatI ought to do.

  After what I had seen in the attack on Praga, I could not doubt that myown personal danger was great. My cousin Gustav's fate had shown thatthe men I had to deal with were infinitely cunning in resource andabsolutely desperate in resolve. Where, then, might I look for anyattack? I judged that it would be most likely to come in some shape thatwould be difficult to trace to its authors; and I felt that I must guardagainst getting embroiled in any quarrel, must go armed, and must bealways most vigilant and alert when I found myself in circumstances thatwould lend themselves to my being attacked with impunity.

  I own that I did not like the prospect. I don't think I'm a coward, andclaim no greater bravery than other men; but the thought that any momentmight find me the mark for an assassin's dagger or bullet tested mycourage to the utmost. My main problem, however, was of course as towhat I should do in regard to the plot. There were undoubtedly a numberof men pledged to support Minna's cause; loyal, true, faithful men ofhonor, who had risked much for her and would uphold her to the last; buthow was I to distinguish the false from the true? If I could do that, mypath would be plain enough. I could reveal the whole business to them,and we could together take means to checkmate the inner treachery. But Icould not distinguish them; nor on the other hand could Minna in honordesert them.

  There was the alternative of flight, of course; I could return toGramberg and rush the girl across the French frontier; but in additionto the distaste for abandoning those who had been true to her, therewere other solid reasons against the flight. I could not see that therewas any permanent safety for Minna that way. As Praga had put it, it wasa canon of the Ostenburg position that there should be no Grambergclaimant to the throne left alive or fit to claim the throne; and I didnot doubt for a moment that she might still be the object of attackwherever she went. Their arm would be long enough to reach her. Thusflight would thwart the Ostenburg scheme, but it would not achieve whatwas far more important to us, the safety of all concerned.

  Thus I was driven back again upon my former conclusion that the policyof flight must be only the last resource when other things had failed.And I made up my mind that if at all possible this Ostenburg scheme mustbe met and outwitted.

  After many hours of thought on these lines, I began to see two courses.We must go on with the scheme up to the very verge of its completion.Then Minna should indeed disappear; but the disappearance should bestage-managed by us, and not by the Ostenburg agents; and a daringthought occurred to me, to entrap these men with their own snare whenpledged to the hilt to support Minna.

  I would not only let her reappear at the very moment when they would bereckoning on her absence to push the claims of their own man, the DukeMarx; but I would get hold of this duke himself and put him away in herplace. We would thus hold the throne against them for long enough tomake such terms of compromise as we chose to dictate.

  It would be a dare-devil piece of work, and call for one or twodesperate men. But I had two already to hand--von Krugen and Praga,with Steinitz as a faithful third--and we might find one or two moreamong those who were faithful to Minna's interests.

  The thought of this so roused me that I could not stay in my bed, butpaced up and down my room in a glow of excitement as I thought out,pondered, and planned the details move by move to the final climax.

  My first step must be, of course, to mislead all those concerned in thescheme to believe that I was with them, and that I pledged Minna herselfto the same course; and I went to meet von Nauheim in the morning withthis idea clear in my thoughts.

  "You were out of town yesterday, Prince?" he said.

  "Yes, I am accustomed to quietude, and can clear my thoughts best in thecountry. This affair worries me."

  "I understood you were ill when you came back?"

  "Merely an excuse. I was fatigued, and in no mood for conversation. Itwas late."

  "It was--very," he replied dryly.

  I made no answer, and after a moment he said:

  "I presume you were thinking about our matters?"

  "They were not out of my thoughts all day, and have kept me awake allnight. I could wish I had never heard of them!" I exclaimed sharply.

  "I suppose it is rather a big thing for you to decide?" he said, with alaugh; and then added quickly, "I presume you have decided, though? Weshall expect to know to-night definitely."

  "I am disposed to advise my cousin to join you and go on; but it may benervousness, or that I am unused to such weighty affairs--whatever itis, I scarcely know how to answer."

  "Well, you have had five or six days, you know."

  "I've had to change all my views. I came to Munich with the convictionthat such a scheme must fail, and could only end in disaster or,perhaps, worse."

  "And now?" he asked, eyeing me sharply.

  "I see the risks are enormous; but success seems much more probable thanI thought. Indeed, if all is as it appears to be, I don't see wherefailure can come. I was trying to see that all day yesterday."

  "What do you mean 'if all is as it appears'? What else can it be?"

  "In a thousand schemes every one must have a weak spot somewhere. Inthis I fear what Berlin may do."

  This answer relieved the doubt I had purposely raised, and he smiled asthough my objection were ridiculous.

  "Discuss that with Baron Heckscher. You'll soon see there's no cause forfear in it."

  "If I were sure of that, my last objection would be gone."

  "Then you are ours at last!" he exclaimed triumphantly, "and I'm rightglad of it, Prince. You'll never repent throwing in your lot with us,for we shall rule this kingdom as surely as you and I are sitting atthis table."

  Gradually I allowed myself to be led on by him to copy, in a modifieddegree, his tone of jubilant enthusiasm, until he had no longer a doubtthat I had been won over completely; and I spoke as if in some awe ofthe magnificent mission and great opportunities which a woman of Minna'shigh character and aims would have as the future Queen of Bavaria. Heindulged this vein in the belief that he was drawing out my earnestnessand encouraging my loyalty, and, indeed, fooling me to the top of mybent.

  He asked me how I would spend the day, and whether I wished to see anymore of our friends, before the meeting, to discuss my lingering doubtsas to interference from Berlin; but I said I would rather be alone, as Iwas accustomed to solitary meditation, and that I was going to ride. Heplaced his stable at my disposal, and suggested one or two places ofinterest to which I could go.

  I pretended to accept his suggestions, and he watched me ride off,standing bare-headed and gazing after me. When I turned, he waved hishand, and his face wore a smile of confident self
-congratulation at thecleverness with which he had duped me. I kept to the road which he hadmentioned for a short distance, riding at a slow pace, and then, turningoff from it, I threaded the outskirts of the town until I struck theLinden road, when I put my horse to a sharp canter to keep myappointment.

  One point I had to consider carefully--how far to trust Praga. He was aman to beware of, unscrupulous, recklessly daring, and bitterlyvengeful; but I had saved his life, and I believed that he had in hisdisposition that kind of rough and dogged chivalry which would inclinehim to feel under an obligation to me, at least until he had paid thedebt in kind. Assistance of some sort from some one with insideknowledge I must have, for the case was desperate enough; and there wasno doubt that he would be infinitely valuable to me. I had stronginducements to offer, too--revenge for his own injuries; gratitude formy help on the preceding night; momentary reward to any reasonableamount; and advancement to a post of confidence. There was a risk thathe would betray me, of course; but I could not weigh these risks toocarefully, and this was one I felt I must be content to take.

  I had ridden some ten or eleven miles, and was walking my horse slowlypast a small coppice, when I heard him call to me from among the trees.He had chosen a cunning hiding-place. He knew his business.

  "Ride on to the next turning on this side, Prince, and turn in at thefirst gate."

  I followed his instructions, and found him already at the gate, on foot,having tied his horse to a tree. I fastened mine and then joined him.

  "Were you followed from my house last night?" he asked; and when I toldhim no, he added: "Good; I had to shake them off this morning. The gameis getting warmer. We must not stay long together. What have you to sayto me?"

  "Will you show me the paper you made von Nauheim sign?" I asked.

  "I will take your word of honor for its safe keeping," he returned, hisdark face smiling. "I guessed you would wish to see it." And he handedit to me.

  "You trust it to me?" I cried, in some surprise.

  "I am no fool, Prince," he answered. "If you keep that, it means weshall work together, and that is what I wish. If we are not to do so,you are too honorable a man not to return it. I trust either wholly, ornot at all." He raised his hands, shoulders, and eyebrows in a combinedgesture, as though suggesting there was no more to be said about thematter. "But you, what are you going to do? You have some plan, ofcourse?"

  "Will you work with me?" I asked.

  "I told you last night--my purse, my sword, and my life are at yourservice, and if your plan helps my revenge I will keep as stanch andtrue as a hound."

  "I am going to put my whole scheme in your possession," was my answer;and in the fewest words I told him what I had resolved, keeping backonly such parts of the plan as touched the Countess Minna and myselfpersonally.

  He listened with rapt attention, his swarthy face drawn into thoughtfullines, and he did not interrupt me once. When I had finished, heremained silent a long while thinking it all over carefully.

  "It is a shrewd scheme, Prince, very shrewd. There is only onedifficulty."

  "Well?"

  "For you and me to keep alive sufficiently long to carry it through. Theattempt last night will not be the last, and the efforts won't beconfined to me. They have not touched you so far, probably because theyfeel it will strengthen their hands with the Countess Minna to get youropen adherence to the plot. But when that has once been obtained, youwill only be in the way, and you had better lay your account with that.But if we can keep our hearts beating and our throats unslit until thetime of crisis comes, we shall win. By the sword of the archangel, but Ilike the scheme!"

  "There is a meeting to-night at which I announce my formal adherence,and then I shall return to Gramberg to complete my arrangements."

  "If you live to leave the town," he said grimly. "But you understand nowthe sort of men you are fighting. And what do you wish me to do?"

  "Yours will be the most dangerous and, in some respects, I think themost difficult work of all--the post of honor. You must prepare themeans by which the Duke Marx von Ostenburg can be got into our power,and you must be prepared to carry out the seizure the moment I give thesignal. It had best be done on the very day of the court ball."

  To my surprise he smiled and declared that that part of the businesswould not be difficult of accomplishment.

  "I may need one man to help me, though I can probably do it all alone;and you will only have to say where you wish him carried."

  "I have to find the place yet," I replied. "But how can you do this? Whyare you so sure?"

  "I can move the female lever which can move him," he returned, with hishard smile.

  "But at that moment he himself will be all anxiety for these matters ofState, and his presence in Munich will be simply imperative for theirinterests."

  "No matter. If he was buried under a mountain and had to claw his wayout with his nails and teeth, he would do it at her bidding. Have nofear."

  "He will not be harmed?"

  "That we can settle when we get him," he answered grimly.

  I said no more. So long as we could make secure the person of the dukeat the moment we needed him, I would see to the rest. Then I arrangedhow we two were to hold communication and untethered my horse to leave.

  "You will go to that meeting to-night, Prince?" he asked.

  "Certainly, it is necessary."

  "You will go armed, then?"

  "Arms will not be of much use; but I shall take them."

  "I need not warn you again. But this I would say: At the very momentwhen you feel safest expect their attack. And now, as a last word, letme give you a pledge that whatever happens I will not let a word betweenmy teeth. On the honor of a Corsican."

  He raised his hat and stood bare-headed. He had the dramatic instinctkeenly developed, and he did everything with pose and gesture that mighthave been taken for artificiality. But I was convinced that he wasstanch enough in this affair.

  I rode back to Munich by a different route, and my thoughts were busywith the forthcoming meeting. I did not consider it at all likely thatany sort of violence would be attempted then; but Praga's words ofcaution began to run in my head--"When you feel safest, expect theattack." All the afternoon they were buzzing in my thoughts, and whenvon Nauheim returned in time for a very hurried late dinner, and thehour of the meeting drew nigh, they were more insistent than ever.

  In the afternoon I bought myself arms--a sword-stick and a revolver; andwhile I was alone I took careful note of the room where the meeting wasto be held, its entrances and exits. There was a window in the cornerwhich opened on to a quadrangle at the back of the house, and I resolvedto take my seat near that, lest I should need a speedy way of escape.

  I had, indeed, determined upon one somewhat daring step, and I could notforetell what consequences might ensue.

  When the hour for the meeting came, I took my seat and watched the menas they entered; and sat steadying my nerves and planning my moves inthe game which was about to open in such deadly earnest, and which mighthave such momentous consequences for all concerned.